Confidence High as Orby Sale Begins
by Emma Berry
If Henry Beeby and his team are seeking omens ahead of the start of Goffs’ Orby Sale, then warm sunshine in Kildare and a facile Group 2 victory for last year’s €2.85-million sale-topper, Ol’ Man River (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), on Sunday can be considered to be two major positives.
Beeby is a man for whom focusing on the positive comes as second nature and his spirits have naturally been buoyed by the colt’s unbeaten record thus far.
“If ever there was a horse who sums us up, it’s him,” said the Goffs chief executive. “He encapsulates what the Orby is all about–he’s a beautiful, well-bred horse who is living up to all expectations.”
Last year’s Orby Sale posted a 28% gain in aggregate and an average price just in excess of €100,000, so the 2014 renewal has plenty to live up to, but with a high number of potential buyers from around the globe roaming Kildare Paddocks on Monday ahead of trade commencing, Beeby is confident of another decent performance from his company’s flagship auction.
“We’ve built up a great international client base and it’s good to see so many buyers here from Australia, Hong Kong, America, the Far East and Middle East, as well as our regular stalwart clients,” Beeby said. “The teams from Darley and Coolmore are out in force and Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Fahad are here in person. I believe in the catalogue we’ve put together as I’ve seen a great chunk of the horses in it, but it’s encouraging that we’re getting such positive feedback from the buyers who are here.”
He added: “We’re now getting some of the best horses from the major commercial Irish breeders and that’s a great vindication of the success of the last couple of years. We were offered 500 more yearlings this year, but we were strict on keeping to the same numbers as last year and focusing on quality.”
Michael Ryan’s Al Eile Stud provided the 2013 Orby topper, a son of the late Montjeu out of their dual Classic winner Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley), whose genes alone provide him with every right to take up a position at stud in the future. Now unbeaten in two starts, including Sunday’s G2 Beresford S. at The Curragh, the appeal of the Aidan O’Brien trainee has grown further still and he is now second favourite for next year’s G1 Epsom Derby behind his stablemate, the equally regally bred John F Kennedy (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). In a further boost for the farm and for the mare, 3-year-old Too the Stars (Ire), Finsceal Beo’s filly by Sea the Stars (Ire) who was sold for €800,000 at the Goffs November Sale of 2011, broke her maiden at Epsom on Sunday for owner George Strawbridge to provide a notable family double.
“It was a thrill to see Ol’ Man River win as he did, and of course Too the Stars made it a lovely day for the mare,” said Ryan, who is selling a yearling colt by Sea the Stars from the family of Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sagamix (Fr) and Oaks runner-up Secret Gesture (GB) as lot 394 Wednesday.
Finsceal Beo, the star of the Co. Waterford-based operation’s 21-strong broodmare band, is not represented at the Orby Sale, as her yearling filly by Galileo has been retained. Earlier this year, she produced a filly foal by Frankel (GB).
Along with more established sires, 10 freshmen are represented in the Orby Sale, with Canford Cliffs (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) leading numerically with 20 yearlings catalogued. His fellow Coolmore resident Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) has 14, and the list is completed by Lilbourne Lad (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) with 10, Zoffany (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) (9), Roderic O’Connor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (7), Cape Blanco (Ire) {Ire}) (4), Poet’s Voice (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) (4), Frozen Power (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) (2) and the American-based duo of Haynesfield (Speightstown) and Paddy O’Prado (El Prado {Ire}), each of whom has one catalogued.
The Tinnakill House draft, which includes a Teofilo (Ire) half-sister to G1 Racing Post Trophy winner and young Darley sire Casamento (Ire) (Shamardal) (lot 104), also features the sole offering by Tiznow in the Orby Sale (lot 387), a strong, dark brown colt out of the French listed winner Mousse Au Chocolat (Hennessy).
“We bought the mare carrying him at Keeneland and we couldn’t be happier with him,” said Tinnakill House owner Dermot Cantillon. “It’s always slightly nerve-wracking counting down the last few hours going into a sale, but we’re pleased with our draft and there seems to be plenty of people here looking.”
Another lone-ranger representative of a top-drawer American sire is Voute Sales’ colt by Kitten’s Joy (lot 47), a brother to the stakes-placed Sneaky Kitten, who is being offered on behalf of his breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey.
“I went over to see Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey earlier in the year and we discussed the idea of selling one or two really nice yearlings by Kitten’s Joy in Europe in order to promote the stallion and increase his number of runners here,” explained Ted Voute, who also offers a colt by the Ramsey Farm resident during Book 1 of Tattersalls’ October Sale next week.
The two-day Goffs Orby Sale starts today at 10 a.m. local time and is followed on Thursday by the single-session Sportman’s Sale.