GODOLPHIN lit up the Goffs Orby Sale on Wednesday when its representative Anthony Stroud bought the day's top three lots for €2 million, €1 million and €900,000.

Sheikh Mohammed's racing operation also acquired a €600,000 Wootton Bassett colt and these purchases came a day after Godolphin acquired a Lope De Vega filly for €550,000 and a Zarak colt for €100,000 at Goffs.

When the two-day Book 1 sale ended on Wednesday evening, Godolphin had spent €5.27 million on seven yearlings. Last year Godolphin bought six at this sale but only spent €2.5 million. Prior to that, Godolphin hadn't signed for any lots at the Orby Sale since 2019 when they again spent €2.5 million.

The first seven-figure lot of the sale arrived just before 12.30pm on Wednesday when Godolphin bought a Frankel colt for €2 million.

Bred by Denis Brosnan and consigned by his Croom House Stud in Co Limerick, the colt is the first foal out of his listed race winner Loch Lein, who was trained by Jessica Harrington and was also placed in group races.

M.V. Magnier of Coolmore Stud tried hard to buy the horse but dropped out when agent Anthony Stroud, on behalf of Godolphin, rounded up the bidding to €2 million.

“He’s a lovely horse, a first foal by Frankel, and everybody on the team liked him,” reported Stroud. “We had to stretch a long way to get him, but we’re pleased to have purchased him for Godolphin.

"It’s a compliment that Coolmore also wanted him, as they are fantastic at what they do, second to none really.

“He’ll go to Charlie Appleby. With that pedigree you’d hope he could become a stallion prospect, but who knows?”

Representatives of Godolphin and Coolmore crossed swords on Croom House Stud’s widely admired Frankel colt out of the Listed-winning Invincible Spirit mare Loch Lein (Lot 323), with Anthony Stroud emerging triumphant for Godolphin with a bid of €2 million.

“He’s a lovely horse, a first foal by Frankel, and everybody on the team liked him,” reported Stroud. “We had to stretch a long way to get him, but we’re pleased to have purchased him for Godolphin.

"It’s a compliment that Coolmore also wanted him, as they are fantastic at what they do, second to none really.

“He’ll go to Charlie Appleby. With that pedigree you’d hope he could become a stallion prospect, but who knows?”

Brosnan, who previously sold here the likes of Damson, Drumbeat and Foundation, as well as Cabaret, the Group 3-winning dam of stallions Magna Grecia and St Mark’s Basilica, said: "He was an outstanding foal and yearling all the way through, and he has a great pedigree, a stallion’s pedigree,” he said. “I’m delighted that Anthony Stroud has the horse, as Godolphin have missed out on some of our really good ones over the years. Let’s hope this is another good one for them.

“Loch Lein’s dam Ashley Hall was the most expensive mare we’ve ever bought at $825,000, but she was well bred as a Maria’s Mon half-sister to Bandini and luckily she’s passing on the great genes she has.

“It’s actually interesting how Loch Lein ended up with Frankel. Sweepstake, our top mare, was supposed to go to him but that autumn we had to remove an ovary from her and she couldn’t go. Loch Lein was in training with Jessica Harrington and I had to ring her and tell her that she was about to lose one of her top fillies, as she was going to Frankel instead. She wasn’t happy, but it worked out!

“Loch Lein was supposed to stay in training at four, she won a Listed race and was twice touched off in Group 3s, so I’m sure she was a Group winner in waiting. She’s in foal to Wootton Bassett and has Saxon Warrior colt on the ground. We’ll be back here next year with him.”

Just after 6pm on Wednesday, Stroud was again forced to go to seven figures for a Frankel filly from Kirsten Rausing's Staffordstown Stud. The yearling is a half-sister to multiple Group 2 winner Sandrine.

Wednesday's session began with another major Godolphin purchase when a yearling colt by Sea The Stars made €900,000.

Consigned by Harry McCalmont's Norelands Stud in Kilkenny, the colt is out if the unraced mare Holy Amaretta. She has had two previous foals by Sea The Stars - both fillies - both they have yet to race.

The mare is from the German family of classic/Group 1 winners Amarette and Alson. The Ralph Beckett-trained mare River Of Stars and this year's Coventry Stakes winner Rashabar are the latest stakes race winners to emerge from the family.

“We keep some mares for the Tsuis including Holy Amaretta, the dam of this one,” said Norelands’ Harry McCalmont. “She’s the most lovely mare. She has another filly foal by Sea The Stars and is back in foal to him again. Mrs Tsui has been a very good supporter of ours, and we’re delighted to get a good result for her.

“Sea The Stars has worked well with German families before, and it’s satisfying to see those middle-distance families coming to the fore and being appreciated by the market. They’re proper horses, what racing should be all about.

“We thought the colt would bring around €500,000 so we’re very happy with what we got. But he showed a treat, and never put a foot wrong all week. He’s been the easiest horse to deal with, thank goodness.”

Later on Wednesday afternoon Godolphin bought another top lot from Croom House Stud, giving €600,000 for a colt by Wootton Bassett. The colt is out of the Group 3 placed mare Pussycat Lips and she has already bred four winners from seven runners.

Zhang Yuesheng's Yulong operation also paid €600,000 for a Night Of Thunder filly consigned by Eddie O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud. The mare's only previous foal is named Ludo's Lady and is yet to race for trainer Charlie Johnston.

Yulong general manager Vin Cox said: "She's a very racy filly by an outstanding stallion. We are here trying to buy racehorses, and she fitted that criteria well and truly. She is the best of the week so far for us. It’s been a good week, we’ve bid on a lot of horses, stopped on a few, and bought a few, and we have sold a few."

Regarding training plans, he added: "We haven't got that far ahead. Until you get them in your back paddock, you don't make any decisions like that. We got here on Sunday when we saw her for the first time.

"We've been back to see her three or four times. She's a beauty and we are very happy to get her. We hope she looks this good this time next year."

Another Night Of Thunder filly made an ever bigger price on Wednesday evening when the Irish National Stud sold one for €640,000. Out of Sea Mona, the filly is a half-sister to US Grade 2 winner California Angel. She was bought by agent Hugo Merry on behalf of Imad Alsagar's Blue Diamond Stud.

Blue Diamond also signed for a €450,000 New Bay colt consigned by Ballylinch Stud. He is a half-brother to six winners including Mark Johnston's champion two-year-old filly Lumiere.

Hugo Merry signed for both lots, and reported: “Imad’s a great enthusiast and he wants to keep restocking as well as selling. He’s bought a beautiful farm in America, Stonereath Farm, and he’s stocking that now, but you have to sell some to help keep the thing fresh.”

Regarding the Night Of Thunder filly he said: “This is a beautiful model and the sire’s on fire. The mare is well able to produce and hopefully she’ll be a stakes winner on the track. She could go to Imad’s farm in America one day, or stay here, she can do anything. When he’s here in person he enjoys the bidding process and he calls the shots. I don’t need to suggest where the handbrake is!”

Moving on to the New Bay colt he added: “He’s been bought to bolster Imad’s racing stable. He’s a lovely colt; strong, a good shape and the mare’s still young enough to produce a good one. Imad’s a very brave man and I just hope he’s bought two Graded stakes winners.

“He has horses with trainers like Andre Fabre, John and Thady Gosden, Andrew Balding, Harry Charlton and Christopher Head, so he has plenty of options on that front. These horses will go back to the farm, be given a break and broken in, then trainer allocations will take place in November.”

The Night Of Thunder filly was the most expensive yearling sold by the Irish National Stud during the tenure of chief executive Cathal Beale.

"We’re thrilled,” beamed Beale. “Old friends are the best, and Imad’s obviously had a long association with us, as we stood Decorated Knight for him, so I’m delighted he got her and I hope she’s lucky for him.

"She was undoubtedly the best filly we’ve bred on the farm in my time there. She was a 62kg foal, and it was obvious from day one that she was top-class. We’ve handled her with kid gloves ever since and I'm so proud of the team for prepping her and all our other horses here so expertly in the last few weeks.

"The sire speaks for himself, and it's a beautiful pedigree. She's a half-sister to a Grade 2 winner, we think the Phoenix Of Spain two-year-old filly with Charlie Hills is quite good, and the dam was a sharp two-year-old herself. She's back in foal to Lope De Vega."

The two-day Book 1 sale saw 397 of the 466 horses offered sold, giving a final clearance rate of just over 85%.

The average price was €128,594 (ahead of last year's €122,000) and the median price came in at €80,000 (was €85,000 last year).

Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: "While we reflect on a what one industry leader told me he viewed as a “very solid sale” there is no escaping the tightening of trade at a level, and it was very evident that the market is unforgiving of yearlings that do not have it all.

"A 85% clearance rate down by three points and a drop in the median equivalent to one bid at the level is a clear indicator of the reality of 2024 which has been the case at each sale thus far this year and we all have work to do to minimise the impact of whatever slow down is here so that we navigate our way through as best we can."

Book 2 of the Orby Sale starts on Thursday morning and concludes on Friday.

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