THE Goffs November Foal Sale concluded on Thursday after four days of mostly vibrant trade.

The only foal catalogued by the mighty Dubawi was widely anticipated to be the headline act, not just because of his sire, rather that he was also a full-brother to a European champion in Ghaiyyath and he did not let the side down, selling to Chinese owner Zhang Yuesheng for €700,000.

It came eight years after Ghaiyyath sold in this ring at the same sale for €1.1 million.

Offered by his breeder Dermot Weld’s Springbank Way Stud, the colt is also a half-brother to Grade 1 Man O’War Stakes winner Zhukova while Weld trains the mare’s smart three-year-old colt Knight To King for Maurice Regan’s Newtown Anner Stud.

“He is a smashing foal from a wonderful family and I’m delighted he sold so well,” Weld said. “I’m also delighted for everyone on the farm who have put a lot of work into getting him here and I wanted to thank in particular my son Mark, along with Mark Murphy, who have prepped him so well for today.

“It’s a pedigree that has been very good to my family. Nightime is in foal to Wootton Bassett so hopefully we have plenty to look forward to. We even have the granddam Caumshinaun still on the farm and it’s great to see foals and yearlings by Ghaiyyath selling so well also. I have a few youngsters by him that I am looking forward to training.”

The sale of Lot 655 on Wednesday drew a big crowd to the auditorium and, after a long battle, Ross Doyle came out on top for the son of Sea The Stars when the gavel fell at €310,000.

Offered by Carrick Hill Stud the colt is out of Celeste De La Mer, who has produced two stakes performers so far and the foal is also closely related to Epsom Derby runner-up Mojo Star, also a son of Sea The Stars.

“He is an outstanding foal by one of the best stallions around,” Ross Doyle said.

“The mare has done nothing wrong, producing two good tough horses and I also like that he is related to Mojo Star who we bought as a yearling. He is just a unique physical with great presence and each time I went to see him he showed really well. He has a wonderful temperament as well. I’ve bought him for a long-established client and we’ll keep our options open with regard to racing or offering him for re-sale,” Doyle added.

The foal was bred by Aaron Langan and Jer Hickey who were thrilled with the result and said: “He’s got that great temperament of Sea The Stars and he’s just been a lovely foal all along. We bought the mare here in 2017 for €19,000 and she’s been very good to us since. She is back in foal to Blue Point.”

Breeders and vendors seemed perfectly satisfied with trade in the main but, despite the clearance rate holding up at 79%, there was a sizeable drop in other figures compared to the last year. Total spending dropped 19% to €25,822,500. The average price of €36,370 also represented a drop of 9% but the median held firm at €24,000.

Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: “It is fair to say that the week was approached with a degree of trepidation as some of the later yearling sales were far from easy, but we have been delighted to welcome a huge group of buyers who set off with enthusiasm and determination on Monday and continued right through to the close of business.

“Alongside a vibrant atmosphere it must also be noted that this year’s figures do not match last year’s which we described as “sensational” 12 months ago.

“Indeed, there is no doubt that there is a degree of correction in the market and it was not all good news for some. That said this year’s numbers come in on a par with 2021, a strong sale in its own right, and there are definitely more positives than negatives to take away from the four sessions, not least a median that equals last year’s record with the number of six-figure and €50,000-plus lots only falling short of last year but ahead of 24 months ago.”

A SON of Lope De Vega got Wednesday’s session off to a flying start when selling to Tim Hyde for €260,000. The colt was bred by William Kennedy and John Wall, consigned by their Stanley Lodge Stud, and is a full-brother to the triple Group 3 winner Max Vega from the family of Blackbeard.

The dam Paraphernalia has also bred two other stakes performers including the smart stayer Max Vega. William Kennedy said: “We bought Paraphernalia after she’d had her first foal and she’s been a terrific mare for us and has produced some really good horses. I’m still involved with Max Vega with Ralph Beckett, he’s such a solid horse and does it every time he goes to the races.

“This colt is a much bigger model and has a bit more about him, a bit more scope, but if he’s anything like Max then his new owners will do really well with him.”

Ballylinch Stud’s Lope De Vega was the sire of another high-end foal when a colt by him sold online to Dan Hayden for the same price of €260,000. Consigned by John Fielding’s Donnellys Well, the filly out of Sommorell is a half-sister to Inverleigh who was a classy operator for Ger Lyons.

Dan Hayden also bought the filly’s year older sister by Shaman in the Orby Sale for €85,000 on behalf of Blue Devil Racing.

The demand for Lope De Vega foals continued when a filly of his was knocked down to the Aughamore Stud team of Laurence and Michael Gleeson for €200,000.

Offered by Alice Kavanagh’s AK Thoroughbreds the filly is the first produce out of French stakes winner Quiet Times and will no doubt be offered for resale as a yearling.

BIG things will be expected from the first crop of Ghaiyyath when they start hitting the track next summer. A colt by the Darley stallion topped Tuesday’s session when selling to Tally-Ho Stud for €200,000.

Offered by Milltown House Stud, the colt out of the High Chaparral mare Experte benefitted from a timely update when his half-sister Pipsy won the Listed Legacy Stakes at Dundalk last month for Ger Lyons.

Tally-Ho sold a nice Ghaiyyath filly in the Orby Sale that they had pinhooked as a foal and the farm’s Roger O’Callaghan said: “We’ve had a bit of luck with the sire but I’m really delighted for the breeders, Noel and Jill Finnegan, who have bred a lovely foal.”

The colt was lead up by the breeders’ grandson Jack Finegan who added: “We’re very grateful to Tally-Ho Stud, who have been great supporters of the farm over the years. He is a very good foal that walked well and we had the right clients lining up for him, so we’re delighted that he made what he did.

“He’s a half-brother to a stakes winner in Pipsy and she timed it well - we just about got it into the catalogue. We have 10 mares on the farm and there are three generations of us working there, which is nice to have. My grandfather Noel still does the hard yards and is fitter than I am, while my mother Jill manages the farm. It’s a family effort, so a result like this is very special.”

Tally-Ho made a major contribution to the sale, buying 22 foals for a total of €1.4 million.

Another foal to sell for €200,000 was the colt by Wootton Bassett offered by Paddy Fleming’s Awbeg Stud. Eddie O’Leary’s Lynn Lodge Stud was the buyer of this son of dual French winner Accolade who has been a wise investment for Awbeg so far.

Bought for 32,000gns in foal to Sergei Prokofiev, that resulting foal made €52,000 at this sale last year and Wednesday’s trade leaves Fleming nicely ahead of the game.

“The mare was lucky straight away and, very often, when a mare starts off lucky, she continues to be lucky. That’s been the case and obviously the sire had a great year. Eddie O’Leary bought a No Nay Never from us last year who was lucky for him, so it’s great that he’s come back again. Hopefully he’ll be just as lucky buying off us this time,” Fleming said.

WHILE they might have been expected to go home with the top lot, Godolphin made their first and only purchase of the sale when Anthony Stroud bid €250,000 for a Ringfort Stud-consigned son of Blue Point. The colt is out of La Rosetta, a New Approach mare who was actually bought from the Godolphin draft for 40,000gns in 2021 by Ted Durcan for Frances Crowley and the late Pat Smulllen’s Brickfield Stud.

“He was very well received and had a nice few ‘vets’ so we were hopeful, but I didn’t expect that. I’m in a bit of disbelief, to be honest,” a delighted Frances Crowley said.

“The colt was always lovely, always a great mover, and the way he’s taken all the shows has been amazing. The lads who were working with him said he pulled out for the last show as well as he had the first. He did everything right,” she added.

The Irish National Stud’s Mare Syndicate, which is open to the public, enjoyed a major success when it sold a Night Of Thunder colt out of Sagrada Familia for €210,000 to Hanshen Tham, signing as Pattern Bloodstock.

“I think this is one of the best colts I’ve seen in the sale,” the buyer remarked. “He is imposing, looks classy and will hopefully develop into a proper Book 1 type horse next year. Night Of Thunder is a top sire and we’ve had a bit of luck with him already. This colt will go to Baroda Stud.”

EARTHLIGHT, who will stand for €15,000 in 2024 and will have his first runners also next year, had a good week.

After providing the joint top lot on Monday (€80,000), foals by Earthlight continued to be much sought-after on Tuesday and the Darley stallion was the first to provide a six-figure lot when one of his colts was bought by Timmy Hyde of Camas Park Stud for €115,000. Consigned by Pa Doyle of Galbertstown Stables, the colt was bred by John and Mary Donworth and their daughter Orla. He is out of Stone Roses who has bred three winners to date.

“I’m delighted for the Donworths, Orla works here in Goffs and this is the first horse I have consigned for them,” Pa Doyle said. “This is a beautiful colt, he hasn’t put a foot wrong since he got here, has a wonderful attitude and looks very much a racehorse already. The stallion looks very promising, based on the stock I’ve seen so far.”

Ten minutes earlier Doyle enjoyed another good trade with the stallion when selling an Earthlight filly for €70,000, this time to another good team of judges in the O’Callaghans of Yeomanstown Stud.

This filly was bred by Jim McCormack out of the dual Italian stakes winner Spectralight. Doyle said: “I’m delighted for Jim. He puts a lot into this game and he deserved a good result like that.”

Luke Barry’s Manister House Stud paid €74,000 for an Earthlight filly out of the Group 2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein winner and Group 1-placed Pollyana. Consigned by Stanley Lodge the filly is a sister to two winners and there could be further updates to her pedigree next year, given her yearling half-brother by Wootton Bassett was bought by the Amo Racing team for 140,000gns last month.

A DISPERSAL of foals from German farm Gestut Hony Hof (presented by the Castlebridge Consignment) concluded Tuesday’s session. The draft included a son of Galiway who was sold to Mick Fitzpatrick of JC Bloodstock for €120,000.

The colt is the second produce of three-time winning stakes performer All For Rome.

The same draft also supplied a Sioux Nation colt who sold to Goodwill Bloodstock for €125,000. This foal’s two-year-old half-brother won a valuable sales race at Baden-Baden last month and looks one of Germany’s leading juveniles.

The final foal session on Thursday was headed by a Phoenix Of Spain colt consigned by Galbertstown Stables. The Irish National Stud stallion has sired some classy horses in his first crop, namely Group 2 winner Haatem, and the well-touted foal sold to Finn Kent for €90,000.

The chesnut out of Almarada is a half-brother to six-time French winner Get Set, while the mare’s two-year-old Almarada Prince has won his last three races in Britain and is now rated 91.

It is a family quite familiar to Finn Kent as he bought Almarada Prince at the Goffs Breeze Up in Doncaster for £40,000. He said: “When I saw this horse catalogued I got quite excited and couldn’t wait to see him. I wasn’t disappointed either, as he’s an exceptional foal with great movement and he’s been very well reared and presented.

“The stallion has made a good start with not too many runners as well so I’m delighted to have gotten him. He has been bought to eventually go into training with Craig Lidster who also trains Almarada Prince who is a horse we think a lot of. Craig trains near York and has made a very good start to his career.”

A colt by Havana Grey breached six figures on Tuesday when selling to Frannie and Niamh Woods of Abbeylands Farm for €130,000.

Consigned by Olive O’Connor, the colt is the second produce out of juvenile winner Colouring whose first foal, a year older full-sister to this colt, sold to Joe Foley for 280,000gns last month, having been pinhooked in this ring last year by Paul McCartan for €68,000. “He is a beauty, the sire speaks for himself and he has been bought for resale,” Frannie Woods said. “Hopefully the full-sister can do her bit to help our cause next year and let’s hope he can be lucky,” he added.

PETER Kelly has enjoyed racing his homebred Caught U Looking this year, in partnership with Tony O’Callaghan, and her exploits on the track - highlighted by her win in the Group 3 Park Stakes - have made Kelly’s mare Wild Mix a valuable commodity.

Kelly offered a Supremacy colt out of the mare through the Castlebridge Consignment and was rewarded with a €180,000 sale to Yeomanstown Stud.

“He is a smashing colt and it’s nice when good judges like Yeomanstown think the same,” a delighted Kelly said afterwards.

Wild Mix is currently in foal to Cotai Glory and Kelly is hopeful of further pedigree updates from Caught U Looking next year. “Noel [Meade] is confident she can progress more next year. We think she was over the top at Newmarket in the Fillies’ Mile and she wasn’t beaten far. She is entered in the Irish Guineas and I will leave it to Noel to decide a plan. He’s been training for 50 years so there’s no point me telling him what to do!” he added.