Relief for Goffs with Orby Sale to be staged in Ireland

Goffs will be able to hold its Orby Sale in Ireland following the lifting of travel restrictions for overseas buyers.

The auction house had been forced to make various contingency plans including staging the flagship yearling sale at Tattersalls in Newmarket, while last year it was switched to Doncaster.

However, the Irish Government recently announced that most vaccinated overseas visitors can enter the country without the need to quarantine on arrival so the Orby can take place in Kildare Paddocks on its scheduled dates of September 28 and 29.

The Sportsman’s Sale will immediately follow on in its traditional slot on September 30 and October 1.

Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby said: "We are delighted and hugely relieved that the Irish Government’s latest announcements will allow the Irish National Yearling Sale to be held where it belongs, in Kildare.

"At this point I would like to thank Tattersalls for their collaborative approach to work on a contingency plan with us should overseas buyers have been unable to come to Ireland. However I think all of us are pleased that this contingency is not required and each sale can take place at the right time and in the right place.

"Frankly the Orby and Sportsman’s Sales are Irish sales held for Irish breeders to sell their best to the world, and we can now focus on delivering the best trade possible to repay those vendors who have maintained their support."

Beeby continued: "Early interest is high and it seems that the Irish Government’s cautious approach to reopening is giving confidence to overseas visitors planning their trips as they view Ireland in a most positive light in this context whilst the Goffs Million is focussing potential purchasers minds as they know that €1 million must be won by this year’s Orby yearlings.

"Credit must be given to HRI and Government who have engaged with us in recent days to give us a clear understanding of the way forward, outlining how the vaccination programme will have further progressed by the time of the sale. This reassurance is vital to our plans and demonstrates a pragmatic approach to reopening the country in a way that is sustainable.

"Obviously it would have preferable not to have the uncertainty of recent weeks and we apologise to anyone who has felt inconvenienced.

"However, at all times we have had to react to a very fluid situation but have worked in what we felt were the best interests of our clients and prioritised their needs with every decision. Hopefully the end result will justify the various actions come sales time."

Catalogues for the Orby and Sportsman’s will be published and available online on August 5.

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