THE story of the 2024 Goffs November Foal Sale largely centres around one day, Wednesday, and it goes down in history as the best single session of trading in foals at the Co Kildare venue.

The final figures for the day established records for turnover, average and median in a single session, and the aggregate of €18,246,500 was an increase of 47% over last year, while the average soared by 61% and the median shot up by 64%. The clearance rate on the day was 88%, just 22 of the 180 lots offered failing to change hands.

Extraordinary is the only superlative appropriate for what occurred at Goffs on Wednesday, and in the days after all who witnessed the trade were in awe. The high-class individuals assembled by the sales company for the catalogue warranted an international audience, and got it.

The strength of the yearling market gave hope that the foal trade would be strong, though few could have predicted the level of improvement it would deliver. Other days had different grades of foals, but each were strong too for the best on offer. The final figures for the four days produced steep rises from last year’s renewal.

Turnover rose by 26% to €32,640,000, the average surged by 34%, the median climbed by 21%, and 75 lots made €100,000 or more throughout the week, up from 42 in 2023.

Reflecting on the week, Henry Beeby said: “The cream of the Irish foal crop is our proud boast, and I think we can say without fear of contradiction that our buyers agreed, as we have witnessed a sale of true strength and depth that was, at times, simply extraordinary.

“The early signs were good with packed car parks and yards from first thing Saturday, which led to a sale on Monday that kicked us off in some style, with a trade of real vibrancy from start to finish. That vibe continued on Tuesday as we stepped up a gear, although nothing could have prepared us for Wednesday’s truly electric and historic sale.

“A seven-figure foal is always a big deal, and we are indebted to both vendor and purchaser, as well as the notable underbidder, for their faith in a stunning young colt. He was by no means the only showstopper though, as foal after foal attracted proper bidding duels as all the leading pinhookers battled with several significant end users for stunning colt after superb filly as the day progressed. Indeed, the growth recorded in every statistic was simply mind blowing by Wednesday evening and firmly cemented Goffs November as the first choice for the best Irish foals once again, as so many vendors were more than happy to acclaim the sale as the best there is for the category.

“There are so many factors that contributed to the week’s success, not least the huge numbers of young pinhookers looking to invest, which is a unique aspect of Goffs November as we enjoy the patronage of so many generations. That means that all levels of the market made progress.

“Another key point is the diversity of buyers, so clearly illustrated by 18 different buyers signing for the top 20 lots and 54 individual entities investing in six-figure foals. That points to a quality and depth to the market that augurs well for the Irish thoroughbred industry. All that said, [Thursday] was harder work and made the point that demand is not endless, albeit any foal that caught the eye of the pinhooking fraternity was as hard to buy as during any other session.

“As ever we extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to every vendor for their support as we are nothing without their wonderful foals, and wish each purchaser the best of luck, whether they bought to resell or race. If the former we stand ready and waiting to work for the buyers as they switch to vendor mode next autumn. Goffs Orby and Premier provide consistency and strength at all levels of the market and no team will work harder for you”.

Godolphin pays €1 million for foal by Sea The Starson>

STAR of the week was an outstanding son of Sea The Stars, and here is a colt with the Derby already in his future plans. An own-brother to the Group 1 Prix Vermeille winner Teona, and a half-brother to the Group 2 Prix Hocquart winner Al Hilalee, the Baroda Stud-consigned sale-topper is by a champion and out of the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Ambivalent. His sale price was €75,000 more than his dam realised last year.

The appearance of the colt in the early part of the day was the catalyst for a bidding tete-a-tete between two superpowers in racing, Juddmonte and Godolphin.

Sheikh Mohammed’s operation was represented in the sale ring by Anthony Stroud, and his nod at €1 million was enough to force closure and secure ownership.

“His pedigree rather speaks for itself and we’re very pleased to have him,” reported Stroud.

“I thought he was very nice; he moved well and had a lovely body. There’s a lot of stamina in his pedigree and that’s a good thing. We like staying horses. The dream is that he could be a Derby or Cup contender.”

Baroda Stud

No doubt relieved and certainly delighted with the result was David Cox of Baroda Stud, who presented the colt on behalf of his breeder. Cox said: “When I saw who was vetting him this week I kind of thought we could get there. One team in particular were looking at him, and also looking at what the top prices for foals at Goffs had been in the past, so I thought ‘right, we could be getting into that bracket’.

“When you have a mare like that, who’s a Group 1 winner and bred a Group 1 winner, and then she turns up with a foal who looks like that and he also x-rays clear and has a brilliant mind every show, you know you’ve got something special. I’m delighted for Mr Zhang and the team. This is the second seven-figure lot we’ve sold for him this year.

“He was always a class horse, and always stood out. Vin Cox came up in the summer and saw him, and said ‘let’s see if we can get a few quid back for the mare’, who they paid a bit of money for at Goffs last year. She’s paid for herself now. It’s great for the team at home, everfne does such a brilliant job.”

Night Of Thunder inspires pinhookers

FOALS by Night of Thunder were conceived when his fee was €100,000, but that is up to €150,000 for 2025. He had four colts catalogued for this year’s sale, all appeared, all sold, and they averaged slightly more than four times the fee for the stallion.

Goffs Scandinavian agent Filip Zwicky bid on behalf of The JC Organisation APS, that being the trading name for John Christensen and Alice Weiste, and for €550,000 they secured The Castlebridge Consignment’s colt out of the Teofilo mare Assurance, a winner for Jim Bolger and a full-sister to his Group 1 two-year-old winner Gear Up.

The mare’s first foal, sold at Goffs for €460,000, is Pretty Diva (Kingman), and she has won both her starts this year at two in Japan. If she goes on to secure blacktype, and if her yearling half-sister by Mehmas, who realised 420,000gns when selling to Hugo Lascelles this year, goes on to win, then this brave pinhooking plan could yield a great result.

Should the Danish organisation manage to register success with this project it would not be a first. They more than doubled a previous pinhook they did at Goffs in 2020 and 2021. Zwicky said: “We loved him as soon as he came out of the box, and we obviously have one eye on his Kingman half-sister in Japan, who’s unbeaten in two starts and highly thought of. He’ll board at the Irish National Stud, and we’ll look forward to bringing him back next year for the Orby Sale.”

Christensen added: “We just think he’s a really good-looking horse; he owned the ring today. We enjoy the high-end pinhooking, maybe it’s the Viking blood in us! I need to go home to Denmark and work now, to pay the bills, but not before we’ve celebrated with a Guinness.”

Another of the Night Of Thunder colts who will be pinhooked is Swordlestown Little’s first foal out of the dual winner Sonata Ultima. That daughter of Acclamation missed out on earning blacktype when she was fourth in a listed race at Deauville. She is an own-sister to the Group 2 juvenile winner Lilbourne Lad and he was runner-up in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes. Philipp Stauffenberg paid a tasty €440,000 for the colt.

The German purchaser opined: “We’re punching high again with this pinhook, but the sire can’t do anything wrong. I really think he is an exceptional sire, and this was an exceptional colt. I just hope he will be lucky for us in the sales ring and, most importantly, will be good on the racecourse. It’s difficult to buy, but then we all expected it would be on the back of the yearling sales being so strong.”

The result was yet another win in the Goffs sale ring for Swordlestown Little’s Mariann Klay and Des Leadon. They also sold a second Night Of Thunder to Longview Stud for €290,000, while Sheila Grassick’s Newtown Stud received €340,000 from Sumbe for their colt by the Darley sire.

Classic sires dominate at the top end

THERE was a great familiarity with the sire profile for the top lots this week. All but one of the foals by Lope De Vega found new owners, with the best being Greenville House Stud’s half-sister to a pair of stakes-winning juveniles. At €450,000, this was the best price of the week for a filly.

Adam Morgan has taken the reins at his family’s farm in Co Kilkenny, and on Wednesday he sold a trio of six-figure lots on behalf of clients. The Lope De Vega filly was on behalf of Patrick Burns.

“Having good owners supporting you is a massive thing, especially when you’re young,” said Morgan. “It’s a privilege that they entrust high quality animals like that to me, I’m massively grateful. It’s like trainers: there are plenty who are well able to train, but you need to have the right raw materials to get you where you want to go.

“I returned home and started up Greenville House Stud about four years ago. I get a lot of help from my dad Isaac, who bred Fast Company, and aunt Mary, who bred Shattered Love. My partner Jill has rowed in behind me too.

“Patrick covered [Ayr Missile, the filly’s dam] with a lot of quick stallions and she’s come up with the goods, so he decided to go to Lope De Vega. The resultant foal looked quite fast, and she was very busy this week. A lot of end users liked her, especially as she was a filly and she had that additional residual value.” Maurice Regan’s Newtown Anner bought her.

Greenville also sold a Blue Point half-brother to Group 3 winner Rumbles Of Thunder for €320,000 to Sumbe. The colt’s dam is a Halling full-sister to Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam winner Harland, and a half-sister to Musis Amica, runner-up in both the Group 1 Prix de Diane-French Oaks, and Prix Vermeille.

M.V. Magnier made a single purchase this week and it was a no-brainer, giving €420,000 for a Camelot half-brother to classic winner Mother Earth from Grenane House Stud, the vendor’s star of the sale. “He’s just a nice horse,” said Magnier. “Mother Earth was one of those special fillies and she has a Frankel filly foal and is in foal to Justify.

“Camelot is having the best year he’s had since he went to stud. He’s flying and they’ve been selling well all year. He’s just gone into elite status. In fairness to Adrian and Mark [Wallace] of Grenane House Stud, they’ve been big supporters of ours for a long time. They send a lot of their mares to us, and we’re just delighted to be able to support them in return. It’s a great result for them.”

Another star on Wednesday for the stallion was the €300,000 sale of Graigue Stables’ first foal out of an unraced Wootton Bassett mare, Rob Speers signing for the outstanding individual for Old Mill Stud.

Brosnan pays €360,000 for Blue Point colt foal

DENIS Brosnan’s €2 million yearling at this year’s Orby Sale graces the back cover of the foal catalogue this week, and the Croom House Stud owner, who trades at Epona Bloodstock, reinvested €360,000 in a Blue Point colt out of the Zoffany mare Celeste De la Mer, sold by Carrick Hill Stud.

Last year the same vendors received €310,000 for a Sea The Stars colt out of the same mare, dam of the Group 2 Futurity Stakes runner-up Maritime Wings, and he went on to sell for a profitable €500,000 at the Orby Sale. Brosnan will be hoping to do the same, or better next year. Carrick Hill brought two foals to the sale and both realised a six-figure sum. Brosnan purchased a second foal, giving €120,000 for a Dark Angel colt from Abbeville Stud.

Blue Point was the most successful sire of the week by aggregate sales, his 16 lots sold totalling €2,806,000, at an average of €175,375. Four of his sons and two daughters made in excess of €200,000 each. Pier House Stud gave €265,000 for a half-brother to the stakes-winning juvenile Summer Sands, while both daughters among his top half dozen sold for €250,000 each.

Too Darn Hot had six foals catalogued, offered and sold, and Beech Tree Stud’s son of a Galileo full-sister to triple Group 1 winner Lush Lashes was the best of the week, costing Yulong, and their representative Paul Curran, €290,000.

Every son and daughter of Mehmas presented this week changed hands, with Eddie O’Leary’s Lynn Lodge Stud bagging the best. He paid €270,000 for Stanley Lodge’s son of the winning Le Havre mare Ripponette, and that mare is a half-sister to the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes winner Reggane.

Moyglare Stud brought six foals to market, and have six empty stables at home. Blandford Bloodstock was the name on the buyer’s docket at €260,000 for the first foal out of the Group 3 runner-up Federica Sophia, a Galileo mare. The colt, by Kingman and one of three by the sire sold on Wednesday, is a grandson of the Group 2 winner Sapphire. Federica Sophia’s half-sister Elizabeth Jane gave the pedigree a further boost when she won the Listed Trigo Stakes since the publication of the catalogue. Sapphire is one of the stars produced by the outstanding broodmare Polished Gem, dam of Free Eagle, Search For A Song, and the exceptional Kyprios.