New Approach remains one of the Goffs Orby Sale’s finest graduates, with
Jim Bolger’s €430,000 purchase five years ago now the stuff of history. It was
therefore fitting that Darley’s resident should end up topping the latest
renewal with a member of his first crop after his daughter from the Castlebridge
Consignment sold for €350,000.
Having made a notable first foray into the 2011
European yearling market on Tuesday, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s
Shadwell Estates was responsible for the purchase of the chestnut lass as well
as the second highest-priced lot on a day that the fillies dominated.
Lot No. 234 — a January-foaled half-sister to last month’s Desmond S.
(Ire-G3) winner Future
Generation (Hurricane Run [Ire]) — hails from the extended family of 2008 Irish
One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1), Nassau S. (Eng-G1) and Sun Chariot S. (Eng-G1) victress Halfway
to Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal). That ex-Ballydoyle star and her high-class dam
Cassandra Go (Indian Ridge [Ire]) featured prominently on day one and it
was no different as soon as the bidding started on the second session.
“She was one of the highlights of the day for us,” Shadwell’s Stephen Collins
explained. “She’s an outstanding yearling with a good update and by a very
exciting stallion. We were delighted to get her.”
In a frenetic opening few minutes on Wednesday, Sheikh Hamdan’s operation also paid
€340,000 for Airlie Stud’s Lot 237, a daughter of Arch. Agent Hugo Merry,
alongside trainer Brian Meehan, was the underbidder at
€320,000.
That sire’s success with his runners this term was reflected in Kildare and Angus Gold swooped again to deny
trainer Brian Meehan for the Claiborne Farm resident’s only offering during the
session. A full sister to 2005 Gulfstream Park H. (G1) winner
Prince Arch, she is also a half to 2009 National S. (Ire-G1) hero Kingsfort (War
Chant), who cost a bargain €36,000 at this venue three years ago.
“Her pedigree speaks for itself, with the dam having produced two Group 1
winners already,” Collins added. “She’s going to make a fantastic broodmare
prospect in time and she’s an excellent, well-balanced individual from a good
farm.”
After a lull in proceedings during midafternoon, a daughter of Galileo (Ire)
with all the right connections cranked up the pressure. Staffordstown Stud’s Lot
404 is out of Altitude (Green Desert), who managed only
to win a lowly maiden on Southwell’s Fibresand, but who more importantly is a
half-sister to the Group 1-winning Alzao duo of Alborada (GB) and
Albanova (GB).
Opportunities to acquire female descendants from this famed Alruccaba (Crystal
Palace) dynasty are few and far between and Henry Beeby was taking his
usual positive stance as he instigated the bidding. Proclaiming the page to
feature “the pedigree of the book” and to have “everything you want,” he
mustered a €100,000 starting bid. In the end, it was Sir Robert Ogden who took the prize
with a final bid of €300,000. As on day one, Racing Manager Barry
Simpson took instructions by phone.
“She’s a really good filly from an
outstanding pedigree,” Simpson said. “Hopefully, she can run as well as her
pedigree suggests. She was a filly we liked a lot from the moment we saw her,
although we were probably at our limit there.”
This year’s renewal of the sale has thus far failed to match last year’s vital figures, with
no eye-popping top lot to live up to the €950,000 benchmark of 12 months ago. While the clearance rate has inched up to just over 80
percent, the average of €61,544
is down by 6 percent and the median of €42,000 has fallen by nearly 7
percent.
Full results, catalog and updates are available on
www.goffs.com.