NINE yearlings sold for €500,000 or more during the opening session of the Goffs Orby Sale on Tuesday.

The session ended with 211 horses sold from 247 offered, setting a clearance rate of over 85%. The average price of €118,809 was 8% above the day one average from last year and only marginally below last year's final sale average of €122,764. Tuesday's median price of €80,000 was similarly only a fraction off the 2023 final median of €85,000.

Veteran thoroughbred breeder John Connaughton from Westmeath sold Tuesday's top lot, a son of Blue Point, for €850,000.

The session-topper is a half-brother to recent Group 2 winner Bay City Roller who Connaughton sold for €320,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale a year ago.

Tuesday's buyer is shrouded in mystery. The yearling was bought by Agrolexica International Trading, a Rotterdam-based company with links to Ukraine. Last December the same company bought three six-figure yearlings at Tattersalls but none of them have raced to-date. There are reports that one of them is in training in Poland.

However, the agent who signed for the colt - Ananios Antoniados - told the media at Goffs that the Blue Point yearling will be trained by Joseph O'Brien.

Like Bay City Roller, the Blue Point colt was consigned by Church View Stud, owned by Tom Whelan, father of leading flat jockey Ronan Whelan.

“She was an absolutely beautiful filly, a queen,” said Whelan. “Every time she was pulled out of her box she walked perfectly and showed herself no problem. She was the same at home: she just has a great attitude. I’m so lucky that Mr Connaughton has trusted me with rearing his stock for so many years.

“The updates made the sale. We sold Bay City Roller here last year; he was a beautiful horse, he was a great athlete and walked for Ireland. This lady was a different type but had the same good attitude and athleticism.”

He added, with a lump in his throat: “I’m only a small operation, so to have stock of that quality is a huge thrill. I’ve been a long time at it, nearly 45 years standing outside doors trying to sell horses, and this was another level. I was standing in the bidding area while she sold and I actually had to sit down as my legs started to wobble.

“It means a lot, and to the lads at home, my head man Eddie Doyle and Pat Smith. The work they do is amazing. Without them I wouldn’t be here. It’s all teamwork. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.”

Antoniados said: “She’s an outstanding filly with a beautiful pedigree that entitles her to be a high-class racemare and an excellent broodmare. She's going into training with Joseph O’Brien for a central European owner.”

Sea The Stars colt

Joseph O'Brien will also train a €500,000 Sea The Stars colt he bought from Dermot and Catherine Dwan's Kellsgrange Stud. The colt was a €320,000 foal purchase for Magne and Bente Jordanger. The mare, Celeste De La Mer (by Zoffany), did not win herself but she bred the Group 2-placed Maritime Wings (also trained by Joseph O'Brien).

Dermot Dwan said: “He’s a fantastic animal, and has a great mind and movement. He fills the eye, and came out of the stable every time and just did his stuff. He's a true athlete.

“He was bought by Magne and Bente Jordanger for a substantial amount of money, and they were well repaid today. It’s great to see him going to Joseph.”

O’Brien added: “He’s a magnificent colt. I trained his brother who was a very good two-year-old. He’s for different connections, but an existing owner in the yard, and we are excited about his future.”

Another Blue Point filly made a huge price of €580,000 on Tuesday afternoon. That was the sum agent Anthony Stroud and owner Peter Harris had to give to secure this full-sister to recent listed race winner Raknah. She was sold by The Castlebridge Consignment having been bought as a foal by Ronan Griffin Bloodstock for €75,000 last year.

Harris, who was paying his first visit to Goffs in more than 15 years, said: "“It was more than I expected to pay, but not dramatically so. I bred all the family further down the page and that’s why I wanted her. She’s a lovely filly and it would be nice to keep the family going. She’ll probably go to Adam Kirby to be broken in and then Jane Chapple-Hyam to be trained.”

Juddmonte purchases

Juddmonte made a rare foray into the market when spending €750,000 on a Lope De Vega half-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Saffron Beach, consigned by Ballylinch Stud.

Another Juddmonte acquisition was the Kingman colt out of First Flower from Ciaran Conroy's Glenvale Stud. The dam (by Galileo) is an unraced full-sister to Hydrangea, Hermosa and The United States.

Juddmonte ended the day as top buyer, spending €1.6 million on three yearlings. Joseph O'Brien is next in the purchasing table, having outlayed €959,000 on five horses.

“We need colts, so these were obvious picks for us,” said Juddmonte's Simon Mockridge. “What’s important is looking for horses with stallion’s pedigrees, and that's certainly what they’ve got.

“Lope De Vega got two new classic winners this year and he is, without a doubt, a horse we have to look at. As we saw with the Middle Park winner at the weekend, they’re precocious as well, and this horse looks like he’d fit into the programme very well.

"This colt has an outcross pedigree and there’s already a Group 1 winner bred on the cross in Rouhiya.

“Kingman has also had another fantastic season, with Elmalka and Sparkling Plenty winning Classics, and this colt’s second dam is a proper blue hen mare, so we’re pleased to add him to the team too.”

The Orby Sale sale made a strong start when Lot 10 into the ring, a Frankel colt, sold for €780,000.

The colt was consigned by Imad Alsagar's Blue Diamond Stud in Britain and was purchased by bloodstock agent Oliver St Lawrence on behalf of a client who plans to have the horse trained in Britain.

A half-brother to 2022 juvenile listed race winner Bolt Action, the colts is from the family of Group 1 winners Order Of Australia, Iridessa and Santa Barbara.

US bloodstock agent Jacob West snapped up a Wootton Bassett filly from Glenvale Stud for €675,000. The filly is out of the Galileo mare Cuff, herself a listed winner and already dam of the Group 3 winner Cairo.

Godolphin paid €500,000 for a Lope De Vega filly from the Fagan family's Deerpark Stud. She is the first foal out of Bletchley, a Makfi mare who finished second in the Nassau Stakes and Albany Stakes for Ralph Beckett and Qatar Racing before being sold for 200,000gns to Suzanne Roberts and Deerpark.

Lope De Vega is also the sire of Shadow Of Light, Godolphin's Middle Park Stakes winner last Saturday.

Peter Fagan of Deerpark Stud commented: “That’s an absolutely fantastic result. We were busy all week with all the right people looking at her, and the filly never missed a step.

"She’s by a world-class stallion who dances every dance and out of a good broodmare. It’s a well-worn cliche, but she really did tick all the boxes.

"The team at home did a fantastic job with her: my father John Fagan, our manager Patrick Kirwan and Rachel Harvey who works with us. Suzanne Roberts is also an important part of the operation and deserves a lot of credit as she bought the mare for us."

Six figures for Forenaghts

Trainer George Scott has had a great year on the track and he will train the €500,000 colt by Night Of Thunder consigned by Tony Smurfit's Forenaghts Stud. The colt is the first foal out of American Apples (by American Post), who was Group 3-placed in France.

“He showed himself better and better over the last couple of days,” said Scott. “Night Of Thunder has done phenomenally well and he’s a really strong, forward-going sort of horse, just the type we try to buy.

“Obviously we had a lot of luck at this sale last year so we were keen to come back and find the standout horse in this year’s sale. We felt he was the one.

“He was the only horse we were concentrating on today and it doesn’t often work out that you manage to get the only one you want. It’s a relief and we were very much stretched at that point. We got the horse though and we’re really excited about him.”

An emotional Forenaghts Stud manager Caoimhe Doherty said: “We work so hard and there’s so much pressure, that when you come with a really nice horse you just hope you’re going to get paid.

“We’re a really small team, we only have 15 mares and ten yearlings this year. This is the highest-priced horse I’ve ever sold. Tony Smurfit gave me a massive job – and I don’t know why he gave it to me! – but this is just an amazing result. I can’t believe it, I’m just so happy.

“We wanted to keep him. Tony and I have loved him from day one and we’re massively invested in Night Of Thunder, we love the sire. George Scott is training so many winners and I’m so happy he’s going to a good home.”

First crop sire

Bloodstock agent Richard Knight was acting on behalf of the bin Laden family's Salhia Stud when he paid €460,000 for a filly from the first crop of St Mark's Basilica. The filly is a half-sister to top stayers Sovereign, Dawn Rising and this year's St Leger winner Jan Breughel.

American bloodstock agent Mike Akers paid €390,000 for a Wootton Bassett filly consigned by Castlehyde Stud. She is out of the Group 2 winner Wedding Vow, already dam of listed race winner Capulet (also Group 2 placed).

The Burns family's Lodge Park Stud sold a New Bay colt for €390,000 to agent Richard Ryan. Ryan often buys on behalf of Teme Valley who, interestingly, have the unraced two-year-old brother to this colt. Named Indian Spirit, he is trained by Charlie Hills.

Yuesheng Zhang's Yulong operation bought a Mehmas colt from Pier House Stud for €260,000 and the Hong Kong Jockey Club signed for a Calyx colt consigned by Ballyvolane Stud at €220,000.

The sale continues on Wednesday.

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