Pivotal played a major role during the second session of
the Goffs Orby Sale on Wednesday in Kildare and the stallion
provided the day’s central focus when his Moyglare Stud-consigned
colt sold to John Ferguson for €320,000.
Consigned by Walter Haefner’s world-renowned establishment, Hip No.
282 is out of In Anticipation (Sadler’s Wells) and is a
half-brother to Irresistible Jewel (Danehill), winner of the 2002 Ribblesdale S.
(Eng-G2) and Blandford
S. (Eng-G3) as well as runner-up in that year’s Prix de l’Opera (Fr-G1). Irresistible
Jewel has already started to make her own mark in the breeding shed, with her
daughter Mad About You (Ire) (Indian Ridge) almost
registering a classic success last term when a promoted second in
the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) before returning in 2009 to win the
Gladness S. (Ire-G3).
Wednesday’s offering is also a half to listed winner Diamond Trim
(Highest Honor [Fr]), whose daughter Profound Beauty (Danehill) was recognized
as a dual Irish highweight in 2008. Profound Beauty recently captured the Curragh Cup
(Ire-G3) and Ballyroan S. (Ire-G3).
“Obviously, the Pivotal is from an excellent family,” said
Joe Osborne, who was bidding on behalf of Ferguson. “He was a
very good colt and we’ve been lucky with Moyglare before. We’re
very fond of the sire, who gets a lot of very good winners over a
variety of distances.”
Ferguson also was the name on the docket
after Osborne bid successfully at €220,000 for Middlelane Farm’s
Hip 215, a daughter of Dalakhani whose half-brother Khor Dubai (Kheleyf) is a useful performer for the Godolphin
stable. Her dam, Dievotchkina (Bluebird), is a half to French highweight Russian Hope (Rock Hopper)
as well as Group 2 victors
Russian Cross (Cape Cross [Ire]) and Archange d’Or (Danehill).
“The Dalakhani was a lovely filly from a very good
home which has produced a number of high-class horses already,”
Osborne added.
Denis and Joan Brosnan’s Croom House Stud consigned a Medicean colt that sold for
€240,000 during Tuesday’s opening session
and they were in the limelight again on Wednesday after their
daughter of Jewel in the Sand (Bluebird) was the top-priced
filly. Hip 292 is by Galileo (Ire) and her dam was the winner of
the 2004 Cherry Hinton S. (Eng-G2). She was knocked down to Adrian
Nicoll of BBA Ireland for €310,000.
“I’ve bought her on behalf of
a partnership being put together by Ben Sangster, which is going
to buy several top fillies,” Nicoll said. “This filly was a
really good sort out of a very good race mare and by a top-class
stallion. I thought that she was actually quite reasonably
priced. I’ve bought Ben two Galileo fillies in the past — Dress
Rehearsal (Ire) and Paris Winds (Ire) — and both of them have gone
on to be stakes winners.”
Late in the session, another daughter
of Galileo set off fireworks when selling to Goffs auctioneer
Clive Gardiner, who was bidding on behalf of an undisclosed buyer
over the phone for €280,000. From the draft of Paul Shanahan’s
Ashtown House Stud, Hip 399 is out of Parvenue (Ezzoud [Ire]) and her page features 1990 Middle
Park S. (Eng-G1) scorer and classic-placed sire Lycius; Prix Morny (Fr-G1) and Moyglare Stud S.
(Eng-G1)
placegetter Tereshkova (Mr. Prospector), winner of the 1994 Prix
de Cabourg (Fr-G3); and Akabir (Riverman),
who was successful in the 1987 Dixie H. (G2) and Bougainvillea
H. (G2).
Overall, the Orby appears to be holding up against
the preceding Million, with the average of €67,951 only falling
by 7 percent on last year and the median of €50,000 down by a
respectable 11 percent.
Selling concludes Thursday and full results are available at www.goffs.com.