Major Gains In Turnover, Average & Clearance At November Breeding Stock Sale

It brought turnover for the entire November Sale to over €40 million for only the second time in its history, up 14% on last year, while the overall average rose by 17% to €37,301.

BBA Ireland secured today's sale topper when purchasing the five time winning Lawman mare Little Sweetheart (Lot 1615 - pictured) for €135,000 - almost double the highest price on the same day last year.  The five year old mare is out of the Listed winner Lady Gin.  In foal to Starspangledbanner, she hails from the family of Group 1 Breeders Cup Fillies & Mares Sprint winner Musical Romance.  

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock purchased the next highest priced lot of the day, going to €80,000 for the winning three year old filly Baliyka (Lot 1544) from The Aga Khan Studs draft.  By Cape Cross she is out of Group 3 winner Baliyana.  Another highlight of today’s trade was the winning Shamardal mare Zakhrafa from Derrinstown Stud in foal to Australian Group 1 winner Shooting To Win (Lot 1555).  Out of a Group 3 winning own-sister to Haatef, the four year old was knocked down to Rifa Mustang for €75,000. 

Click here to view full results and statistics from the November Breeding Stock Sale.

Reflecting on the mare trade at Goffs over the past two days, Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said:

“Extraordinary. It is no exaggeration to use such a superlative to describe the trade from start to finish on day 1 of the 2016 Breeding Stock Sale; and it remained strong today, albeit at a relatively lower level.

Following a foal trade that enjoyed its high spots but was definitely hard work especially earlier in the week, we approached the last two days with some trepidation mixed with increasing pre-sale excitement given the wonderful support we had received from vendors. It is not overstating things to say that this is the best breeding stock catalogue we have produced, for many a year at least, and it turned out that the huge international group of buyers that descended upon Goffs agreed, resulting in a truly frenzied session of trading. Of course the headline act was the Wildenstein Stables Ltd Dispersal and it did not disappoint. We have said several times how much we appreciated being chosen ahead of all others to conduct this significant dispersal and it was, indeed, a proud moment for the Goffs team when the gavel came down on the likes of Beauty Parlour at €1.6 million. We would also like to pay special tribute to The Castlebridge Consignment who handled the logistical challenge the numbers presented with supreme professionalism.

However the superb Wildenstein Dispersal was far from the only show in town as we enjoyed excellent drafts from the likes of Godolphin, Kiltinan Castle, Jockey Hall, Moyglare, Ballylinch, Derrinstown, The Aga Khan Studs and many more. That led to an historic day of trade with all the key statistics making huge advances as they fed off a remarkable 89% clearance rate (it was a mighty 85% over the two days). There were significantly more lots realising over €100,000 and three times the number over the €250,000 mark compared to last year, and all of these figures graphically illustrate our constant cry that we can, and consistently do, return prices as good, if not better than any other auction house anywhere when we are given the opportunity. Interestingly, the diversity of Goffs November is well illustrated by the impact of two key buyers in our leading buyer by turnover, White Birch Farm from USA who bought at the top of the market and Luke Comer who accounted for an incredible 75 lots at the lower end; both proved absolutely crucial to the sale and are appreciated in equal measure.

Whilst today’s trade was not as headline grabbing it maintained the momentum and we finish the week on a positive note with big advances again although we would repeat that should not mask the huge challenges that breeders faced at the lower end of the foal market. The foals sale clearance rate trends that we flagged 12 months ago were really quite stark and there will need to be some mature reflection as we head into the winter months as we must work together as an industry to address such issues. Goffs stand ready to play our part as our fortunes are, of course, indelibly linked to that of the Irish breeder.

For now we extend our sincere thanks to every vendor and each purchaser for their support, as well as the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing for their assistance, as November has topped €40 million for only the second time in Goffs’ 150 years (the last time was 2013 when we handled the Paulyn Dispersal) which is as much testament to our clients as to the teams, past and present, at Goffs”.

Comparative Figures - Foals

Comparative Figures - Breeding Stock
 

Comparative Figures - Total Sale

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