Strong demand for select National Hunt foals at Goffs December Sale

Goffs’ year concluded with a December National Hunt Sale that saw strong demand for the select foals on offer and a top price that far exceeded last year’s highest priced foal.

Goffs’ year concluded with a December National Hunt Sale that saw strong demand for the select foals on offer and a top price that far exceeded last year’s highest priced foal.  Presentingdominated proceedings, and Dick Frisby went to €35,000 to secure Ballyhampshire Stud’ssale topping Presenting colt out of a half sister to superstar Denman (). 

Two more sons of the leading sire occupied the next two highest prices, with Kevin Galvin’s easy moving colt out of a half sister to Grade 2 winner Moneytrain () going to Cloonteen Stables for €28,000.  Walshtown Stud’s colt out of a half sister to Grade 1 winners Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman () later fetched €26,000 when knocked down to Ian Ferguson.  John Nallen meanwhile signed for a good looking Flemensfirth colt from The Beeches Stud () for €22,000. 

The breeding stock section of the sale was topped by the dam of Boychuk in foal to Presenting.  Robert Donaldson’s mare Golden Flower () was purchased by Rathbarry Stud for €17,000. 

Reflecting on the past year for Goffs, Chief Executive Henry Beeby said: 

“The selective nature of the National Hunt market that was so evident at sales last month was very much on display at Goffs today and so it is no surprise to see a clearance rate of 42%. That said the top of our National Hunt Foal market has made very real advances over the last 12 months with a top price that comfortably surpasses the 2009 high by a quarter proving, yet again, that the best lots stand out at Goffs NH sales.  

The best apart, however, today has been hard going in places and we were not helped by the weather that forced us to postpone for a week and then resulted in us clashing with an excellent race card at Fairyhouse. That the sale took place at all though is testament to our Complex staff who worked round the clock to clear the yards and walkways over the last few days. These are so often the unsung part of our team but Ger Hennessy and his crew deserve every credit for ensuring we had a Complex from which to operate.  

2010 has been another challenging year for Goffs as we were faced with some very difficult decisions at our financial year end in March. The hit we took has been well documented but it is some source of considerable pride, perhaps even honour, for us to be able to say that despite a widely reported bad debt problem, caused by a number of factors not unique to Goffs, we insulated our vendors from any of the problems by ensuring every one was paid as and when due. That has always been the Goffs way and will continue to be so. 

We have been assisted through this turbulent time by some very supportive shareholders who have so often put the interests of Goffs and, indeed, the Irish Bloodstock industry above their own and I think it is fair to say that we all, both within and out with Goffs, owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

In the sales ring we have proved some big points this year with an Orby Sale that pumped out yet more Classic and Group 1 winners and enjoyed a vibrant trade driven by a buying bench that missed no major European buyer of yearlings. That allowed us to sell Europe’s second highest priced yearling at double the price of our top lot in 2009. The Orby was followed by a November Foal Sale that returned a truly spectacular trade that commentators noted was as strong, if not stronger, as any anywhere followed by a mare sale that sold the quality well in a selective market. These two sales account for 80% of the Goffs year and allow us to head towards 2011 with a degree of bullishness we have not felt for a while. 

Those sales demonstrated that the Irish breeders who sent us their best were handsomely rewarded and we will repeat our cry that Irish breeders need have no fear of selling their top class bloodstock at Goffs. We have the buyers and just need the best horses to achieve the best prices as we have done so many times. Our promise remains consistent – to provide the most vibrant market place in the best sales complex and to market your stock on the international stage. 

Of course it is plain to see that our annual turnover has fallen below that we recorded last year but that principally is as a result of moving our Horses In Training sale to DBS (which we felt worked), dropping a day of November foals (undoubtedly the right decision) and not holding sales at Dundalk this year (in the current climate they had struggled). These decisions may have cost us some ring turnover but they allowed us to focus on the key sales which we are confident will ultimately benefit those sales and, therefore, our clients.

So as we head towards Christmas and the close of the year we would take this opportunity to thank every client whose patronage we truly value whether they have been involved in one horse or many. We look forward to welcoming them back in 2011 and to selling more of the best for more”.

December NH Sale Comparative Figures 

Goffs Comparative Annual Figures