Ladies Church Lights Up Sales Ring at Goffs

Ladies Church  was an obvious contender for top lot honors at the Nov. 18 Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale and the group 2 winner lived up to her headline billing when the hammer fell in Dermot Farrington’s favor at €970,000 (US$1,005,414).

Less clear was whose silks the high-class filly would be seen sporting next, as the agent was unable to reveal the identity of the client for whom he was acting on behalf, simply saying: “She’ll stay in training, more than likely with the same trainer.”

That trainer is Johnny Murtagh, whose Fox Covert Stables consigned the filly on behalf of owner Mark Dobbin. Murtagh won three races with Ladies Church, including a Tipperary maiden and the listed Arqana Irish E.B.F. Marwell Stakes at age 2 before she took the step up to group 2 company at 3 when landing the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh. She was last seen finishing 17th in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Flying Five Stakes (G1).

The 3-year-old daughter of Churchill  was bred by Dukes Stud and Overbury Stallions from the Rio De La Plata  mare Rioticism , whose own racing days included success in the listed Prix Des Reves D'Or - Jacques Bouchara.

Ladies Church was making her third appearance at public auction, having been pinhooked as a foal by Mags O’Toole at 62,000 guineas ($84,051) before Murtagh and Peter Nolan went to £160,000 ($206,786) for the youngster at the 2020 Goffs Orby Sale, which was held in Doncaster. She also appeared at the Goffs London Sale back in June but was unsold at £700,000 ($862,282).

The session saw 201 fillies and mares sell for a clearance rate of 83%. That brought turnover of €16,525,500 ($17,066,643), which was up 19% on year, an average of €82,216 ($85,333), a 16% rise, and a median of €42,100 ($43,533), which was an increase of 40%.

Yulong Get Lucky for Vega Syndicate

There have been some historic bidding battles at past editions of the November Breeding Stock Sale, but the marathon duel that saw Aspiring bring €790,000 ($818,843)  midway through Friday’s session was very much one for the digital age.

The unraced 4-year-old, a Galileo half sister to the champion Danedream , caught the attention of Mark McStay, sitting against the back wall to the right of the rostrum, and BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe, who was bidding online from his table in the Balcony Restaurant just beyond the auditorium.

Auctioneer Henry Beeby received an opening bid of €100,000 but from there on the price merely inched upwards, with increases coming in €5,000 and €10,000 increments deep into six-figure territory.

At €580,000 McStay tried to up the ante by signaling a raise to €600,000, but the brakes were soon applied by his online opponent. McStay tried the same tactic at €680,000 but was met with the same response, and it was around this point in the protracted bidding battle that Beeby quipped: “We’re going to break a record here, but not the one I want.”

It wasn’t until Donohoe struck the final €10,000 raise to push the price to €790,000 that the deal was done.

“Isn’t technology wonderful?” Beeby remarked shortly after bringing the gavel down.

The Baroda Stud-consigned Aspiring was bred by Coolmore and offered in foal to the operation’s resident Wootton Bassett . She is set to form part of the blue-chip book bound for Lucky Vega  in 2023, having been sourced on behalf of Yuesheng Zhang of Yulong Investments.

It was in Zhang’s familiar green and white colors that Lucky Vega won the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes (G1) before retiring to the Irish National Stud for the 2022 season, where he covered a debut book consisting of 152 mares.

“I thought she was a lovely physical, she has a great cover, and she’s from a fantastic family,” said Donohoe. “She’s going to go to Lucky Vega. Mr. Zhang is doubling down on his support this year by buying some select mares. He sent 30 mares to him last season, and he’ll probably send the same number next year but is going to up the quality on the strength of what he’s seen from his foals on the ground in Australia.”

Donohoe and Yulong made 19 purchases totaling €5,625,000 ($5,824,744) with Aspiring joined by the €530,000 ($549,350) Bocca Baciata , the €520,000 ($538,985) Surely and the €500,000 ($518,255) Albula . The haul accounted for 34% of turnover and 9% of sold lots.

Bocca Baciata’s racing career was capped by victory in the Kilboy Estate Stakes (G2), while her third foal since retiring to the paddocks is the promising 2-year-old Foniska, who was last seen winning a Thurles maiden by two lengths. Bocca Baciata, a daughter of Big Bad Bob, was bought by the Niarchos family for €230,000 ($311,098) in 2013.

“Bocca Baciata is another for Lucky Vega,” said Donohoe. “Obviously Mr. Zhang has horses in training with Jessie (Harrington) and she trained her, so she recommended the mare to him. Jessie is high on the 2-year-old sister that she trains too. He actually bought Lucky Vega’s sister as well. It’s undecided where she’ll go next year, but she’ll go to stud in Ireland.”                

The 4-year-old Surely failed to cut much ice on her sole racecourse start, but she is backed up by a deep pedigree as she is out of Boylesports.com Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1) and Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) heroine Again , which makes her a sibling to the listed-winning Delphinia  and Indian Maharaja . Like Aspiring, she was offered in foal to Wootton Bassett . She was presented by The Castlebridge Consignment.

The 3-year-old Albula is another by Galileo and is out of the Australian-bred Dawn Wall , winner of the Kembla Grange Classic (G3). Albula ran four times for Joseph O’Brien and owners the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Stables Ireland, Demi O’Byrne and Sue Magnier. The filly won a Naas maiden on her debut before finishing second to subsequent Irish Oaks (G1) heroine Magical Lagoon  in the Manguard Plus E.B.F. Flame Of Tara Stakes (G3).

The spree continued late into the evening when Grenane House Stud’s Pleasant Dreams sold for €630,000 ($653,001), carrying to Starspangledbanner  and Eaves, another in foal to Wootton Bassett, brought €600,000 ($621,906).