The third lot into the ring on the feature day of Goffs November Foal Sale provided the highlight of a superb three day’s foal trade that saw turnover rise by 43% and average by 22% over the equivalent sessions in 2016. Lot 541, a stunning filly foal by Galileo and full sister to Group 1 winner and Melbourne Cup runner-up Johannes Vermeer sold for €1.1 million to Hugo Lascelles on behalf of American interests. Offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, the filly was one of three Galileos on offer yesterday and the only foals by the Champion sire to be sold at public auction anywhere in the world this year.
Ken Bolger purchased the remaining two Galileos including a colt out of Australian Group 1 winner Melito (Lot 569) for €625,000 along with a filly out of New Zealand Group 2 winner, Fix (Lot 732) who was knocked down for €400,000.
First season sires were once again popular as Shadwell Estates bought the first Muhaarar foal through the ring, a colt out of Group 1 winner Miss Beatrix (Lot 575) for €340,000.
A total of 50 lots made €100,000 or more compared to 31 in 2016 with 10 foals making north of €250,000 compared to just four in 2016. Trade was unrelenting as the third highest and very last lot of the day saw a Sea The Stars colt (Lot 752) knocked down for €460,000 to Peter Vaughan on behalf of Capital Bloodstock.
Commenting on the conclusion of Part 1 of the foal sale, Group Chief Executive of Goffs, Henry Beeby said:
“It is rare for any foal to realise over 1 million at any sale but there was something very special about the sale topping Galileo filly that headed today’s incredibly strong sale at €1.1 million. We wish the buyers the best of luck and hope she follows in the footsteps of the last Goffs foal to make that price; now named Ghaiyyath he heads into the winter as one of the market leaders for next year’s Epsom Derby.
Trade over the three days has made significant advances and we have to put a lot of that down to the more customer friendly format that has allowed purchasers considerably more time to view all the Part 1 foals. Logistically the format has made life significantly easier for both vendors and purchasers although, of course, nothing is perfect so we will review the format after the entire sale as we still have two days of commercial foals to sell at the weekend. However it is our firm belief that Part 2 will also benefit from the change and the level of trade so far.
Since the weekend Kildare Paddocks has been buzzing and that positive atmosphere was very evident from the first lot on Monday morning. Statistically the sale has advanced in every area with a mighty 81% clearance, more than double the number breaking the €250,000 barrier and significantly more making over €100,000 whilst the average leapt by 22%. For the third time in four years the sale has been topped by a millionaire foal but the constant of the week has been the sustained demand at all levels as end users and pinhookers battled each other for lot after lot each day.
As ever we are indebted to our vendors who have trusted us with the cream of the Irish foal crop and have been duly rewarded with a trade that firmly cements the sale’s market leading status.
We now turn our attention to two superb days of Breeding Stock and look forward to another two days of foals at the end of the week".