THE top lot in Tuesday’s Goffs Autumn Horses in Training Sale is heading to the Middle East.

Ridhaz, a three-year-old gelded son of Iffraaj, sold for €220,000 to Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland. A dual winner, he recently added a Dundalk handicap victory to his maiden win at Leopardstown in May, and was trained by Michael Halford and Tracey Collins for the Aga Khan.

Donohoe faced stiff competition for the own-brother to Riyazan, winner of more than £1 million in a career that yielded seven victories.

An absent Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock was on the telephone to David Skelly during the sale of Masoun, as the three-year-old gelding came up for sale immediately after Ridhaz.

Having at first seemed to be beaten when a bid of €100,000 was landed, Skelly’s offer of another €5,000 sealed the deal, and the gavel fell. Skelly was unable to say where Masoun would head next, though it is believed he will remain in Ireland.

Masoun, a son of Too Darn Hot, won twice in the care of Johnny Murtagh, both victories coming in handicaps. The first was in Down Royal, followed a month later with success at the Curragh.

New chaser for Cromwell

GAVIN Cromwell takes charge of the next phase of Thecompanysergeant’s career, after the seven-year-old son of Kayf Tara sold for €110,000, bloodstock agent Kevin Ross co-signing for the five-time winner.

Most recently, the horse has been in the care of Denis Hogan and finished fourth in a Grade 3 novice chase at Cork just last Sunday.

While he didn’t have a specific order for the gelding, Cromwell was hopeful of finding a new owner quickly. The trainer said: “He is still a novice over fences, but is still eligible for all the handicaps. He’s a very nice horse, very consistent.”

Starting off with two bumper successes, Thecompanysergeant went on to win twice over hurdles, and landed a novice chase win at the Galway Festival. His third dam was Shuil Ar Aghaidh, winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. The sale of Thecompanysargeant disrupted the Aga Khan Studs from having a clean sweep of the top lots, but they did provide five of the seven lots that sold for €50,000 or more. A regular columnist for The Irish Field, Sean Clancy is the new owner of Imarajan, a placed three-year-old gelding by Camelot.

Patrick Harty, standing with his father Eddie, conducted the bidding on behalf of Stroud Coleman and Clancy, and he will join their Curragh stables. He cost the team €70,000.

Harty junior said: “He has been bought for Sean Clancy, Riverdee Stables, and he is the first horse we have had for him. He is a lovely model, the Camelot’s that have run under National Hunt rules have done well, and the record of horses bred by the Aga Khan Studs stands for itself. We were at the limit of our spend.”

Also staying in Ireland to race is Raydamann, another from the Aga Khan Studs. A three-year-old gelded son of Sea The Stars, trained by Johnny Murtagh, Raydamann was twice runner-up in maidens when beaten a head and half a length. He is from the family of the Aga Khan’s 2024 French 1000 Guineas winner Rouhiya.

Aidan O’Ryan won the bidding duel at €68,000, and said: “A nice horse, he came well-recommended. His form is good, and he is for an existing owner, and will go to Gordon [Elliott}.”

“Send us the horses”

“We’ve said it before, many times, and we’ll say it again, send us the horses and we will deliver.”

That was the plea issued by Henry Beeby at the end of the session.

Last year’s figures, apart from the median, were surpassed, despite a smaller catalogue, and the top price 12 months ago was beaten on three occasions.

Beeby went on to laud the efforts of his own team, as well as those of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, but looking to the future he added that “it is just our hope that more Irish owners and trainers take notice and see that Goffs will provide at least as good a market for the category as was available elsewhere last week, but we can’t do it without the support.

“As was the case at Doncaster a fortnight ago, I make no apology for repeating that everything is in place for us to provide a viable, vibrant alternative, especially as a monopoly is never good for any product.”

He listed an impressive list of countries to which the 82 lots sold will head. They are China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Britain, in addition to those that will stay in Ireland.