'He's an absolute Christian of a horse' - Sioux Nation colt tops final day of Goffs Autumn at €88,000

A Sioux Nation colt from the family of Breeders' Cup winner Just F Y I topped proceedings on the final day of the Goffs Autumn Sale when making €88,000 to Willie Browne of JB Bloodstock.

The chestnut was offered by Tara Murphy's Old Carhue Stud, who purchased his dam Twentynine Palms for €35,000 at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale when she was carrying Wednesday's top-seller in utero. The mare is an American Pharoah half-sister to American Listed winner and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Uncle Benny. 

It is a family packed with high-class American performers, including the Grade 1 winner Starrer and Just F Y I, a winner of the 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies who sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $4.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale on Monday. 

Murphy said: "We're absolutely delighted. We bought the mare here in foal with him two years ago. We had him in for Doncaster but it came a bit quick, he's an April foal and so we took the pressure off and put him out in a field. He's an absolute christian of a horse and is as good as gold, he just came out and did his shows all the same way."

Starman fever lingered at the sale as a filly by the champion first-season sire elect sold to Spanish bloodstock agent Francisco Bernal for €68,000.

The Paal House Stud-consigned filly, who was withdrawn from an engagement at last year's Goffs November Foal Sale, is a half-sister to Enacting, a winner late last year for James Fanshawe, from a page which contains the Derby hero Kris Kin in close proximity.

It was a fleeting visit to Bernal, who was bound for the airport soon afterwards but explained: "I bought the filly for one of the best Spanish owners. She'll be pre-trained in Ireland until the end of January and then she'll travel to Madrid, where the owner will make a decision about where she is trained." 

Another filly by Starman, Tally-Ho Stud's half-sister to the Italian Listed-placed Chicotai, proved popular when selling to JB Bloodstock for €45,000. She is out of the Inchinor mare Taraba and the page traces back to the Aga Khan's star fillies Tarnawa and Tahiyra. 

Sands Of Mali's reputation as a source of speed was burnished at Royal Ascot this year and one of the Ballyhane resident's offspring proved of great interest.

Olive O'Connor's Sands Of Mali filly sells to BBA Ireland for €58,000Credit: Sophie Webber Photography

An Olive O'Connor Bloodstock-consigned filly was the first yearling during the session to really set the ring alight, with sustained bidding taking her all the way up to a final €58,000 bid by Adam Potts for the BBA Ireland agency.

The filly had appeared at the November Foal Sale, where she achieved just €4,000. Out of the Aga Khan mare Sidra, she has, however, seen her fortunes improve in various ways with a half-sister by Sea The Moon, Sidiza, showing some form with Dermot Weld and one of Sidra's half-sisters producing Sibayan, who graduated to Group 1 honours in the Preis von Europa in Germany a few months ago.

Sands Of Mali claimed his maiden Group 1 through his first-crop daughter Time For Sandals in the Commonwealth Cup this year. 

Camas Park Stud's Churchill colt from the family of champion stayer Kyprios and his Group 1-winning sister Search For A Song was knocked down to Gerry Hogan for €47,000. The bay is out of the winning Thanks Be, a Mukhadram half-sister to Sirenia Stakes winner Love Lockdown.

Leading the way throughout the morning was a first-crop son of Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Champion Stakes winner Sealiway, who is based in France at Haras de Beaumont.

Galbertstown Stables offered the first foal out of Awtaad mare Ramad, who comes from the family of the top-class miler Facteur Cheval. The March-born colt was knocked down to John Murphy's Highfort for €28,000.

Overall, from 529 lots offered 435 sold (82 per cent) for turnover of €4,372,900, up 15 per cent year-on-year, while the median also rose 15 points to €10,053 and the average increased 20 per cent to €6,000. 

End of sale statement

Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby said: "Following record-breaking results at Orby Book 1 and Orby Book 2, we are pleased to have continued the positive trends with a vibrant renewal of the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale. 

"While our Orby results may grab the headlines with seven-figure sales-toppers and Classic-winning graduates, this week is every bit as important to Irish breeders as the catalogue is truly commercial in nature. So it is crucial that we deliver the whole Goffs package over the three days and the team certainly views each lot to be as significant as any we offer in the year.

A yearling is shown for inspections during the final session of the Goffs Autumn Sale on Wednesday

"Goffs is the gateway to the world for Irish breeders” is a phrase we use but it is more than a marketing line as Kildare Paddocks clearly showed with buyers from Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mongolia, Morocco, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and the UK descending in huge numbers from Sunday giving the sale a truly international flavour. Chief among them was the massive group of over 85 from Eastern Europe all organised by our agent Kishore Mirpuri who continues to raise the bar each year with an ever-bigger team of enthusiastic participants who accounted for over 140 lots.

"Our Italian friends are always a welcome and sometimes flamboyant addition to the crowd so another 50 plus added further colour to proceedings and take home in excess of 50 yearlings. In their regard we are indebted to Angelo Robiati, “Mr Goffs” in Italy for over a quarter of a century. Angelo steps down from his role with our supreme thanks and appreciation, and we were pleased to acknowledge his immeasurable contribution to our fortunes at a dinner last night.

"Kishore and Angleo embody so much that is good about the Goffs service and it is to our enormous benefit that we also have the help and assistance of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing whose hard work is every bit as contributory to this sale as any other in the year. How blessed we are to have such an entity to work alongside our own excellent purchaser attraction team and their importance should never be underestimated or taken for granted. For our part we will continue to be major contributors to ITM as our clients reap the dividend at each of our sales but none more than this week.

"Whereas the overseas element of this sale is vital, it is should also be noted that all bar one of the top ten lots have been bought to stay in Ireland and continue to demonstrate the value and quality that is on offer at each Goffs sale. That gives us purpose and continues to drive us forward at each sale.

"And so on to the market leading Goffs November Foal Sale which has catalogued a mouth-watering selection of the best Irish foals to be offered anywhere this year. There really is nothing like it and we can’t wait."

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