Goffs have left no stone unturned in their desire to propel their Orby Sale to a worldwide audience. There is no getting away from the fact that the 2020 sale, staged away from its home in Naas, Ireland, and moved to Doncaster in England as Covid wreaked havoc over the European sales programme, was not one of the better editions. But, against that, the sale has already thrown its share of high-class 2yos, both domestically and overseas, while a stellar generation of 3yo graduates includes Classic-winning miler Mother Earth and the brilliant sprinter Winter Power.
Of course, racecourse performance is key when it comes to any Thoroughbred auction, and the Orby Sale is flying high in that department as the source of 22 stakes winners so far in 2021.
Yet, for those shopping at this year’s sale on September 28-29, there is the added bonus of a million-euro incentive in the form of a new 7f race, the Goffs Million, to be run at the Curragh on the eve of the 2022 Goffs Orby Sale. With the prize fund guaranteed by Goffs and paying to down to tenth place, it boasts the distinction of being Europe’s richest 2-year-old race.
Not only that, if the winner of the 2022 Goffs Million subsequently wins a G1 as a 3-year-old in Britain, Ireland, France, the U.S. or Australia, a €100,000 bonus is up for grabs, an aspect that should be very appealing to international owners.
At a time where the issue of prize money remains a contentious topic, the idea of running for a million euros has unsurprisingly been well received by the industry. And in turn, Goffs are able to present a catalogue of 444 lots, among them the siblings to Classic winners Poetic Flare and Mother Earth and progeny of various leading sires, including Galileo (6), Dubawi (2), Frankel (4), Kingman (9), Wootton Bassett (1) and Lope De Vega (13).
The 1000 Guineas and G1 Prix Rothschild heroine Mother Earth, an unlucky third in the G1 Matron Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, adorns the catalogue, having been snapped up by MV Magnier for €150,000 from Whitehall Stud at the 2019 renewal. The daughter of Zoffany fell far adrift of the €3 million top price achieved that year, although even better value was the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes heroine Winter Power, a €90,000 purchase from Newlands House Stud by Sackville Donald on behalf of King Power Racing.
G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Broome (offered by Croom House Stud), G3 Jersey Stakes winner Creative Force (sold for €400,000 by Owenstown Stud to Godolphin), last year’s St Leger hero Galileo Chrome (offered by Castehyde Stud) and G1-winning 2yo Lucky Vega (sold for €175,000 by Baroda Stud to the BBA Ireland/Yulong Investments) are also excellent examples of the quality that this sale can hold.
Like any good sale, however, the Goffs Orby Sale is also well represented on the world stage, particularly in North America, where the Chad Brown-trained Raging Bull has figured prominently among the G1 turf milers for the past four seasons.
The son of Dark Angel was purchased for €90,000 by Eugenio Colombo out of the Wildenstein dispersal, handled by The Castlebridge Consignment, and has since gone on to win three G1s, including this year’s Maker’s Mark Mile. Another representative of the Wildenstein dispersal, Paths Of Glory, has struck at G3 level in Australia.
Meanwhile, over in South Africa, the Orby Sale has been well represented through the exploits of Queen Supreme. Bred by Thomas Hassett in Ireland, the daughter of Exceed And Excel was sold through Monksland Stables for €130,000 to Form Bloodstock and Mayfair Speculators in 2017 and went on to win two renewals of the G1 Cartier Paddock Stakes at Kenilworth for trainer Mike de Kock.
As such, this is a sale that continues to serve international investors well.
Take agent Ben McElroy and owner Barbara Banke as an example. McElroy purchased four yearlings at last year’s renewal, including a £420,000 son of Invincible Spirit and a £75,000 first-crop daughter of National Defense; now under the ownership of Banke’s Stonestreet Stables, the filly has turned out to be recent Deauville listed winner and G2 Queen Mary Stakes runner-up Twilight Gleaming, while the colt is Keeneland debut winner Napa Spirit.
Diabolic, a daughter of Dark Angel purchased for £90,000 by DJ Stables from Yeomanstown Stud, is also unbeaten in three starts for Mark Casse in Canada, her most recent victory coming in the Catch A Glimpse Stakes at Woodbine.
So what can we expect from this year’s sale?
The half-sisters to Mother Earth (117), a first-crop daughter of Sioux Nation from Whitehall Stud, and Poetic Flare (120), a first-crop daughter of U.S. Navy Flag from Clare Castle Stud, stand out within a catalogue that can boast the full or half-siblings to G1 winners such as Channel (110; filly by Saxon Warrior), Lucky Vega (196; colt by Footstepsinthesand), Perfect Power (214; colt by Kodiac), Law Of Indices (216; colt by Starspangledbanner), Winter Power (294; colt by Bungle Inthejungle), Alpha Centauri (347; colt by Mastercraftsman) and Persuasive (408; filly by Dark Angel).
Trevor Stewart’s remarkable mare Cassandra Go, the 2001 G2 King’s Stand Stakes winner who later bred the multiple G1 winner Halfway To Heaven, in turn the dam of Magical and Rhododendron, is also represented by lot 397, a colt from the first crop of Saxon Warrior.
The catalogue is further enhanced by the presence of lots out of top racemares Finsceal Beo (lot 29; filly by Kingman), Simply Perfect (242; colt by Galileo) and Alexander Goldrun (338; colt by Kingman).
Strong international element
Yet this is also a sale with a strong international element, highlighted by the fact that Kentucky heavyweights Distorted Humor (222) and Kitten’s Joy (261) are represented, in addition to the exciting first-crop stallions American Triple Crown hero Justify (415), Mendelssohn (132 and 260) and top turf runner Oscar Performance (416).
Even without the presence of Justify and Mendelssohn, the influence of Scat Daddy would still run deep.
The popular No Nay Never possesses 18 entries, including the half-brother to G1 Matriarch Stakes heroine Off Limits (199), a half-sister to high-class American miler True Valour (274) and a colt out of American G2 winner Aviate (368).
Fellow Scat Daddy sire Caravaggio also boasts a varied collection, his 14 entries including the half-brother to Brendan Walsh’s current G3 winner Zofelle (60).
As for Scat Daddy himself, he is the damsire of one of the most enticing lots on paper, a Galileo daughter of Nickname, winner of the 2015 G1 Frizette Stakes. Nickname sold for $3 million Kerri Radcliffe on behalf of Phoenix Thoroughbreds at the end of her racing career and lot 152 is her first foal.
Meanwhile, an excellent update has come the way of lot 205, a half-sister to recent G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational hero State Of Rest.
Lot 232, a daughter of Mastercraftsman, also boasts current American connections as a half-sister to G3 Chicago Stakes winner Abby Hatcher, while the draft belonging to U.S. Navy Flag includes the half-brother to G1 Sword Dancer Stakes winner Glorious Empire(69) and half-sister to leading Californian turf fillyGoing Global(317), winner of the G1 Del Mar Oaks since the publication of the catalogue.
There is also a fine update to the page of 233, a Lope De Vega colt out of minor American stakes winner Shelbysmilewhose first foal, Chancellery, won at Longchamp on debut for Andre Fabre earlier this month.
For Goffs, it isn’t all about the Orby Sale, however. The company’s Sportsman’s Sale, staged following the Orby on September 30 and October 1, is enjoying a purple patch of its own as the source of high-class 2yo Atomic Force, bought for £22,000 by Steven Hillen and Kevin Ryan from Railstown Stud last year. Further afield, the aforementioned Going Global has been also been excellent flag-bearer in California. Bought for €15,500 by Pioneer Racing in 2019, she has won four Graded stakes since her transfer to Phil d’Amato this year for over $460,000 in earnings.
This year’s renewal consists of 405 entries, including those by the likes of Acclamation, Exceed And Excel, Invincible Spirit and Sea The Stars. Each lot is eligible to run for the €100,000 Sportsman’s Challenge, to be run over 6f at Naas on September 15, 2022.