'Highs And Lows' At Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale

Unbroken blue skies over Doncaster's Town Moor provided an uplifting backdrop to the first breeze-up sale to be conducted under the Goffs UK banner but the sunny mood didn't quite translate to the sales ring, where the trade fell behind the strong pace set in the last few years. Two Kodiac (GB) (Danehill) colts shared the day's leading honours at £170,000, not far short of last year's top price of £185,000, but a drop in the median, which was down by 27% at £22,000, and a 14% reduction in average to £32,803 backed up the fairly downbeat moods of a number of vendors. The figure of 149 offered was up by just two horses on last year, but with only 108 juveniles changing hands, the clearance rate dropped to 72% from 88%, with turnover down to £3,542,000 from £4,995,500.

“Today has been a day of highs and lows,” was the philosophical response from Managing Director Henry Beeby, who conceded that Goffs UK would regroup at the end of the breeze-up season to address the fall in trade. He continued, “The highs have been some excellent results for a number of 2-year-olds headed by a number of six-figure lots. However, it would be churlish of us not to recognise that trade has been mixed in parts and really quite challenging in the lower echelons of this specialist market which has been graphically reflected in the sale statistics.”

The Cool Silk Partnership spent £330,000 on three juveniles at this sale last year and they made their presence felt again when, acting through Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock, they bought another trio of breezers for £285,000. Among them was the co-sale topper lot 45, a son of Kodiac out of three-time winner Esuvia (Ire) (Whipper), a half-sister to Group 3-winning sprinter Resplendent Glory (Ire) (Namid {GB}). Peter Swann, who races under the Cool Silk name with Barbara Wilkinson, commented, “We've had a lot of success buying from this sale and we've seen about six that we really like. You know what you're getting with Kodiac – they get on with it and they're ready to do the job. We have another by him, Sign Of The Kodiac (Ire), who was only just beaten in the All-Weather Championships and is rated 96.”

Swann added that the partners have 24 horses in training, roughly half of which are 2-year-olds. He said, “This colt is to go to Robert Cowell, who now has four in training for us, and the Choisir we bought earlier will be trained by James Given.” The colt was offered by Con Marnane's Bansha House Stables, which sold three 2-year-olds for a total of £231,000.

Not to be outdone, Tally-Ho Stud brought a Kodiac colt lot 55 to the ring just ten lots later to match the £170,000 top price of the day. The first foal of the Red Clubs (Ire) mare Good Clodora (Ire), who was bought by the O'Callaghans for just 7,000gns at Tattersalls in 2011, the colt will be trained by John Gosden after being secured by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock for an undisclosed client.

“I was told to buy a sharp colt with a bit of class and Roger O'Callaghan has been raving about this horse for a while now,” offered Brown. “I've been lucky buying from Roger in the past–all three I've bought today are from Tally-Ho–and this colt did an extremely good breeze. He's by a top sire of 2-year-olds and has a proper pedigree.” That good pedigree includes Good Clodora's half-sister Ruby Rocket (Ire) (Indian Rocket {GB}), who was no slouch herself winning two listed sprints, but her achievements on the track have been surpassed by her son Maarek (GB) (Green Desert), who counts the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye among his 13 victories

Angie Bailey and Pete Tingy have already raced the stakes winners Bogart (GB) and Astaire (Ire) so their most recent acquisition may well be in line for a movie-star name of his own. That colt is lot 139, Lynn Lodge Stud's Mizzen Mast half-brother to G2 Lancashire Oaks winner and G1 Prix Vermeille runner-up Pomology (Arch), who was bought through Stephen Hillen for £155,000. The agent said, “I'd say he'll go at least a mile in time. He's not really a typical breeze-up horse. Pete and Angie sadly lost their Group 1 winner Astaire to colic last year so they were looking for a horse to replace him and this colt will also be trained Kevin Ryan.” He continued, “We went a little bit over budget to get him but sometimes you have to stretch for the ones you really want.”

Ryan will also train lot 100, a Kodiac filly out of dual winner Mimiteh (Maria's Mon)–a half-sister to G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Rosdhu Queen (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire})–who was bought on spec by the trainer at £120,000 from Brendan Holland's draft. The familiar names of Bansha House, Mocklershill, Lynn Lodge, Tally-Ho and Grove Stud peppered the leader board as usual but a less well known operation, Ireland's Fairgreen Stables, was responsible for the most expensive filly of the sale, a daughter of Sidney's Candy, lot 137, who sold to David O'Meara for £150,000. Twice a visitor to a Keeneland Sale in 2015, the half-sister to Poker Night S. winner Cuvee Uncorked (Cuvee) was a $62,000 January yearling before leaving the ring unsold at $17,000 in September. Vendor Justin Rea, who is based in Co. Meath, clearly worked his magic on the late April filly to have her spot on for a speedy breeze on Tuesday.

He said, “There hasn't really been an update or anything, she's just really come together. She's a nice filly and her breeze was really good. I do a bit of pinhooking with a couple of friends at home and have three more to sell at Tattersalls next week.” Newmarket-based George Scott is in his first season with a training licence having previously assisted Michael Bell and Lady Cecil. He already has one exciting prospect in his yard in the form of Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar's QIPCO 1000 Guineas contender Shaden (Ire) (Kodiac {Ire}) and the young trainer was delighted to be taking home lot 53, a colt by Showcasing (GB) to his Saffron Stables. Punching the air as the hammer dropped in favour of his bloodstock agent Alex Elliott at £140,000, Scott later said, “He's for a new client. We banged our heads against the wall a bit last week at Tattersalls as we didn't manage to buy anything but everything happens for a reason.” Elliott added, “We loved this horse as a yearling but we didn't have anyone to buy him. I saw him again a few weeks ago in Ireland and he came very highly recommended by Willie [Browne]. Things didn't actually go quite right for him in the breeze but we loved him and were determined to get him.” Offered by Mocklershill, the bay colt is out of the winning Averti (GB) mare Fuschia (GB), the dam of multiple winners Tweet Lady (GB) (Royal Applause {GB}) and Tesaurus (GB) (Aqlaam {GB}).

Bushranger (Ire) is currently enjoying a purple patch, with a 26% winning strike-rate for all his runners and the top slot in the British and Irish two-year-old sires' table by earnings from his three winners at this early stage of the season. David Redvers was coaxed to £88,000 for his well-related daughter from the Tally-Ho draft, lot 128, whose dam Refuse To Give (Ire) (Refuse To Bend {Ire}) is a half-sister to Independence (GB) (Selkirk), the Group 2-winning dam of multiple Group 1 victor Mount Nelson (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}). The page enjoyed an update just two days ago when Refuse To Give's daughter Zebedaios (Ire) (Zebedee {Ire}) won on debut for Brian Ellison at Pontefract. Her only other foal of racing age is the 4-year-old Snap Shots (Ire) (Kodiac {Ire}), who won twice at two and was fourth in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot.

Tally-Ho Stud ended the day as leading vendor with 14 lots sold reaping a total of £619,500. Concluding his appraisal of the day, Henry Beeby added, “Of course the Doncaster Breeze-up has been a trailblazer for many years and our successes have forced others to play catch-up but it will be important that we review the sale in the context of the complete market in a month or so, taking into account the feedback from every quarteras there are always things we can do better.

“For now, we extend our thanks to our professional band of vendors who have, yet again, brought an excellent bunch of potential winners to Doncaster, and to every purchaser for their support.”