A stunning filly by the wonderful Galileo, whose offspring have set the Goffs sales ring alight for almost two decades, took centre stage on the first day of the 2021 Goffs Orby Sale when making €1.5m to MV Magnier.
The beautiful bay (Lot 152) is the first foal of the Scat Daddy mare Nickname, winner of Belmont’s Grade 1 Frizette Stakes for two-year-old filles, and was consigned by David and Tamso Cox’s Baroda Stud.
“She is a lovely filly,” remarked successful purchaser Magnier. “Roger O’Dwyer and all the lads who have looked after her all the time have always really liked her. She is by Galileo and her mother was a very good race mare by Scat Daddy who could be a very good broodmare sire.”
For Baroda Stud it was the consignor’s best result at Goffs Orby Sale and David Cox was thrilled to be back at Kildare Paddocks with such an outstanding filly.
“She never put a foot wrong from when she got here and she was very busy. It is great to have the Orby back here and to ring a bell like that.”
Fortune favours the brave...
Ten months ago Goffs’ Scandinavian agent Filip Zwicky came to the November Foal Sale to purchase two or three foals for Danish clients John Christensen and Alice Weiste who were taking their first steps into pinhooking. He saw Baroda Stud’s Footstepsinthesand half-brother to Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner Lucky Vega and decided that the colt was the only one they had to have, initiating a radical change of tactics.
“I saw this foal and I said ‘put all your eggs in one basket, we’re buying him! I know he will be more expensive, he’ll probably be a €200,000 foal but we should buy him.’ He was so gutsy going again and again and again, all the way to €300,000,” beamed a delighted Zwicky after seeing that colt make €630,000 to Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland on behalf of Yulong Investments whose green and white silks Lucky Vega carried with distinction.
Lucky Vega is standing his first season at stud for Yulong in Victoria this spring at a fee of $22,000.
Consigned by Anna Sundstrom’s Coulonces Sales Lot 196 became the most expensive yearling by Footstepsinthesand to sell at Goffs and Zwicky was quick to pay tribute to Sundstrom, her family and team for the wonderful way they took care of and prepared the colt. Zwicky and his clients, who have nerves of steel, are working out a new strategy for this year’s Goffs November Foal Sale.
West leads American charge...
The international appeal of the yearlings catalogued in the sale was apparent in the diversity of a global buying bench, including the strongest American contingent seen at Goffs in a number of years, which was headed by leading agent and Goffs US representative Jacob West.
“The Goffs Orby horse is a strong type and a good mover, they go after mares who are good producers and everything they show here fits that bill so I could not be more excited to see what they have on the ground here,” West commented. “The sales complex is probably the easiest to work in the world, the barns are right next to each other and you can see a lot of horses in a short space of time. It’s a great place to buy horses.”
West bought Lot 161 a filly by Lope De Vega out of Group 3 Lacken Stakes winner Only Mine for €250,000 from Camas Park Stud.
Amongst the buyers was Kenny McPeak, who trained the 2020 Grade 1 Preakness Stakes winning filly Swiss Skydiver. Accompanied by his wife, McPeek is attending the Goffs Orby Sale for the first time and will not be returning empty-handed to Kentucky as he snapped up a colt by Galileo (Lot 180) for €440,000.
He is the second foal of Listed-placed filly Pocketfullofdreams and was consigned by Luke Barry’s Manister House Stud. McPeek believes that the colt will be a hit on Turf or Dirt in America.
“I don’t know if that many of them have been campaigned in the US but that’s what we are going to do with him. We have a lot of grass racing but I think he may even handle the dirt so it will be an interesting journey.”
Ben McElroy, who bought the Listed winner Twilight Gleaming for Stonestreet Farms at last year’s Goffs Orby Sale, was back in action for American clients and bought two yearlings that will be going to that filly’s trainer.
“I bought two fillies from the first crop of US Navy Flag (Lot 69 for €160,000 and Lot 85 for €65,000) who was a very good two-year-old and he suits my client’s programme with Wesley Ward for Royal Ascot,” he said.
A Million Reasons...
The Goffs Million will be run over seven furlongs at the Curragh next September and is only open to graduates of the Goffs Orby Sale. The attraction of running for Europe’s richest two-year-old race was cited as the target by a number of purchasers of the session’s choice lots.
Johnny Murtagh and Eddie Linehan bought Lot 29 Al Eile Stud’s homebred daughter of leading sire Kingman out of Finsceal Beo, winner of the 1,000 Guineas and Irish 1,000 Guineas, and the Classic-winning trainer expressed the hope that she would be a contender for the Goffs Million next year.
Ross Doyle of Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock bought the session’s most expensive Kodiac yearling from her breeder Alice Fitzgerald and he revealed that trainer Richard Hannon will hope to target the race with Lot 26.
“She's a half-sister to a quick horse, Hey Jonesy (winner of the 2020 Wokingham at Royal Ascot), who was also a good two-year-old and she is a beautiful filly from a very good nursery and we previously bought Ginger Nut, who won the Weatherbys Super Sprint, off Alice. Hopefully this filly is one for the Goffs Million," Doyle added.
Orby Sale Day 1 statistics:
Offered: 205
Sold: 188 (92%)
Aggregate: €19,574,500 (+53%)
Average: €104,120 (+37%)
Median: €75,000 (+36%)
Goffs Orby Sale continues at 10am tomorrow, Tuesday 29 September.
