Goffs

One year on from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, each and every individual in the racing and bloodstock realms has been faced with decisions they never wanted to, or dreamed they would have to, make. Those sentiments certainly ring true for the board and management team at Goffs. Faced with enduring national lockdowns and quarantine measures far more strict than those experienced by its competitors and clientele across borders, the Irish auction house found itself constantly returning to the drawing board throughout 2020 and into 2021. A measure of...

Goffs has 68 confirmed entries for its Online March Sale on Mar. 24, including three horses with entries for the Randox Grand National on Apr. 10. The sale will be a timed auction, meaning there will be no auctioneer and bidding on each lot will close in accordance with the times noted on their catalogue pages. The three Grand National entries to be offered are the multiple graded winner Alpha Des Obeaux (Fr) (Saddler Maker {Ire}) (lot 47); the G1 Ryanair Chase winner Balko Des Flos (Fr) (Balko {Fr}) (lot...

Holding a Thoroughbred auction during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been without its challenges, and the Goffs February Sale has faced more than most. First, the sale was split into two parts, and the Mar. 2 Part II was re-scheduled for Mar. 11, but as Irish coronavirus restrictions were extended, Goffs had no choice but to move Part II online. Goffs and vendors alike can take heart from the fact that the live online format has achieved some notable results this season, and there are 84 National Hunt and Flat...

The second part of the Goffs February Sale, which had been delayed until March 11 in the hope that it could be held as normal, will now be conducted as a live online sale in light of ongoing Covid restrictions in Ireland. This section of the sale is for weanlings only, with broodmares and horses in training having been auctioned online during the sale's original dates of Feb. 9 and 10.  On Tuesday, Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that the country would remain in lockdown under Level 5 restrictions until...

Goffs Bloodstock Director Ronan Griffin will leave the sales company on Mar. 22 after overseeing the end of the 2021 Goffs Land Rover Sale inspections. Griffin, who joined Goffs in June 2000 as a bloodstock assistant, has spent 20 years with the company. Part of the Board of Goffs Bloodstock Sales, Ltd. since 2008, he was promoted to bloodstock director in 2011. As part of his role, he oversaw veterinary matters, including representing Goffs on the Industry Drugs Task Force, inspection teams and post-sale issues for the sales company. "Ronan...

Following on from the Goffs UK Online January Sale, which sold horses for up to £300,000 in the timed online format, Goffs will host a new Online March Sale on Mar. 24 in the same fashion. The sale will largely focus on horses in training but will also be open to breeding stock, and entries can be made through the Goffs UK website. The sale will be conducted in pounds sterling. Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, "The Goffs Online platform has proved a key addition to our service...

Goffs kicks off its 2021 sales season on Tuesday and Wednesday with Part I of its February Sale. Prevailing unprecedented circumstances mean that the mixed sale of yearlings, 2-year-old, fillies and mares and horses in training will take place as a live online auction, with no horses, vendors or purchasers on the grounds at Kildare Paddocks. COVID-19 safety measures late last year meant that Goffs staged its Autumn Horses-In-Training and Yearling sales in the live online format, and the positive results spoke to the resilience of the bloodstock market as...

Goffs has received planning permission to build a 50-bed equine-themed hotel on land adjacent to its sales complex in Co Kildare, Ireland. The project is being developed by Goffs in partnership with Kildare Hotel Opportunities, owned by hoteliers Eoin Doyle and Ray Byrne. Goffs chairman Eimear Mulhern said, "We are delighted that Kildare Hotel Opportunities will develop this exciting new facility at Goffs. This development will enhance the world class facilities at Kildare Paddocks and will be of enormous benefit to national and international Goffs clients, enabling them to avail...

A total of 15 horses have been added to the Goffs February Sale Part 1, the sales company announced on Tuesday. The live online sale will take place on Feb. 9-10 at noon each day. The first session offers 2-year-olds, horses-in-training, and older horses, while the second day features breeding stock. Of the eight 2-year-olds that have been added to the sale, one of the highlights is a colt by Starspangledbanner (Aus) (lot 72A) from the family of Group 1 winners Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) and Gordon Lord Byron...

After a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Goffs will stage its London Sale on June 14, on the eve of Royal Ascot. A format and location for the boutique horses-in-training and breeding stock sale will be announced early in the flat season. "Our intention is to hold the London Sale on its scheduled date at the start of Royal Ascot week," said Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby. "Covid restrictions look set to continue further into 2021, and while it is hoped that the vaccine rollout and...

The catalogues for Parts 1 and 2 of the Goffs February Sale are online. Part 1 of the sale will take place as a virtual live auction on Feb. 9 and 10, with 253 lots catalogued. The first day of the sale comprises 89 2-year-olds by the likes of Australia (GB), Belardo (Ire), Churchill (Ire), Dandy Man (Ire), Decorated Knight (GB), Footstepsinthesand (GB), Make Believe (GB), Mehmas (Ire), New Bay (GB), Oasis Dream (GB), Starspangledbanner (Aus), and Zoffany (Ire), followed by a draft of older horses, including entries from the...

Following the latest COVID-19 lockdowns in Ireland and the UK, several changes to the winter sales at Kildare Paddocks and Doncaster were confirmed by Goffs on Tuesday. The Goffs February Sale was divided into a virtual sale for breeding stock, older horses, and juveniles on Feb. 9-10 and a physical sale for weanlings on Mar. 2 at Kildare Paddocks. The Goffs UK Doncaster January Sale had also been separated into two sections as well, with National Hunt mares and horses-in-training to go under the hammer online on Jan. 26. The...