AS expected the Cheltenham Festival heroine Shattered Love emerged as the star of the show when selling for €260,000 to head the third and concluding session of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale on Thursday.
After expanding from two days to three this year the sale posted a solid and satisfactory set of final figures.
At its conclusion the sale posted an aggregate of just over €7 million which was a 37-point progression on last year.
The average of €16,136 was marginally ahead of 2020 while the €10,000 median held steady. The overall clearance rate dropped from 71% to 66% but overall this represented a highly satisfactory end to a year to remember for Goffs.
Gigginstown mares
In recent years this sale has played host to some fantastic breeding prospects offered by Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud with Apple’s Jade, who fetched €530,000 last year, the obvious highlight.
This year’s draft from the leading owner looked a particularly strong one but the obvious jewel in the crown was Shattered Love whose distinguished career with Gordon Elliott yielded seven blacktype victories of which two came at Grade 1 level and the second of these was achieved on the greatest stage of all in the JLT Golden Miller Novices Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Allied to her impressive race-record and a strong family, Shattered Love was sold with a coveted Walk In The Park covering and all this promised to make her a breeding prospect of rare value.
That is what played out in the ring as the bidding for her opened at €100,000 before Justin Owens of MA Bloodstock struck the winning bid of €260,000 for the 10-year-old.
“We’re not long living in Mountarmstrong Stud in Donadea [Co Kildare] and we were looking for a really nice mare to start off with and she had it all,” remarked Owens.
“She was a top class racemare for a number of seasons, from a very nice family and she was sold with a good cover too so we’ll look forward to seeing what she produces now.”
Tintangle sale
The multiple graded-placed Tintangle, another daughter of Yeats and sold in foal to Crystal Ocean, was another much admired Gigginstown offering and she was snapped up by Kieran Mariga’s Coolmara Stables for €190,000.
She will further strengthen the Cork farm’s impressive array of breeding stock which also includes recent recruit Magic Of Life.
Another talented representative for Gigginstown and Gordon Elliott was the Grade 3-winning Authorized mare Surin and, in foal to Poet’s Word, she fetched €115,000 after being bought by a combination of Ballylinch Stud and Newtown Anner Stud.
“I like Authorized as an influence so that was a positive for her and she is a Grade 1-placed mare who is only six. She has been bought for an existing partnership between Newtown Anner Stud and Ballylinch Stud to go to Fascinating Rock,” reported Ballylinch’s John O’Connor.
“He will be standing at Burgage Stud in 2022 and our ambition is that he will follow the well-trodden path of Bob Back and Shantou who were hugely successful sires.
"We have a lot of faith in him as a dual purpose sire and we are buying mares to send to him to support him. I have been lucky enough to have been involved with a series of good jumping stallions and I think that Fascinating Rock has all the credentials to be a success,” he added before giving €80,000 for the capable The Sliding Rock several minutes later.
Top foal
The top priced foal on the final day of the sale was an €82,000 son of Walk In The Park for whom Norman Williamson outlasted Dick Frisby. This colt was offered by Baroda Stud and he is a half-brother to a three-times winner from a decent French family.
“The sire is flying at the moment and, if anything, things are only going to get better for him so we were delighted to get this colt,” said Williamson. “He’s a quality sort with lots of action and he had a lot going for him while he’s from a very nice family too. As always with foals like this you’d prefer if he was a little cheaper but the good ones are always hard to buy. He’ll be back as a three-year-old.”
Crystal colts
This was another day in which members of Crystal Ocean’s first crop made a major impact and the various offerings by the Sea The Stars horse where headed by a €75,000 colt from Conna Stud who was knocked down to Mark Dwyer’s Oaks Farm Stables. This colt is out of a half-sister to the Tolworth Novice Hurdle winner Minella Class.
Crystal Ocean was also responsible for a €70,000 colt from The Beeches Stud who was snapped up by Tim Nolan of Jamestown House Stud. Nolan’s purchase is the third produce of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle runner-up Aurore d’Estruval.
“He’s a lovely colt and he’s from the first crop of a high class racehorse whose foals look the part. The mare was a high class sort too which was a big attraction and he will be back for sale as a three-year-old,” reported Nolan.
Moanmore Stables man Peter Vaughan added to his haul for future store sales when he forked out €65,000 for a son of Walk In The Park belonging to Michael and Bridget Lenihan. This colt is out of an own-sister to the Kim Muir hero Milan Native.
“He’s a very good foal and I was very happy to get him. It’s a nice, current family with plenty going on so hopefully we might get an update or two in the pedigree by the time we bring him back for sale as a three-year-old,” reported Vaughan.
Tally-Ho Stud’s spending for the day took in a €56,000 Getaway own-brother to Anyharminasking, who defeated Constitution Hill in a point-to-point last year, while the Mullingar farm also spent €48,000 on a colt from the second crop of the Martaline horse Beaumec De Houelle.
COMPARATIVE FIGURES FOR THE ENTIRE SALE
YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGGREGATE AVERAGE MEDIAN
2021 765 667 444 €7,164,300 €16,136 €10,000
2020 522 540 326 €5,219,100 €16,010 €10,000
2019 594 524 366 €5,287,200 €14,446 €10,500
2018 555 453 319 €4,635,650 €14,532 €9,000
2017 555 498 352 €4,280,850 €12,162 €8,000
2016 564 479 311 €3,683,150 €11,698 €8,200
2015 566 489 325 €3,250,500 €10,002 €7,500