Cocktail Party Leads Goff's Broodmare Buys

Owner/breeder Dash Goff bought a trio of broodmares at the Feb. 8 opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, topped by the $240,000 purchase of Cocktail Party, who is in foal to Liam's Map. Cocktail Party, consigned as Hip 218 by James Keogh (Grovendale), agent, was the highest-priced broodmare of the day. The winning 7-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast had her first foal, a Connect colt, in 2021. She is out of the Premiership mare Partyship and is a full sister to multiple stakes winner Barrier Reef. She's also a half sister to stakes-placed Arctic Party and Kissin Party. She comes from the family of grade 1 winners Yes It's True and Silver Max and Canadian champion 3-year-old male Kiss a Native—all millionaires. The Herbener family bred Cocktail Party in Kentucky. "I liked everything about her and her former owner Jim Herbener is a good friend of mine. It's a very, very nice mare. It may be the nicest mare on the grounds and I'm real pleased with her," Goff said. Cocktail Party first sold for $110,000 to Michael Foster out of James Herbener's consignment to the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She was bought for $28,000 by Fords Run Farm when offered by Columbiana Farm at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Goff said he does not have a stallion picked out yet for Cocktail Party after she delivers her Liam's Map foal. The mare will head to Bayne and Christina Welker's Spring Ridge Farm in Kentucky, but Goff is also purchasing mares to send to Arkansas. He and his family bred and raced Nodouble, an Arkansas-bred who won the 1968 Arkansas Derby and was named champion older horse in 1969-70. "The Welkers and I have done business 35, 40 years, and I did business with his dad back then. We had two nice foals last night—we had a Mitole and an American Pharoah last night—so I'm having a good day," Goff said after signing the ticket on Cocktail Party. "I'm buying three or four really nice mares and trying to build up a little broodmare band," he said. "I bought two in November (at Keeneland), I bought three in January (at Keeneland), and I bought a couple here." Goff also purchased Tuesday A Change of Heart, an 8-year-old Unbridled's Song mare in foal to Vekoma, for $120,000. Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the mare as Hip 124. Rounding out Goff's Tuesday purchases was Sweet Magic, a 7-year-old Quality Road mare from the family of grade 1 winners Sweet Symphony and Horse of the Year Holy Bull. In foal to Spun to Run, Sweet Magic was offered as Hip 63 by Gainesway, agent, and sold for $14,000. Goff's total receipts Tuesday came to $374,000.