Goffs will offer Autumn Yearling Sale vendors the opportunity to sell online in November.
It was announced last week that Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale would be rescheduled to the 12 – 13 January 2021 following the latest Covid restrictions announced by the Irish Government. However feedback from vendors was that these dates were not the preferred option for many of the yearlings catalogued. Under the current Level 5 restrictions in Ireland, live sales with horses and people in attendance cannot take place for the six week period so Goffs proposes to hold an online auction for Autumn Yearlings on 17 and 18 November, two of the days originally scheduled for the postponed Goffs November Foal Sale (now rescheduled for 18 – 21 December).
Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have confirmed to Goffs that Lots sold or bought in “under the hammer” in this way will be qualified for auction races in Ireland and the UK, a key component of selling for many of the yearlings due to be offered in this sale.
Vendors are asked to confirm to bloodstock@goffs.ie by 5pm on Friday 30 October whether they wish to participate in the online sale and submit any specific questions. Goffs will finalise the catalogue next week and confirm whether it will be held as a timed online sale or live auction. Each Lot will retain its original Lot number as per the previously published Autumn Yearling Sale catalogue.
With buyers unable to inspect horses, yearlings cannot be offered online “as they stand”, so yearling vendors will be required to provide the following to Goffs so that potential purchasers have as much information available to them as is possible without physically inspecting each yearling:
- A copy of the passport of each Lot to show the Lot’s information, markings and vaccinations
- Conformation video footage of each Lot
- Veterinary Certificate (dated not earlier than 14 days prior to the Sale) for each Lot
- Any Condition/ Vice/ Wind Operation not in the catalogue which could otherwise result in the cancellation of the Sale by the Purchaser under the Goffs Condition of Sale
To maximise buying confidence, purchasers may instruct a veterinary surgeon to re-examine any Lot by 5.00 pm on the second day following the sale at the vendor’s premises. In the event of a difference of opinion between the purchaser’s Veterinary Surgeon and the Veterinary Certificate lodged by the Vendor, the sale may be cancelled at the discretion of the purchaser.
Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said:
“The ever-evolving 2020 landscape prompted us to review the options for our Autumn Yearling vendors again after a number of vendors voiced concerns about the rescheduled January 2021 dates. Online bloodstock sales are still in their infancy worldwide, but we have been hugely encouraged by the online participation at all Goffs sales this year, starting with the breeze up and right throughout the yearling sales, so we believe this is the best available option at the current time in Ireland.
While we cannot guarantee how buyers will respond to an online inspection platform for yearlings, we will market this online offering with renewed determination and hope that this low cost platform will be seen as an attempt by Goffs to offer a viable marketplace when so many factors are conspiring against us”.
Goffs will liaise directly with vendors in relation to the specific conditions of the online sale in due course whilst there will still be the option to sell Autumn catalogued yearlings in the new year if that is the wish of owners.
View catalogue.