Wednesday

THE second session of the Goffs Arkle Sale continued in great fettle on Wednesday and while there was perhaps a slight softening of trade during the first half of the day, it gathered momentum again as the afternoon progressed.

Eleven horses made €100,000 or more on Tuesday and that figure was bettered by two on Wednesday and at the close of business of Part 1, a total of €20,416,500 worth of horses had changed hands.

The clearance rate ended up at 88% while the average and median settled at €52,210 and €48,000 respectively.

Last year’s top price of €195,000 was comfortably eclipsed when a loose moving son of Galiway was knocked down to Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins for €250,000.

Lot 340 was consigned by Tony Costello’s Treannahow Stables and while carrying a French suffix, the gelding, named King Rasko Grey and out of the French winner Imaginary Move, has a predominantly German back pedigree.

Willie Mullins bought this year’s Defender Bumper winner Predator’s Gold from Costello last year and was delighted to return to the same source in search of further success.

Poetry in motion

“He was poetry in motion going round the ring and we thought he was the nicest horse in the sale. I had valued him a bit less on pedigree but when I saw him beforehand, I knew we would have to stretch for him,” Mullins said.

“He comes from a great consignor and the Costellos have been selling top class horses for decades so we are very comfortable buying off them,” he added after Kirk had outbid a determined Tom Malone.

“We put a big ring around the three Galiways in the catalogue and when we saw each one we decided to do our best to get them.”

The champion trainer has enjoyed multiple Grade 1 success this year and last with the stallion Galiway through the exploits of Vauban and Gala Marceau and bought all three by the sire in the catalogue.

“We put a big ring around the three Galiways in the catalogue and when we saw each one we decided to do our best to get them.” The sale represented a fine piece of business for Tony Costello who bought the horse at Osarus as a yearling for €18,000.

French stock

Top French jumps stallion Doctor Dino further emphasised the popularity of the French stock when lot 316 was knocked down to Eddie O’Leary and Gordon Elliott for €185,000.

Lacaduv by Doctor Dino x Gargotiere from Altenbach Bloodstock sold to Gordon Elliott Racing for €185,000

Offered by Tom and Alexandra Whitehead’s Altenbach Bloodstock out of the stakes placed mare Gargotiere, the gelding was pursued in the ring by Matt Coleman and Tom Malone but O’Leary was not to be denied and afterwards his future trainer Gordon Elliott said: “He is a lovely sharp type and could be one for the Goffs bumper next year. He has the pedigree and the physique to be a smart horse and we’re delighted to get him.”

Already named Lacuduv, the gelding was bought as a yearling at the Arqana October Sale for €40,000 by Kilkenny-based Whitehead’s Powerstown Stud.

Gordon Elliott will also take charge of lot 335, a Peter Nolan consigned son of Doyen that was knocked down to Aidan O’Ryan for €135,000.

Elliott trained the gelding’s ill-fated half brother Three Stripe Life to win a Grade 1 Novice Hurdle at Aintree while he is also an own brother to the Grade 2 winning chaser Ballyshannon Rose.

After getting the top lot on Tuesday and being relegated to underbidder on a few others, Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls landed another potential top notch type in lot 345.

Krocodile Rock, a son of Jeu St Eloi set the team back €175,000. Purchased as a yearling for €60,000 at Tattersalls Ireland by Alan Harte, the son of the listed-winning hurdler Joly Nelsa was consigned by Ballyreddin & Busherstown and his prospects were further enhanced by being a half-brother to two stakes performers in France.

Higher value lots

The Highflyer team of agents have been a standing dish at this sale for many years and the firm’s David Minton struck for one of the higher value lots when going to €170,000 for a Blue Bresil gelding offered by Peter Molony’s Rathmore Stud.

Out of the winning hurdler Mary Eleanor, lot 419’s granddam was the mighty Lady Rebecca who won the Cleeve Hurdle on three occasions.

Before the sale trainer Philip Dempsey had a brief of purchasing some high-end fillies to race and potentially breed from and after picking up a Doctor Dino filly on Tuesday for €100,000, he added a smashing Blue Bresil filly to his stable on Wednesday.

After buying Glenwood Stud’s lot 337 from the family of Madison Du Berlais for €150,000 Dempsey said: “She is a beauty and she is for an existing client of the yard. My client wanted some nice fillies to race and then hopefully breed from eventually so hopefully these two will go on and have good careers.”

Lot 255 was the subject of favourable reports beforehand and when Baroda Stud’s son of Authorized entered the ring those sentiments were justified with Donnchadh Doyle of Monbeg Stables pushed to €145,000 to secure the gelding.

Trade is strong here but we’ve been able to get a few so far so we will keep shopping for a few more”

Out of the Monsun mare Courseulles who has bred three winners to date including the former Willie Mullins-trained dual winner Runrized, the gelding will be aimed at a point to point next spring all going well.

“For an Authorized, he is lovely big horse with plenty of power and I think he is the finest one by the sire here. He looks like he will suit our job perfectly so hopefully he will be lucky. Trade is strong here but we’ve been able to get a few so far so we will keep shopping for a few more,” Doyle said.

Just over an hour later John Bleahen’s Lakefield Farm offered another son of Authorized and lot 283 also proved very popular, selling to Paul Holden for €140,000.

Named Eternal Angel, the gelding is out of the Acatenango mare Earth Affair from the family of Supreme Novices Hurdle winner Captain Cee Bee and it proved a lucrative pin-hook for Bleahen who purchased the gelding as a yearling in Arqana two years ago for €34,000.

Got lucky

“I must say I got a bit lucky when I bought him at Arqana as he was lot 1 in the ring and a few people missed out on him,” Bleahen said. “He is a lovely horse though and he has never put a foot wrong since.

“I’m delighted that the Holdens bought him as they’ve bought some very good horses from me over the years including Feronily here a couple of years ago. It’s important for repeat business that these horses go on to do well for their new owners and its great he is going to a good home.”

Another Bleahen sibling to make a mark on Wednesday was Hugh and he offered a Walk In The Park gelding through his Clifton Farm that went the way of Denis Murphy for €105,000.

Lot 298 is the first produce out of the dual winner Fintara who raced for Henry De Bromhead in the Special Tiara silks of Sally Rowley-Williams.

Henry Beeby, Group Chief Executive, said:

"The Arkle Sale may have a new name this year but there was nothing new about the hunger for top class NH prospects at Goffs in June. For the last number of years this sale has enjoyed a meteoric rise as so many NH vendors have sent a larger and larger share of their best to us and we cannot thank them enough for we are nothing without their horses.

Over the last two days trade has matched the outdoor temperatures as both were hot, hot, hot! That trade was generated by a simply stunning group of three-year-olds and it was so gratifying to hear judge after judge commend the standard of entry over the two days.

Last year the sale grew by 25% so we are delighted to have consolidated those results and it is especially pleasing to see an average and median so close as that points to a sale of true consistency with the latter important figure growing by another 7%. The top of the market enjoyed some titanic bidding duels, none more so than for the top lot with Harold Kirk for Willie Mullins just outlasting Tom Malone for Paul Nicholls. To have the two Champions battling it out is testament to the horse in question and the sale in general, and they were just two of the many significant personalities to play an active part from start to finish.

So the two days have clearly illustrated the appeal of NH sales at Goffs and we have been so pleased to welcome shoals of buyers from the UK, France and USA following a very proactive campaign by the Goffs Purchaser Attraction Team working in tandem with our friends at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. They have locked horns with every Irish buyer of note including the mighty band of point-to-point handlers who have made such an impact in recent times.

As we turn our focus to Part 2 of the sale tomorrow, which is bound to produce another significant group of winners, we extend our thanks to every vendor for the trust they placed in the Goffs service and wish each purchaser the best of luck, safe in the knowledge that they have bought from a sale that is truly the measure of any."

Arkle Part 1 Comparative Figures

Offered Sold Turnover (€) Average (€) Median (€) Top (€)

2022:

440 394 (90%) 20,406,000 51,792 45,000 195,000

2023:

441 392 (89%) 20,466,500 52,210 (+1%) 48,000 (+7%) 250,000