'Breathtaking' Edition of Goffs November Concludes

Nov. 20 may have been the final day of the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale, but the appetite for fillies and mares that had driven demand during the opening session showed no signs of being sated. 

While the allure of the new always turns heads at sales, there is nothing quite like the tried and trusted source of success and quality to set buyers' pulses racing, and when it comes to broodmares there are few sires who have the cachet of Galileo and even fewer pedigrees that can offer the added enticement of inbreeding to his granddam Allegretta.

Baroda Stud consigned one such gem at Goffs in the shape of Loyal (Lot 1406), a 3-year-old daughter of the breed-shaping sire and who features Allegretta 2 x 4 in her pedigree, and she duly sparked a bidding war that was won by John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud.

"Her dam is a lovely young mare (Chartreuse ) and her sister in America (Expand the Map ) has been second in a very good Saratoga maiden on her only start, so with a little bit of luck she'll go on," said O'Connor after signing for Loyal at €280,000 (US$316,878).

That form ties in with the best displayed by any 2-year-old filly in the United States this year as the winner of the July 22 maiden was none other than Pizza Bianca , who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) and was also second in the Natalma Stakes (G1T). Expand the Map is by Dark Angel  and is in training with Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables.

Loyal is the first foal out of Chartreuse, a daughter of Lawman , and could eventually be joined in the broodmare band by some more siblings by kings of the stallion ranks.

"We have retained a Dubawi  filly out of her and she has a Lope de Vega  filly foal so there could be a lot to happen in this pedigree," added O'Connor. 

The fact that Loyal did not manage to live up to the expectations created by her lofty pedigree on the track does not necessarily preclude success in her second career and, as a daughter of Galileo, the potential for paddocks success remains.

O'Connor said: "Everybody knows how good he is as a broodmare sire and some of his daughters who didn't perform on the track have gone on to be good broodmares. It could all still happen for her in the next few years and we'll observe with interest what happens around the family."

The Aga Khan Studs' draft reliably provides purchasers with a rich seam to mine and Saturday's offerings were no different, with eight fillies from some of the Aga Khan's famous families going under the hammer.

The most expensive of them proved to be the unraced 3-year-old Dark Angel filly Rayagara (Lot 1349). She is a daughter of Debutante Stakes (G2) winner Raydara , a Rock of Gibraltar  mare, and was bought by BBA Ireland for €80,000 ($90,536). 

Richie Fitzsimons, who signed the docket, said: "She's to go to Kodi Bear ; Mystery Angel , who was second in the Oaks (G1), is out of a Dark Angel mare so the cross is an exciting one. She's a nice filly and the mare has already produced a group 3-placed filly rated 96 with her first runner and was a group 2 winner at 2 herself."

The sale recorded the highest top price for the session in 15 years and an extraordinary two days of trade ended with turnover increasing by 196% to €16,219,300 ($18,355,500). Both the average and median figures posted significant gains with the former improving by 38% to €43,718 ($49,476) and the latter up 26 points to €17,000 ($19,239).

Goffs Group chief executive Henry Beeby revealed that even though the caliber of the catalog was of the highest class, the Goffs team was still surprised by the level of trade witnessed over the course of the sale.

"We knew that we had assembled the best catalog for many years as so many major breeding entities had drafts of note but the tempo, enthusiasm, and hunger to buy was just breathtaking as a huge cast of international buyers, both in person and online, battled for mare after mare to highlight the enduring attraction of the best Irish bloodlines," he said.

"The class of 2021 will disperse around the globe as international breeders tap into the class and quality that was offered whilst it was also heartening to see so many local stud farms investing in the future."

Over the six days of the November Sale a total of €41,827,300 ($47,336,300) of foals, fillies, and mares were sold, marking an incredible 81% increase over the aggregate recorded in 2020.

The average price of €37,819 ($42,800) was a gain of 7.4% on last year's figure while the median was up 11% to €20,000 ($22,634). The strength of trade was reflected in an improved clearance rate of 82%.