Goffs Orby Off to Solid Start

By Martin Stevens

Courtesy of Racing Post

A diverse buying bench fighting over some impeccably bred offerings ensured the average and median prices at the Sept. 27 opening session of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale both increased by 8% from last year.

Transactions included the first purchase at a European yearling auction of 2016 in the name of Godolphin chief executive John Ferguson, usually a prolific feature on buyers' lists but notable by its absence in recent weeks.

Ferguson struck at €500,000 (US$560,850) for an Invincible Spirit brother to last month's Prestige Stakes second Promising, bred and consigned by the Irish National Stud.

Godolphin has been pruning its bloodstock interests this year, although Ferguson did sign for five yearlings worth $2,245,000 at Keeneland this month.

In most demand on the day was a Galileo sister to Dubai Fillies' Mile (Eng-I) heroine Together Forever and half sister to Prix Jean Prat (Fr-I) winner Lord Shanakill, offered by Ballylinch Stud on behalf of breeders Vimal and Gillian Khosla, who have mined gold with the dam, the 14-year-old Theatrical mare Green Room.

Two bidders who had previously dug deep for offspring of the mare at the Orby Sale crossed swords for the filly.

Amanda Skiffington—standing with Fiona Carmichael and Ian Jennings, the team that bought Green Room's as-yet unraced 3-year-old Sea The Stars filly Signe for €1.1 million two years ago—tried hard to get the filly but she was unable to resist a determined M.V. Magnier of Coolmore, who had previously purchased Together Forever at €680,000 in 2013 before campaigning her to group I victory.

Magnier had to go to €900,000 ($1,009,530) to have the final say on the Galileo filly, and took the chance after signing the docket to sing the praises of Coolmore's superstar stallion.

"It seems that with anything regarding Galileo, you can't go wrong," he said. "Whether it's seven-furlong horses or Derby types, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds or older horses, he gets them all. And as a broodmare sire he seems to work with anything."

A colt who was the sole yearling in the catalog from the penultimate crop of the late Scat Daddy—the sire of this year's standout 2-year-olds Caravaggio and Lady Aurelia—was the subject of an international bidding duel, with Form Bloodstock's Jehan Malherbe, acting on behalf of South African Mary Slack, seeing off US agent Justin Casse, standing with Justin Zayat of American Pharoah fame, with a bid of €480,000 ($538,420).

"He's a very good-looking colt by a very good sire," reported Malherbe. "We like Scat Daddy a lot as a stallion. He'll go to Mike De Kock."

The colt, out of the Listed-placed Exceed And Excel mare Excelente, played his part in a good day at the office for vendor Camas Park Stud.

Zayat later came away with a High Chaparral half sister to U.S. grade II winner Noble Stella and Cheltenham Festival scorer Noble Prince from Whitehall Stud, who cost €340,000 ($381,380).

The clearance rate in the opening session stood at a healthy 84%, while turnover of €20,547,000 ($23,047,570) represented a year-on-year increase of 5%. The average was €109,877 ($123,250) and the median €70,000 ($78,520). 

The Orby Sale continues tomorrow at 10 a.m. and includes the yearlings from the Wildenstein Stables Ltd Dispersal Sale (Lots 455-472). Horses in training from the Wildenstein Dispersal will be offered immediately following the yearling portion of the sale.

For more European racing, sales, and bloodstock news visit RacingPost.com.