Aga Khan Remembered On Day One Of The Goffs February Sale

[Wandering Eyes]

His Highness the Aga Khan was remembered on the opening day of the Goffs February Sale, where the auditorium fell silent before the action–which was headlined by a €150,000 Space Blues (Ire) filly–got underway shortly after 11am.

The Aga Khan Studs was due to offer a draft of seven horses during the two-day sale but they were withdrawn as a mark of respect to one of the most influential owner-breeders who passed away at the age of 88 on Tuesday night. 

“On behalf of the Board of Goffs, Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby and the management and staff of the Company, I would like to express our sincerest sympathies to the family of His Highness The Aga Khan on his very sad passing,” chairman Eimear Mulhern said.

“We also send our deepest condolences to the Ismaili community throughout the world. His Highness was a wonderful man who made an enormous contribution, not just to the bloodstock industry but to the wider world through his philanthropy and humanitarian work.

“As the shareholder of reference, his unwavering support and investment in Goffs over many decades, has provided Ireland with a world class Auction House to market and sell Irish thoroughbreds globally. On a personal level, I am deeply grateful for his support, his courtesy, guidance and inspiration. A truly remarkable man, may he rest in peace”.

The Aga Khan has extremely close ties to Ireland and to Goffs particularly given he was a shareholder of the company. Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby paid a heartfelt tribute to the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims.

“His Highness was a truly inspirational person who gave so much to so many different people and areas of life. I felt privileged to have met him and will always be grateful for his advice and the time he gave to us.”

Despite the heavy degree of poignancy on the day, there was space for some happiness in the ring, notably when Derek Iceton of Tara Stud sold his Space Blues filly to John Hyland of Oghill House Stud on behalf of owner Clive Washbourn. 

The day one sale-topper is out of Declaration Of War mare Dettoria (GB), whose daughter Higher Leaves (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}) won a Group 3 contest in France last year for Henry de Bromhead. Hyland opened the Space Blues filly up at €100,000 and, for a few minutes, it looked as though he might be rewarded for his outside-the-box bidding. Alas, the hammer fell at €150,000. 

Iceton beamed, “I never thought a horse of mine would be opened up at €100,000! It was lovely. It's a lovely family and the two-year-old by Space Blues is supposed to be very good–Ed Sackville bought him at Book 2 last year. We still have the mare–we nearly sold her in November. I was offered a lot of money for her but didn't sell her. She's barren and I have a lot of very good offers for foal shares but I am somebody who likes to own a foal myself so we'll see.”

Confirming that the Space Blues was purchased on behalf of effervescent owner Washbourn, Hyland said, “I opened her at €100,000–those were my instructions. She is for Clive Washbourn and he is delighted; he's jumping up and down at the other end of the phone. She is a beautiful filly and has been bought to race. She will come back to Oghill House now for a break. She is well-bought and has great residual value too as a broodmare. I am thrilled for Derek Iceton and family–she is coming from a great home. We are delighted to get her.”

Horan Hails Ghaiyyath After Golden Touch

There can be no stopping a sire when he catches form and Jerry Horan of Ballynure Park was left singing the praises of Ghaiyyath (Ire) after selling his homebred colt by the stallion to Nancy Sexton signing under MK Bloodstock for €82,000. 

Horan sourced the dam Entertainment (GB) (Halling) for just €16,000 in foal to the stallion at the Goffs November Mares Sale in 2023. Wednesday's result represented an outstanding piece of profit for the County Wicklow man, who was keen to deflect all praise onto the stallion, who hit form with recent winners The Padre (Ire) and Opera Ballo (GB). 

“We bought the mare in foal to Ghaiyyath and were just lucky he's hit form at the right time,” Horan said. “It's a great result and we're delighted. To be honest, if he wasn't making that sort of money, we would have been happy to bring him home and re-offer him as a yearling. He's always been a lovely-walker and has plenty of quality. It looks like the sire is fulfilling his potential and he could be the real deal. Absolutely delighted.”

The post Aga Khan Remembered On Day One Of The Goffs February Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article