Trading conditions may not have been entirely plain sailing in Ireland on Day 1 of the Goffs Orby Sale, but there were still significant returns for those who found everything falling into place Oct. 1. Among those were the team behind the €850,000 Blue Point yearling filly who led the market after a transaction described as "the stuff dreams are made of."
Lot 114 is a half sister to Bay City Roller, who was listed as unraced when the catalog went to press but is now 3-for-3, having swept through novices at Sandown and Chelmsford before striking in the Champagne Stakes (G2) at Doncaster.
The €850,000 filly (US$941,673, €1=US$1.11) was knocked down to Ananias Antoniadis, representing Rotterdam-based ownership vehicle Agrolexica International Trading. The company's website describes its activities as being "a vanguard in the realm of agricultural commodity trading".
The Blue Point filly is set to begin her racing career in Ireland, as Antoniadis said: "She'll be going to Joseph O'Brien for a new owner based in central Europe. She's got the pedigree to be a very good racehorse and a fantastic broodmare in time."
She was the most expensive lot Agrolexica has signed for at public auction, although she is far from the operation's first purchase. The brand's signature has appeared beside a range of foals, yearlings, and broodmare prospects over the last 12 months. Among those is the €200,000 acquisition Gouache, dam of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) hero Goliath. The group 1-winning producer is set to be reoffered at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale.
The market-leading Blue Point filly was bred by nonagenarian breeder John Connaughton and consigned by Church View Stables, whose Tom Whelan was understandably delighted.
"She's an absolutely beautiful filly, a queen," said Whelan. "Every time she was pulled out she walked perfectly and showed herself no problem. She was the same at home: she just has a great attitude. I'm so lucky Mr. Connaughton has trusted me with rearing his stock for so many years.
"The updates made the sale. We sold Bay City Roller here last year; he was a beautiful horse, he was a great athlete and walked for Ireland. This lady was a different type but had the same good attitude and athleticism."
Expanding on what the transaction meant to the team, Whelan said: "I'm only a small operation, so to have stock of that quality is a huge thrill. I've been a long time at it, nearly 45 years standing outside doors trying to sell horses, and this was on another level.
"I was standing in the bidding area while she sold and I actually had to sit down as my legs started to wobble. It means a lot, and it will to the lads at home, Eddie Doyle, my head man, and Pat Smith. The work they do is amazing. Without them I wouldn't be here. It's all teamwork. It's the stuff dreams are made of."
Earlier in the session, Oliver St Lawrence bid €780,000 (US$864,123) to secure a well-related Frankel colt offered by Imad Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud.
The third top price came much later when the Juddmonte buying team clashed with agent Hugo Merry over Lot 219, the Lope de Vega half brother to Saffron Beach from Ballylinch Stud. The hammer fell in Juddmonte's favor after the operation's general manager, Simon Mockridge, signaled a bid of €750,000 (US$830,888).
"He's a half brother to a very, very good mare and Lope de Vega's had a tremendous season," said Mockridge. "He's a very good individual and we need colts, so he was an obvious one for us. You've always got to pay for a nice horse but he was around where we thought he should be.
"What's important is looking for horses with a stallion's pedigree; that's certainly what he's got. Lope de Vega has got two new classic winners this year and he is, without a doubt, a horse we have to look to. As we saw with the Middle Park winner (Shadow Of Light) at the weekend, they're precocious, too, and this horse looks like he'd fit into the program very well."
By the end of a near 11-hour session of selling, the clearance rate stood at 85%, with 210 lots sold from 246 offered. Those transactions generated turnover of €25,028,500 (US$27,727,824), which was up 1% against the corresponding session 12 months ago. The average price for the session was €119,185 (US$132,039), up 8%, while the median was €80,000 (US$88,628), a 2% dip against Day 1 in 2023.
Book 1 of the Orby Sale continues Oct. 2.
