Goffs ‘Quietly Hopeful’ Ahead Of Groundbreaking New Classic Breeze-Up Sale

[Wandering Eyes]

Goffs chief Henry Beeby has described himself as 'quietly hopeful' ahead of the groundbreaking new Classic Breeze-Up Sale, due to kick off at 6.15pm on Saturday. This will be the first sale of its kind in Ireland with Goffs bidding to cater to a sector of breeze-up handlers who would usually be making their way to Arqana in France by this time of year with their later-maturing juveniles.

The breeze itself took place at Naas on Monday with inspections continuing that evening and into the following morning. Handlers returned to the Kildare Paddocks on Friday morning to continue showing and, while footfall is reported to be steady, Beeby says he has no doubt that the horses assembled at Goffs have the right profile to attract a good buying bench on Saturday. 

“We're quietly hopeful,” he said. “It's obviously a big test as it's the first time there has been a new breeze-up sale in Ireland for a number of years. We've had rave reviews about the location of the breeze at Naas and we can't say enough good things about that. There has been plenty of interest and we believe there are enough good horses here to attract a good buying bence so let's see what happens.”

Asked if it was too early to think about how this sale could be refined going forward, Beeby said, “Internally, we will review it on Monday and take some soundings back from the vendors in particular. There's nothing I'm thinking, 'oh Lord, I wish I had done this differently' about. We've had a bigger gap than is traditional in Europe between the breeze and the sale. Whether that ends up being a positive or a negative will be found out on Saturday. We've made sure the integrity of the process has been maintained by taking blood tests post-sale and will offer that again at the point of purchase. We're delighted with the catalogue that we have assembled and we have been well-supported by the breeze-up community.”

Tom and David Brickley of Ard Erin Stud openly admit to being major fans of the new concept. The Brickleys will offer colts by Zarak and Sioux Nation that were put aside with this sale in mind. 

David explained, “The two horses we brought here are later-maturing types that needed a bit of time. You'd imagine that the Zarak colt is tailor-made for this sale and the Sioux Nation colt is out of a good Aga Khan family and is coming to himself at the right time also. It's a different concept, a bit like America where the breeze and the sale are spaced out a bit, but we're delighted to be supporting it. The one thing I would say is, while we haven't been overrun with shows, the phone has been busy all week and we have had plenty of calls from different buyers. That has to be a very positive sign.”

He added, “The breeze-up consignors were crying out for a sale like this and credit to Goffs for taking it on. We're all hoping that it goes well and that there is something to build on. Anyone that I have spoken to definitely thinks that there is, so fingers crossed for Saturday.”

Beeby acknowledged that the boutique nature of the sale means that footfall will naturally be down compared to the usual breeze-up sales and shared that he expects a lot of work to be done online and over the phone by agents and buyers on Saturday. 

He said, “We know there are people coming who haven't been on the ground yet but we are also expecting a fair bit of telephone and online bidding. That is the nature of the breeze-ups – there is so much transparency with the film of the breeze and vetting etc. This is a sale where a few pairs of eyes can cater for a lot of different people. Our indication is that there are a number of horses that will have plenty of interest in them.”

Asked what would deem this new sale a success, Beeby concluded, “Deemed a success would mean people will walk away saying that was a good sale. How a good sale is defined is by selling a good proportion of the horses. We'd also like to sell some horses for a price that will catch people's eye. We want this sale to be seen as a viable part of the breeze-up season. We obviously have the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale which is massively successful and has a great record in the ring and on the track. This is the next step in adding to our portfolio.”

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