As expected the penultimate session of the Goffs November Foal Sale delivered a tremendous day’s trade which produced a markedly improved set of final figures with centre stage going to a son of Kingman who fetched €550,000.

At the conclusion of Wednesday's session the turnover came to just over €15.2 million which was a 27% progression on last year. The €88,619 average was up by 22% while the median progressed by 16% to €58,000. An 85% clearance rate also represented an improvement on last year, all of which leaves the sale poised to deliver significant gains on last year when the final day of foals concludes on Thursday.

Overall the day belonged to Kingman whose three offerings produced the three biggest transactions of the day and the pick of this trio was a colt from Airlie Stud who was knocked down to Philipp Stauffenberg.

This colt is a half-brother to the Moyglare Stakes winner Skitter Scatter, this season’s stakes-winning juvenile Victory Dance and the dam of Aspen Grove who sprang a 66/1 shock to land the Group 3 Flame Of Tara Stakes at the Curragh in August.

Thus the colt came under the hammer with utterly impeccable credentials and this was reflected in his price which made him the most expensive foal that major pinhooker Stauffenberg has ever purchased.

“As the auctioneer said, he has a stallion’s pedigree and I was actually the underbidder on Victory Dance as well," the buyer said. "I think there is a lot of upside and, from what I hear, Victory Dance is going extremely well. They pushed him a little and thought he was a little bit earlier than he was. If he wins something nice next year, which you would hope he can, it will improve the page again. He definitely has a stallion’s pedigree. It’s a very good family and if Kingman comes up with a nice horse I’m not too worried,” said Stauffenberg.

“How many chances do we have to come up with something like him to go to war with next year? We spent a lot of money but hopefully we spent wisely. Sometimes it is more risky to buy one for €200,000. I think he was a no-brainer,” he added.

Juddmonte purchase

Earlier Juddmonte secured a son of their elite sire when the operation’s Barry Mahon spent €530,000 for a colt from Roundhill Stud. This colt is a half-sister to this year’s listed-winning filly Zanbaq and he comes from a tremendous Roundhill dynasty which has also produced horses the calibre of Zabeel Prince and Rizeena.

“This is a family that we’ve been trying to get into for a while and Zanbaq actually beat a nice filly of ours, Whitebeam, won she won her listed race at Newmarket. The family were keen to support Kingman and he is just a very good colt from a very good family, so we were all very keen on him. He’s also coming off an excellent farm and he was very well presented,” stated Mahon.

The other Kingman was offered by The Castlebridge Consignment and she was snapped up by Japanese buyer Shingo Hashimoto, acting for Katsumi Yoshida, for €460,000. This filly is the first produce of a winning own-sister to the Group 1-winning juvenile Gear Up.

“She has been bought to race in Japan. Kingman has done well in Japan and has a runner, Schnell Meister, in a Group 1 there this weekend and that horse has already won a Group 1 in Japan. She looked good and the pedigree is very strong. She is lovely,” commented Hashimoto.

Swordlestown Little jackpot

A son of No Nay Never from Michael O’Flynn’s Rockfield Farm was snapped up by Rockbank Bloodstock for €330,000 while the first part of the session belonged to Des Leadon and Mariann Klay’s Swordlestown Little. They offered a colt and a filly by Wootton Bassett and the pair realised €330,000 and €280,000 respectively.

The first to come under the hammer was a half-sister to the dual Group 2 winner and dual Group 1-placed Terebellum and she cost Tally-Ho Stud €280,000.

Then it was the turn of the half-brother to one of the best two-year-olds of 2022 in Arrest who signed off his season with a close second in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Arrest is owned by Juddmonte and this colt will also carry those iconic colours after being knocked down to Barry Mahon.

“Obviously the half-brother is very talented as he showed when he was just touched off in a Group 1 in France last month. The family were keen to try and buy this colt so I saw him the other morning and liked him and they gave me the confidence to go on and buy him,” remarked Juddmonte’s Barry Mahon.

After the sale of both foals Swordlestown Little’s Des Leadon reflected: “We’re just so lucky to have Nisriyna (dam of Arrest). She’s a wonderful mare with a wonderful temperament and how exciting to sell a brother to what may be next year’s Derby winner. It’s not often that you have horses like that and, in their own way, our two Wootton Bassetts, in this environment as foals, are as precious as the Alpinistas and the Baaeeds.

“These are collectors' items and they don’t come along very often. We feel very lucky to have Marvada for our very good friend and client Alan O’Flynn, and to have Nisriyna for ourselves, and to have the support of Juddmonte, who’ve been wonderful to work with.

"It’s a very special day. It’s a remarkable testament to Mariann’s work and all the team who help us. These things are never done without the support of a wonderful team on the farm and off it too.

“Mariann and I rode out for many years for John Oxx, that’s where we first met Nisriyna, and we bought her here in Goffs and tried to develop her as a broodmare from there. You can’t do it without the raw materials and these Aga Khan families are wonderful and John Oxx was so good with them that it gave us an insight into the thinking of elite stud farms like that,” concluded Leadon.

Final Galileo foal

The day’s other high-profile sales included Trinity Bloodstock going to €310,000 for a son of Lope De Vega while the last Galileo foal to be offered at Goffs was snapped up by the BBA Ireland for €290,000. The half-sister to the multiple listed placed Gold Filigree was sold by The Castlebridge Consignment and her departure from the ring marked the conclusion of an incredible 19 years of Galileo foal sales.

COMPARATIVE FIGURES FOR DAY THREE

YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGGREGATE AVERAGE MEDIAN

2022 239 203 172 €15,242,500 €88,619 €58,000

2021 238 197 162 €11,756,000 €72,568 €50,000

2020 207 164 135 €10,374,000 €76,844 €52,000

2019 227 181 165 €16,211,000 €98,248 €68,000

2018 234 191 161 €12,000,000 €74,534 €52,000