Powerful Trade At Goffs Headlined By Irish National Stud’s 220k Palace Pier Filly

[Wandering Eyes]

The Goffs November Foal Sale is considered by many to be the jewel in the crown for Goffs – certainly from an Irish perspective – and Tuesday's trade, which followed on from a strong curtain-raiser on Monday, went some way to confirming that opinion. 

Despite some of the best foals not being due into the ring until Wednesday, trade at the Kildare venue this week has been robust at every level. It's not exactly a secret at this stage that the foal sales at Goffs are popular among buyers but, when some of the leading pinhookers compared the auditorium at Kildare Paddocks to the coliseum in Rome, it went some way in illustrating just how competitive trade was throughout the opening two days this week.

At €220,000, a Palace Pier half-sister to recent Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf runner-up Pacific Mission, rightly stood out when selling to Paul McCartan online.

The filly represented an astute piece of business from the Irish National Stud who, at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale last year, purchased the dam Big Break (Dansili) while she was carrying what would become the Tuesday sale-topper at Goffs for just 30,000gns.

“It was a great bit of luck really,” Irish National Stud boss Cathal Beale said in an effort to deflect any praise for sourcing the filly who hails from a deep Juddmonte family for what is now proving to be a snip. 

“Ninety nine times out of 100 you buy these mares and nothing bounces your way, but on this occasion, everything that could've gone right, went right. We're extraordinarily lucky that Palace Pier has had such a good season.”

He added, “The mare herself always had lots of residual value – she's a lovely Dansili mare, but the two-year-old and the three-year-old have turned out to be very good. The Frankel horse [the 96-rated Gran Descans] has been good all season and then the two-year-old, by Lope De Vega, is Pacific Mission, and she's got her black-type and was unlucky at the Breeders' Cup. There's a helluva lot of luck attached to it, more than anything else though. 

“It's a family we know well with Famous Name and it's a deep Juddmonte pedigree. And when you buy out of the Juddmonte draft, you always have a chance. We knew we had a Frankel, a Lope De Vega and a Kingman yearling coming through, so it didn't take a lot of imagination from that point of view. Plus, she's a nice mare by Dansili, who's a very good broodmare sire. We were delighted to get her on the day and she's been very lucky since. She was covered by Shouldvebeenaring earlier this year.”

McCartan, the master of Ballyphilip Stud, has been active all week under that guise, but signed for the Palace Pier filly under the banner of CBS Bloodstock. 

He said, “She has a beautiful Juddmonte pedigree, and the update with Pacific Mission was a big factor. We will hopefully get more black-type there. A beautifully-balanced filly, all quality, and we all liked her. These are the ones that you need to be buying.”

He added, “As I said about a filly I bought last year, if the pinhook didn't work out, I'd be very, very happy to keep her and race her. Palace Pier has made a great start and that was a big factor, too. He is a very admired stallion now – and sought after. The whole package was great. The dam's full-brother Famous Name was as tough a horse as you could imagine.”

'It's Easy To Sell A Horse Like Him – He Will Fill Most People's Eye'

One of the more interesting purchases on the day came when brothers Shane and Alex Power of Tradewinds Stud went to €100,000 to secure a Make Believe colt from Highpark.

The Make Believe is out of a Montjeu mare who has produced two black-type performers in Pivoine (Redoute's Choice) and Soldanelle (Siyouni). 

“Physically, you don't see too many like him,” Alex Power commented after the purchase. “Sometimes you have to forget about fashion and go with what's in front of you and he fitted that bill. He was too expensive but we'll enjoy feeding him every day over the next year or so. I'd say he's a horse you could bring to Book 1 or 2 at Newmarket or possibly back here for the Orby. We'd be fairly open that way. Hopefully the two-year-old [Havana Flower (Havana Grey] can give us an update. She looks potentially quite nice.”

Speaking on the market, he added, “It's hard and, at the end of the day, he cost more than you'd like to be giving for horses by the unfashionable stallions. However, it is easy to sell a horse like him – I think you could pull him out to anyone and he will fill most people's eye. Whether they want to buy a Make Believe or not is up to them but he will be one of the better-looking horses they look at.”

Let's not forget that plenty of people were happy to buy the progeny of the Ballylinch Stud-based resident at the recent horses-in-training sales at Tattersalls. In fact, one gelding by the sire, Fantasy World, who reached a rating of 103 after landing the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot, sold for 600,000gns.

“Exactly, and I think there is plenty of potential left in that horse still,” said Power of Fantasy World. “There are a couple of horses in Australia by Make Believe that are quite smart and, you'd never know, our fella might capture someone's imagination Down Under next year.”

He continued, “We've gone back to what we did before, which is concentrating on buying the nice horse with a good pedigree rather than chasing the horses by the right sires. If we made a mistake this year, that could have been it. And look, it was a very hard year for pinhookers. This year's yearlings were bought off the back of roaring trade last year so maybe it was a combination of things that led to pinhookers not having it straightforward this year. But this sale has been very good again with great crowds around the place. The Irish breeder is very good at what they do and there are plenty of nice horses around the place. We've bought five so far and we're where we expect to be.”

Tradewinds spent €251,000 on those five foals. That spend included a €75,000 Awtaad filly from Stanley Lodge. 

Subplots

Figures: Of the 246 lots offered on Tuesday, 203 were sold at clearance rate of 83% [down 1% on last year]. The €8,720,500 turnover climbed by 4% while the €42,959 average was up by 4% and the €35,000 median up by 6%.

Havana Grey: It's never a grey day when the progeny of Havana Grey go under the hammer and a filly, bred by Amo Racing, proved to be one of the most expensive lots on the day when selling to Abacus Investments for €190,000. She is out of Irish Steps, a Giant's Causeway mare that Amo Racing bought in foal to the Whitsbury Manor stallion at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 180,000gns. It was Alex Elliott who signed for the filly who, according to the agent, is most likely to be reoffered as a yearling. 

Oakleigh Bloodstock: Brigitte Murphy and Basil Brindley have enjoyed a good start at Goffs with their debut consignment. Operating under Oakleigh Bloodstock, the couple has sold nine foals for a combined sum of €337,000. That haul included a €115,000 Mehmas colt to Camas Park Stud on Tuesday. 

Bayside Boy: Lot 375, the Ballinacurra Stud-consigned Bayside Boy half-sister to Ten Bob Tony (Night Of Thunder), found a suitable home at €140,000 given it was Ed Sackville who purchased the filly by the young stallion. Sackville manages the interests of TBT Racing, whose white, orange and blue silks it is that Ten Bob Tony races in and, while the agent did not confirm whose colours the filly will sport in the future, he did reveal that she was purchased with view towards being a race filly. He said, “She's had a good pedigree update this year with Ten Bob Tony and she's been bought to race. Being by Bayside Boy, another Dubawi line stallion, makes her closely related to Ten Bob Tony. I've bought a few yearlings by the sire this year too.”

Jamie Railton: A buying team of Jamie Railton, Peter Moloney and more went to €135,000 for a Dark Angel colt from Ballinacurra Stud. Railton confirmed the colt would be offered for resale next year. He said, “He is a very smart-looking colt by Dark Angel. A three-parts brother to a Group 2 winner [Albehayeb], he's out of a full-sister to a good horse in Humidor (Camacho).”

More Magic From Mehmas Leaves Tally-Ho Stud In Clover

Anything you can do, I can do better. Certainly, that was the theme from the Tally-Ho Stud roster when, 24 hours on from Starman lighting up Monday's session, Mehmas took over the mantle with six individual six-figure lots through the ring on the day. 

All told, 11 foals by Mehmas sold for an average of €103,750. The most expensive of which was a €150,000 colt consigned by Clare Manning's Boherguy Stud that went the way of Peter and Ross Doyle on behalf of Pier House Stud. 

Brendan Morrin of Pier House Stud commented, “I thought he was one of the best by Mehmas in the sale. He is out of a Pivotal mare, and I don't have to tell you about Pivotal mares. We have had success with them. He was a great mover, and to be honest it was more than I wanted to give for him, but that's the way the market is. He is a nice horse and came recommended from Clare [Manning]. I can't really say much more, but I am happy to get him.”

He added, “We have been very lucky with Mehmas. He is a top sire, and I actually think he will have a big year next year. He is a very, very good sire. We have had a lot of Acclamations, and [the Mehmas horses] are like Acclamation's. They try – when you see them in races their head is right down and they give their best.”

This week's sale has already confirmed what many breeders were fully aware of; Tally-Ho Stud is in a pretty enviable position to play home to two of the most exciting stallions in Ireland. Not only has Mehmas already made it, but some of the best judges in the business are backing the progeny of Starman – who we all know has made an outstanding start with his juveniles – training on next year and going to an even higher level judging by the price tags that some of his foals have made.

Factor that into the fact there has been plenty of love for young guns Good Guess and Persian Force along with the Daddy of them all, Kodiac, proving he still has a lot to offer when one of his foals – the last lot into the ring – made €100,000 to Michael Fitzpatrick, things are looking pretty rosey in the garden in County Westmeath. 

Thought for the Day

One of the sharpest pinhookers in the business made some interesting observations about the psyche behind the art of his craft and compared it to being a National Hunt jockey. In his own words, he took a few falls this year at the yearling sales and, while he wears the scars of one or two of the more punishing tumbles, he was back on the horse at Goffs this week. Turns out the National Hunt jockey and the pinhooker have more in common than you would think. Two of the bravest animals in the game.

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