Just like old times as €1.5 million Galileo filly leads the way at Goffs Orby
Coolmore’s seven-figure purchase headed a buoyant market in Kildare
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and the return of the Goffs Orby Sale to its rightful home of Kildare Paddocks was greeted by an enthusiastic international cast of buyers that helped create a buoyant trade on the opening day.
The last two editions of the Orby held in Ireland had been headlined by seven-figure Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) fillies, and so it was again on Tuesday when a daughter of Coolmore’s behemoth stallion shone brightest.
The yearling in question was a pretty and scopey filly whose pedigree and physique bore the imprint of Coolmore’s two most significant stallions of this century on either side of the Atlantic, as her dam is a Grade 1 winner by Scat Daddy (Johannesburg).
Bred by Phoenix Thoroughbreds out of the Frizette Stakes (Gr 1, 9f) winner Nickname, the filly was consigned by David Cox’s Baroda Stud and her transatlantic pedigree had the international contingent flexing their bidding muscles.
However it was Coolmore’s MV Magnier, bidding from the outside ring, who prevailed at €1.5 million (approx. AU$2.42m), and he confirmed that her star had shone brightly right from the start.
“She has been in Coolmore all her life and she’s a lovely filly,” said Magnier. “Roger O’Dwyer and all the lads who have looked after her all the time have always really liked her. She’s by Galileo, which says enough on its own. Her mother was a very good racemare by Scat Daddy, who looks as if he will be a good broodmare sire, so everything came together. She’s a really lovely filly.”
The sale was a significant one for Baroda Stud as it was the second time the farm had sold a seven-figure filly at Goffs Orby. In 2019 they sold the Dark Angel (Acclamation) sister to Group 1-winning sprinter Harry Angel to Godolphin for €1m, but yesterday’s transaction had the added significance of being the day’s top lot.
“When you have a Galileo who looks and moves like her, out of a Grade 1-winning mare, then she deserves to make that sort of price,” said a pleased Cox. “Jacob West [US-based agent] was very strong on her and it’s great to see so many American buyers over here supporting the sale. She never put a foot wrong from when she got here and she was very busy.”
Yulong swoop for Lucky Vega’s half-brother
There were a lot of emotions swirling around box five of Barn A, whose occupant became the most expensive Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) yearling ever sold when purchased for €630,000 (approx. AU$1.01m) by Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland.
The colt is a half-brother to Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega), who won the Phoenix Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) last year and was placed behind Poetic Flare (Dawn Approach) in the English 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) and St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) earlier in the season.
Donohoe fought off determined opposition from Michael Kinane, who was bidding for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, to land the stunning colt on behalf of Zhang Yuesheng of Yulong Investments.
The same owner recently retired Lucky Vega to stud, while Jessica Harrington, who trained the son of Lope De Vega for Yulong, will also guide the career of his half-brother.
Consigned by Anna Sundstrom, and the only yearling she offered at the Goffs Orby Sale this year, the Footstepsinthesand colt was a punchy first-time pinhook for Danish owners John Christensen and Alice Weiste, who bought the colt for €300,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale last year through agent Filip Zwicky.
“He’s a gorgeous horse and it’s one of the best days I’ve had in this business, to succeed in this way,” said Zwicky. “It’s one thing to buy the horse but you never know, he was just a baby and we could have been back here selling him for €100,000. But this family [Anna Sundstrom and her daughters] are amazing. It’s so special to see how they interact with him and how he behaves, he has the most amazing temperament.”
There were tears of joy and relief, as well as some sadness, at the sale of a such a special animal who had clearly earned a place in the family’s affections and that of Weiste and Christensen, who will be returning to Goffs for the foal sale.
Million in mind for Murtagh
Car parks around Kildare Paddocks were packed from early morning and the grounds hummed with the business of selling Ireland’s best yearlings.
At least some of the anticipation around the sales ground was generated by the Goffs Million (7f) and plenty of the big-spending buyers expressed the hope that their particular purchase would be suitable for the €1 million event at the Curragh next September.
That was certainly the hope of Johnny Murtagh who, along with Eddie Linehan of Lackendarra Stables, struck early for the daughter of Kingman (Invincible Spirit) and the dual 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) heroine Finsceal Beo (Mr. Greeley) at €500,000 (approx. AU$805,000).
“She’s a nice filly for a new syndicate in the yard and hopefully she’s one for the Goffs Million,” said the trainer.
McPeek on the mark
Volumes have been filled with superlatives describing the exploits of Galileo over the past two decades but like so many European acts, breaking the US market has proven rather more difficult than conquering the rest of the world.
However, as the final crops of the legendary champion come onto the market there remain opportunities for Galileo to create a legacy on the other side of the Atlantic.
For leading US trainer Kenny McPeek and his wife Sherri, who were attending their first sale at Goffs, the opportunity to purchase a son of Galileo and attempt to conquer America with him was one that was not to be missed as they outbid Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock for a colt at €440,000 (approx. AU$708,560).
The youngster was offered by Luke Barry’s Manister House Stud and is the second foal out of Pocketfullofdreams (Invincible Spirit) , who was second in the Salsabil Stakes (Listed, 1m 2f) and Lingfield Oaks Trial (Listed, 1m 2f) for Aidan O’Brien.
She was bought by Phoenix Thoroughbreds for 1,000,000gns while carrying this colt’s year-older brother and this yearling’s six-figure price tag went some way to recouping her purchase price.
“Keeneland ran out of yearlings so we had to cross the pond!” smiled the successful bidder. ”My wife and I worked the ground and thought he was a beautiful horse, and there aren’t many of them [Galileo yearlings] left.
“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.”
McPeek brought together four of his owners to invest in the Galileo colt and is hoping to leave the country with more than one yearling bought to make it a successful first foray into the Irish bloodstock market.
“I thought the price was very reasonable,” he continued. “I’m fortunate that I have a really great group of clientele, I reached out to several and we have four that we put in together and I thought it was ideal. There are a few more tomorrow that we are going to look at before touring around and visiting our grandchildren.”
Al Shira’aa Farms snaps up siblings to Mother Earth and Poetic Flare
Half-sisters to this year’s Classic scorers Mother Earth (Deep Impact) and Poetic Flare came under hammer within around ten minutes of one another during day one of the Goffs Orby Sale and both fillies were knocked down to representatives of Abu Dhabi-based operation Al Shira’aa Farm.
First up came the Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) half-sister to English 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) heroine Mother Earth, who went the way of Kieran Lalor of Al Shira’aa Farms and Meadow Court Stud at €230,000 (approx. AU$370,400).
The filly is out of the Listed-winning Many Colours (Green Desert), who joined the Wallace family’s Grenane House Stud broodmare band at a cost of €50,000, and is a sibling to the Group 2 scorer Night Colours. Mother Earth, who cost MV Magnier €150,000 at the 2019 Orby, and her Sioux Nation half-sister were both consigned by Whitehall Stud.
Just two lots later the US Navy Flag (War Front) half-sister to Poetic Flare came under the hammer and was knocked down to David Cox at €220,000 (approx. AU$354,280).
“They want to have Group 1 pedigrees and it’s a great opportunity to buy a really lovely filly with such a good page and hopefully she’s lucky for them,” said Cox, in reference to Al Shira’aa Farms. “They have a lot of horses in training in France and have some in Ireland too, so there are lots of options for her.”
While Poetic Flare was famously bred by Jim Bolger before being sent out to win the 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes for the master of Coolcullen, his US Navy Flag half-sister was bred and sold by Clare Castle Stud after the Tipperary farm acquired the dam, Maria Lee (Rock Of Gibraltar), through Cormac McCormack at a cost of €65,000 in 2018.
The two fillies became the most expensive members of the respective debut crops of Sioux Nation and US Navy Flag.
The return of the Orby Sale to its rightful home also brought a return to the kind of results that the auction has become accustomed to posting.
Tuesday’s strength was demonstrated by an impressive clearance rate of 92 per cent while all the other vital statistics rebounded from last year with the aggregate leaping by 52 points to €19,574,500 (approx. AU$31.52m).
Both the median and average figures jumped from those of 12 months ago with the average improving by 37 per cent to €104,120 (approx. AU$167,670) while the median increased to €75,000 (approx. AU$120,780), a jump of 36 per cent on 2020 and back to the same figure posted on the opening day of the 2019 Orby.