WILL it be all Blue Bresil and Walk In The Park at Goffs next week?

The four-day December National Hunt Sale starts on Monday and the catalogue runs to 900 lots, including 820 foals which is a record for the sale.

A total of 76 mares and fillies are catalogued along with a draft of yearlings, stores and stallions. All foals will be catalogued alphabetically by dam across the four days.

The leading National Hunt sires are strongly represented, headed by Affinisea (29), Crystal Ocean (58), Jukebox Jury (23), Maxios (25), Poets Word (44), Santiago (27) and Vadamos (37), as well as foals by Diamond Boy, Gentlewave, Golden Horn, Harzand, Jeu St Eloi, Milan, Nathaniel, No Risk At All and Saint Des Saints.

Based on recent sales, the 38 foals by Blue Bresil and the 27 foals by Walk In The Park will be in big demand.

Just last week Goffs revealed a late entry for a Walk In The Park colt foal out of Grade 2 winning hurdler Sparky May. Offered by Baroda Stud as Lot 157A, this colt is a half-brother to Grade 1 Cheltenham Festival and recent Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Stage Star.

Fittingly, Baroda Stud sold the subsequent triple Grade 1 winner Stage Star to Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls for €60,000 at the 2019 Goffs Arkle Sale. The colt joins a draft of 14 lots catalogued by Baroda for the December NH Sale which includes the multiple blacktype and Cheltenham Festival-winning mare Indefatigable, in foal to (you guessed it) Walk In The Park.

Last year’s sale was topped by Concertista, another Cheltenham Festival-winning mare. The daughter of Nathaniel was snapped up by Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud for €220,000 and no doubt was covered by her stallion Golden Horn this year.

The top foal price at last year’s sale was a whopping €155,000, paid by Coolmore’s Gerry Aherne for a colt by Walk In The Park out of the Grade 1 winner Shattered Love. Aherne has continued to make a play for choice foals by Walk In The Park this year and it will be a surprise if he is not one of the leading buyers again next week.

Kieran Mariga of Coolmara Stables has a long association with this sale too. Last year he and his family bought three racemares here, including the Grade 2 winner Grangee for €120,000. Will they be tempted by any of the Robcour mares on offer next week, such as Grade B winner Magic Daze or Grade 3 winner Gin On Lime? Gigginstown House Stud sold Shattered Love here for €260,000 a few years ago and this year they offer Scarlet And Dove, a Jeremy mare who won at Grade 2 and Grade 3 level for trainer Joseph O’Brien. She looks a good investment opportunity.

Coolmara Stables are also vendors next week, selling six foals. Among them is a Crystal Ocean colt out of Petite Parisienne, a mare Coolmara bought from Gigginstown here in 2016 for €130,000. Two of her foals have fetched €54,000 and €44,000 in the past.

So we look to be in for plenty of ringside drama and bidding battles next week.

Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: “We are thrilled to present a superb catalogue for this year’s December National Hunt Sale and extend our sincere thanks to an increasing number of NH breeders for placing their trust in Goffs with every entry.

“The evolution of this sale is a real source of pride for everyone at Goffs, in particular our passionate National Hunt team led by Gerry Hogan, Neil Walsh, Peter Molony and Kevin Ross, as it has grown from a one-day event 10 years ago to become a vibrant four-day sale and the preferred choice for so many vendors and purchasers today.

“There have been countless highlights along the way, most notably the world record price for a National Hunt mare, while a landmark renewal in 2022 saw Goffs December really come of age when selling the highest priced National Hunt foal and mare of the year anywhere.

“These results have really caught the imagination of the industry in a way that would have been almost unimaginable just a few years ago and only inspire us to continue to improve and grow still further.”

Catalogue highlights

Lot 21: Crystal Ocean colt, half-brother to Dunvegan.

Lot 57: Santiago colt, half-brother to Kildisart.

Lot 62: Blue Bresil colt, half-brother to Pencilfulloflead.

Lot 97: Blue Bresil colt, first foal out of the Grade 1 placed Ruaille Buaille.

Lot 107: Walk In The Park colt, half-brother to Conflated.

Lot 115: Mirage Dancer colt out of half sister to Yorkhill, from family of Fun Fun Fun.

Lot 126: Order Of St George colt, half-brother to Fitzhenry.

Lot 157A: Walk In The Park half-brother to Stage Star.

Lot 176: Harzand colt, half-brother to Tiger Roll.

Lot 244: Kew Gardens colt, half-brother to Churchstonewarrior and Western Walk.

Lot 291: Poet’s Word filly, half-sister to Aldo The Apache.

Lot 294: Walk In The park colt out of Appy Days, blacktype King’s Theatre sister to Royal Alphabet and Queen Alphabet, all out of Nell Gwyn winner A-to-Z.

Lot 307: Crystal Ocean filly, first foal from listed winner Atlantic Fairy.

Lot 321: Jet Away colt, half-brother to Hewick.

Lot 370: Fifty Stars filly out of Grade A winner Cabaret Queen.

Lot 378: Blue Bresil filly out of Aintree mares’ bumper winner Candy Creek, dam of 2 winners.

Lot 448: Shirocco filly, half-sister to The Real Whacker.

Lot 458: Order Of St George colt, half-brother to Captain Teague.

Lot 557: Walk In The Park colt, first foal out of listed winner and Grade 2 placed Getaway Gorgeous.

Lot 595: Blue Bresil colt from the family of Goshen and Elimay.

Lot 632: Affinisea colt, half-brother to Fiddlerontheroof.

Lot 687: Blue Bresil filly, half-sister to Shishkin.

Lot 809: Vadamos colt, half-brother to PTP winner and maiden hurdle runner-up Mossy Fen Park.

Lot 810: Walk In The Park colt, half-brother to Tornado Flyer.

Lot 844: Scarlet And Dove, multiple graded chase winner in foal to Crystal Ocean. From Gigginstown House Stud.

Lot 848: Magic Daze, Grade B chase winner consigned.

Lot 849: Gin On Lime, Grade 3 chase winner.

Lot 850: Jenny Flex, winning Walk In The Park mare, half-sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Scarlet And Dove.

Lot 851: Say Goodbye, multiple winner and Grade 2 placed own-sister to The Big Breakaway and half-sister to Kildisart.

Lot 854: Six Feet Apart, listed hurdle winner consigned by Rathmore Stud.

Lot 855: Delante, winning Walk In The Park half-sister to the dam of Douvan and Jonbon, in foal to Crystal Ocean.

Lot 856: Indefatigable, Grade 2 hurdle winner in foal to Walk In The Park.

Lot 858: Lady Breffni, Grade B hurdle winner in foal to Blue Bresil.

Lot 860: Delightfantastic, winning Yeats half-sister to two graded winners, in foal to Golden Horn.

Lot 861: Zarkareva, Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 placed mare, closely related to Zarakanda and Zarkava, in foal to No Risk At All.

Lot 862: Rebel Ivy, listed hurdle winner and Grade 2 placed mare from the family of Feathered Gale, in foal to Poet’s Word.

Lot 864: Ballyshannon Rose, Grade 2 chase winner and multiple graded placed, in foal to Poet’s Word.

Lot 865: Purple Mountain, listed winner and Grade 3 placed mare in foal to Blue Bresil, consigned by Court Stud.

Sale info

Sale: Goffs December NH Sale at Kill, Co Kildare

Date/time: Monday, December 11th to Thursday, December 14th (starts 11am Monday and 10am other days).

Lots: 912

Tel: 045 886600

Web: goffs.com