Australia Day At Goffs

The dual Derby winner Australia (GB) had been the recipient of many favourable comments throughout the yearling sales and the buzz has continued through to his second crop of foals, which included Tuesday's session topper at Goffs. The colt (lot 430), offered by Garranlea Stud, was bred in partnership by Eddie Irwin of Rockhart Trading and the China Horse Club and ended up bringing a price far exceeding the €150,000 paid for the top lot on the equivalent day of last year's foal sale, when Philipp Stauffenberg placed the successful bid of €260,000.

The April-born colt's sale was the second good result commercially in a matter of months for the Marlhill House Stud resident Thai Haku (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), whose yearling colt by the same sire was bought for 380,000gns during Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale.

Bought for a new client of Stauffenberg's who is most likely to race him, he is a half-brother to the 2-year-old filly Sarrocchi (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a recent winner on debut for Aidan O'Brien.

The same breeders and vendor were responsible for the second-top lot of the day (lot 489), this colt the son of another dual Classic winner. The first foal of English and Irish 2000 Guineas winner Gleneagles (Ire) to be offered at public auction elicited a bid of €150,000 from Flash Conroy of Glenvale Stud, who said, “The stallion is very exciting and he's getting very nice horses. They're well-balanced and have quality and I'm very happy to get him.”

The colt's dam, Convocate, a Juddmonte-bred daughter of Exchange Rate who was bought by Marhill House Stud and China Horse Club for 310,000gns at Tattersalls December Sale three years ago, has a 2-year-old by Camelot (GB) as well as an Australia yearling and was covered this year by Galileo (Ire).

Strong Trade Continues…

As predicted, the prices rose significantly during the second session of the Goffs November Foal Sale, which, after a rejig in format, correlates to day four at last year's sale and, following a promising opener, again showed decent improvement.

On Tuesday, 182 of the 228 foals offered, or 80%, were marked as sold at a 20% rise in average to €35,452 and a 4% upturn in the median to €27,000. Turnover for the second session was €6,452,200, which was up by 34%.

Alarm Sounds The Right Note…

Various members of the O'Callaghan family were involved in purchases towards the top of the table on day two, with Roger O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud signing for lot 409, a son of the dependable Exceed And Excel (Aus) offered by Baroda & Colbinstown Studs for breeder Townley Hall Bloodstock.

“Mick Flanagan bought the mare for a new client and it's his first venture into breeding,” said consignor David Cox. “He's a good first foal who was born on our farm and the team have done a great job with him. He had plenty of vets and 143 shows.”

The colt is the first foal of Sound The Alarm (GB), an unraced full-sister to Listed European Free H. winner Shifting Power (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) from an extended family which has been responsible for a number of black-type winners in recent seasons, including Ivawood (Ire) (Zebedee {Ire}), Berkshire (Ire) (Mount Nelson {GB}) and this season's G1 Fillies' Mile winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}).

The mare was bought carrying the colt for €50,000 at the same sale last year and is now back in foal to Exceed And Excel.

Son Rising in Ireland…

His sire Dark Angel (Ire) needs no introduction and, though it is very early days in his first foal sale season, the name Gutaifan (Ire) will soon be reaching a much wider audience. The chat around the sales grounds is already being backed up by prices in the ring. Twenty-five of of his foals have changed hands throughout two sessions, returning an average of €41,600 from an initial covering fee of €12,500.

At the head of affairs was a colt foal (lot 352), offered by Ballylinch Stud on behalf of breeder Dubois Holdings and bought by for €120,000 by the shrewd pinhooking team from Yeomanstown Stud, which stands sire and grand sire, both of whom are homebreds.

“Gutaifan has a good bunch of foals here and they're being well received. They're good movers and hopefully they will come back as good yearlings,” said David O'Callaghan after his brother Robert had signed for the son of the unraced Lawman (Fr) mare Oh Sedulous (Ire), a half-sister to the dam of Shirocco (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}). “This colt was the best individual of today regardless of sire. It's a good cross and there's a bit of pedigree behind him.”

Just last weekend, Yeomanstown Stud welcomed the 5-year-old El Kabeir to its stallion wing. The GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. winner is the first son of Scat Daddy to stand in Europe outside the Coolmore banner and is now available for viewing at the farm.

It wasn't just the home team pinning hopes for next year's yearling sales on Gutaifan. Mick Flanagan signed for lot 421, a half-sister to the listed winner Taamol (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) from Skara Stud, for €90,000, while Flash Conroy gave €75,000 for a colt (lot 459) out of Alyaafel (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) from Oghill House Stud.

Banner Purchase For New Syndicate…

Anna Sundstrom and Amy Austin had been underbidders on the Exceed And Excel colt earlier in the session but they didn't have to wait too long to secure the foal they really wanted. Lot 414, by Starspangledbanner (Aus) out of the winning Librettist mare Star Now (GB), was consigned by his breeder Awbeg Stud and ended up being one of seven weanlings on the day to reach six figures when selling for €100,000.

“This was the one,” said Sundstrom, who is best known in France as the head of Coulonces Sales but has teamed up with Austin in a new international venture called High Valley Equine which has already bought foals in America this season.

She continued, “It's not completely decided yet what we'll do with this colt. We may race him. [The consignors] have done a great job with him. He looked amazing and has a great temperament. We'll try on a few more this week and then go on to Tattersalls.”

The duo later went to €68,000 for lot 422, a daughter of Kodiac (GB) out of the winning Montjeu (Ire) mare Surrey Storm (GB) who has already produced a juvenile winner by Dark Angel, Booshbash (Ire), and is herself the daughter of listed winner Dont Dili Dali (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

Holy Orders…

Two sons of Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) proved to be popular early in the session, selling for €120,000 and €105,000 apiece. The former, lot 303, made a splash for Tom and Alexandra Whitehead of Powerstown Stud, who, through their Altenbach Bloodstock banner, sold the half-brother to Group 3-placed Naseem Sea (Ire) (Bahri) to Peter O'Callaghan.

Less than an hour earlier, River Downes Stud's colt out of the Kheleyf mare It's True (lot 287) had become the first six-figure lot of the sale when bought as an intended pinhook by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock for €105,000. The agent had already been impressed by the colt's yearling half-brother by Excelebration (Ire), who sold for £95,000 earlier in the year.

He said, “I loved the half-brother at Doncaster. He's gone to John Gosden so you go in there already with a chance. And obviously this colt is by a very good stallion with international appeal, particularly in Hong Kong.”

New Boys In The Mix…

Twenty young sires have first foals for sale this week at Goffs and a number of them have already made their presence felt with another three days of weanling trade to come.

Darley's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Outstrip (GB) has had three sell so far led by lot 476, the second foal of Cape Mystery (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) sold by Glebe Farm Stables to Franny Woods's Abbeylands Farm for €90,000.

The 6-year-old mare, a sister to Listed John Musker S. winner Cape Amber (Ire), was bought as a 3-year-old for 15,000gns by Federico Barberini for Middleham Park Bloodstock. Her Society Rock (Ire) yearling will be trained in Newmarket by Tom Clover and she was covered this year by Free Eagle (Ire).

Seven foals by Ballylinch Stud's Make Believe (GB) have passed through the ring so far this week for an average of €38,000. Gaelic Bloodstock went to €72,000 for lot 408, a half-sister to two black-type earning multiple winners in Archers Road (Ire) (Titus Livius {Fr}) and One Word More (Ire) (Thousand Words {GB}), and the dam, Somoushe (Ire) (Black Minnaloushe) returned to Make Believe this season.

Two fillies by another Classic-winning son of Dubawi (Ire), Night Of Thunder (Ire), secured returns of of €65,000 (lot 137) and €62,000 (lot 329) respectively, while Highclere Stud's Cable Bay (Ire) made a first-day splash when lot 221 from Norelands Stud was pinhooked by Tally-Ho Stud for €75,000 and Ballyredding & Kellsgrange Studs' lot 274 brought €30,000 from JC Bloodstock. Those good sales were followed on Tuesday by another colt selling for €40,000 (lot 331). Cable Bay, who stood his first season for £6,500, has had seven foals sell for an average of €28,833.

Trade resumes today at Goffs at 10 a.m. local time with a session of select foals which will then be followed by two days of breeding stock before a final two sessions of foals are offered over the weekend.