TODAY’S Goffs Million and next week’s Orby Sale may be the immediate focus for the Goffs team but already there is intense interest around the world in the Goffs November Sale following this week’s news that the Niarchos family has entered 44 of its best broodmares for the auction.

Classic winner Alpha Centauri heads the draft. The four-time Group 1 winner will be offered in foal to Sea The Stars.

Alpine Star, winner of the Coronation Stakes, will be offered in foal to Frankel, and Yorkshire Oaks winner Tapestry will be offered in foal to Dubawi.

Three consignors will handle the draft. Norelands will offer 18 and both Baroda Stud and Kiltinan Castle will consign 13 each.

The news took the industry by surprise. According to Goffs, the Niarchos draft is part of a “family restructuring”. The family’s racing manager Alan Cooper has stressed it is not a dispersal sale, that mares will be retained if not fetching their reserve, and that the Niarchos colours will continue to be seen on the racecourse.

However, with reports of further Niarchos drafts being prepared for the December Sales at Arqana and Tattersalls, it seems certain that the Niarchos broodmare band will be significantly reduced in size and quality by Christmas.

The Goffs’ draft includes five Group 1 winners and is likely to attract some of world’s biggest breeders to Kill on Friday, November 24th.

Vote of confidence

Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: “It’s a great vote of confidence in Goffs and the service we provide. This draft is on a par with, if not better than, the Paul Makin and Wildenstein dispersals we handled in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

“The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive – I’ve had messages from all over the world, as have other team members.”

The Niarchos family has sold lower-profile mares and yearlings at Goffs in the past, through different vendors. The family does not own shares in Goffs but many of the Niarchos mares are based in Ireland which may have influenced the decision to sell so many of them at Goffs.

“This is a draft that would grace any breeding stock sale,” Beeby added. “It’s a massive thing for us.”

Asked if he expected the draft to have a knock-on positive effect on the rest of the November Sale catalogue, Beeby commented: “Of course it will. When we had the Paulyn and Wildenstein dispersals there were additional entries as a result.

“The world will be here for this sale. From Americans to Japanese buyers, it’s a chance to invest in an iconic band of broodmares which has been built up over 50 years.

“I can’t stress enough how pleased the team at Goffs are that the Niarchos family has placed its trust in us. We will make this sale the centre of our world but first we have the Orby Sale.

“It’s great timing as we can promote the Niarchos draft and the November Sale to the many international clients who will be at Goffs next week.

“We already have a major issue trying to find hotel rooms for Orby Sale buyers. It will be the same for the November Sale.”

Huge boost

Charles O’Neill, CEO of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, says the decision to sell the premium Niarchos draft at Goffs is great news. “It will give the sale a huge boost and it is a vote of confidence in Irish sales in general.”

O’Neill and his ITM colleagues were delighted with the international buying bench at this week’s Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and expect more of the same at Goffs next week.

“The interest from overseas in the yearling sales has been phenomenal. That was proven this week at Tattersalls Ireland where we assisted buyers from Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia, Czech Republic and Poland. Trying to find accommodation for them all has been crazy.

“There were 592 yearlings sold at Fairyhouse this week, up from 505 last year. Yes, the catalogue was bigger but that’s still a big step forward to take in one year. “Fingers crossed, next week will also be a good one for the industry. Overseas bookings for the Orby Sale are through the roof.”

Niarchos mares

selling at Goffs