‘There Are Nerves – The November Foal Sale At Goffs Is Our Cup Final’

[Wandering Eyes]

Goffs sparks happy memories for the family-run Ballinacurra Stud, which comprises brothers George and David Mullins along with their cousin Denis McCarthy, who have enjoyed some major results at the foal sales here in recent years. 

It was at this sale in 2022 when the boys of Ballinacurra enjoyed a week to remember when selling foals by Blue Point (Ire) and Ghaiyyath (Ire) for €200,000 and €145,000. 

The team are quietly hopeful of another profitable week at Kildare Paddocks with a seven-strong draft set to go under the hammer, including foals by Dark Angel (Ire), Kodiac (GB) and St Mark's Basilica (Fr). 

Mullins explained, “We've a nice draft of horses, including a couple of nice foals to sell on Wednesday. We've been coming to Goffs for a long time and it's every consignor's ambition to be coming here with the nicer foals for Wednesday. We think we have brought some quality foals to the market so we're quietly hopeful.”

For all that Goffs has provided the Ballinacurra team with some memorable moments, those big-ticket sales have been tinged with sadness. Michael Mullins, who laid the foundations of the County Limerick stud, passed away in 2021. To say the late breeder would be proud of how his sons and nephew have carried on the mantle would be an understatement and Mullins is hoping to continue that proud tradition this week. 

He said, “Goffs has been a very lucky place for us. Even when we were younger, the talk around the kitchen table always revolved around how the foals were progressing and what shape they were in ahead of Goffs. The Blue Point and the Ghaiyyath selling in 2022 was a magic day but we've been fortunate to have had a few more six-figure foals sell here as well.”

Mullins added, “We're very positive about this year's draft. It has been quite busy over the past couple of days so you'd have to be optimistic. But there are a lot of nerves-there's no point saying otherwise. Your whole year builds up to this sale so it's like your cup final if you like. It's a hugely important week for every breeder and we'd be hopeful for a good week.”

It's not just make or break for the breeders this week. Pinhookers and end users will live and die by the decisions they make between Monday and Thursday, where close to 1,000 foals will be offered under the hammer. Any person who can turn a €200 foal into a €18,000 yearling knows what they are doing and that's exactly what Sarah Dempsey of Tincoon Stables did at the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale with a colt by Lope Y Fernandez (Ire). That result among others has provided Dempsey with an opportunity to dig a little deeper this week but, make no mistake, she will not be venturing too far away from what has proved to be a tried and trusted model in unearthing value at the middle to lower end of the market. 

She explained, “We've been pinhooking for the past couple of years and it's definitely working. If we see a chancy foal that walks at small money, we are willing to take a punt. The sire doesn't really bother me but they have to walk. You'll always sell a nice horse regardless of what they are by. We started off with one or two and this year we sold four yearlings. We'd like to expand it and are planning to buy a few more this year.”

Dempsey continued, “The Lope Y Fernandez was very cheap but we knew that there was improvement in him. He turned inside out for us and it was an amazing result. We couldn't believe it. We have a bigger budget this year as a result but we won't be losing the run of ourselves-we're still searching for a bargain. We know that we are able to buy nice horses and we might try to up the level a small bit this year but we won't be changing tack too much. Really, it's all about getting out and seeing as many horses as possible and hoping that one or two might slip through the cracks.”

A scene from the sales on Sunday | Goffs

Indeed, Dempsey is not the only pinhooker who faces into Goffs with something of a war chest. The strength of this year's yearling market, particularly from the Orby Sale onwards, put a very good look on the year for many traders. Nobody is more aware of this than Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby, who is expecting bountiful trade for the foals right through to the mares session on Friday and Saturday.

He said, “This is a sale we are very proud of and it has the cream of the Irish foal crop. The best Irish foals come here because we deliver every year. The place is absolutely buzzing today [Sunday] and every vendor I have spoken to can't believe the footfall. There is an international audience here, all of the Irish and English pinhookers are here and there is some Japanese interest as well. We're just after having a yearling sale season that appeared to get stronger and stronger and that would give hope that pinhookers will get stuck in and you'd hope that there are also plenty of end users who will see the value towards the top end of the market as well.”

As well as foals by top notch stallions Blue Point (Ire), Camelot (GB), Havana Grey (GB), Mehmas (Ire), Kingman (GB), Lope De Vega (Ire), No Nay Never, Night Of Thunder (Ire), Wootton Bassett (GB) and more, for many buyers, this week will provide the first glimpse of some of the potential stars of the future, with foals by Minzaal (Ire), Blackbeard (Ire) and Bayside Boy (Ire) to name but a few on show. 

And while Goffs may not have the spellbinding Niarchos draft to look forward to this week, there are some big-name mares on show-none more captivating than Gouache (Ger) (Shamardal), the dam of Japan Cup-bound Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}).

Beeby concluded, “It's fair to say we will have to wait a long time to have a sale like last year's mares' sale. If you strip out the Niarchos draft from last year, we still had a good sale. We have a good catalogue this year with a lot of highlights in there, including the dam of Goliath, who is one of the jewels in the crown. But only one jewel. There are several others who are going to attract plenty of attention. We expect a big international audience for the mares session and they will possibly come for the Wednesday foals as well. We're hopeful.”

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