Attention turns to Ireland this week as Goffs host the country's most significant yearling sale, the Orby. Ireland's reputation for producing Thoroughbreds is underpinned by a rich history, but it is the future that buyers will be fixed on this week with around 1,000 choice lots set to come under the hammer over the coming four days.
There is plenty to capture the imagination, particularly in the two-day Book 1, which begins at 10 a.m. local time Sept. 26, as Goffs have brought together a collection of blue-chip pedigrees, including a stack of siblings to recent group 1 winners and a brace of colts from the final crop of the breed-shaping Galileo.
Barn C was a hive of activity shortly before lunch on Monday as potential purchasers ran the rule over Stauffenberg Bloodstock's three-strong offering. The draft packs a punch well beyond its numbers, as it includes the Kingman half brother to Skitter Scatter (Lot 313) and a half sister to German Derby (G1) hero Fantastic Moon (Lot 373).
The Kingman colt is making his second appearance at Goffs, having topped last year's November Foal Sale as a punchy €550,000 (US$569,171) pinhook. The pedigree has continued on an upward trajectory in the intervening months with a new top-level winner, Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1) winner Aspen Grove, appearing under the second dam. As if that wasn't enough, the colt was also cataloged as a sibling to four winners, but that became five when his 2-year-old sister Skellet recorded an impressive victory at Salisbury this month.
"As you might imagine, it's a little bit of a nerve-racking time!" said Philipp Stauffenberg. "But he vets perfectly and it's clear for everybody to see that he's a nice horse. So considering what I've invested, I'm pretty relaxed."
The consignor continued: "He has a real swagger, he just swings along and has developed nicely physically. Obviously, it's nice that his own sister won her maiden very impressively, and then the other sister, Data Dependent, produced a grade 1 winner. The updates show the family is doing well around the world and all the right people have been looking at him."
This is not the first time Stauffenberg has sold at Goffs, although it is the first occasion he has consigned at the Orby under his own banner.
The homebred Masar filly out of Frangipani is another with a progressive pedigree, as her half brother Fantastic Moon was entered in the sale having already won the group 1 Deutsches Derby and was last seen running out a decisive winner of the Prix Niel (G2).
The breeder said he would not normally consider offering such a well-bred filly, but suggested the prospect of cashing in on the family's recent success had prompted the move to market.
"We've been very lucky here at Goffs over the past, especially with fillies," said Stauffenberg. "When we started, we bought two classic winners here, Centaine and Que Belle, and we also sold Four Sins to the Aga Khan, which was an amazing moment.
"This filly is lovely and with Fantastic Moon winning the German Derby and Prix Niel, he looks a really serious horse. Normally we wouldn't offer a filly like her, but as Fantastic Moon has really become an international horse we think the 'pain money' could be a little different than if he was only a group 3 winner in Germany."
Reflecting on the mood on the sales ground, Stauffenberg said: "There's an international crowd here; there are quite a lot of Americans, as well as the usual European buyers. Arqana was incredibly strong and Doncaster, the Somerville, and Tattersalls Ireland have been very good too, so it looks like the market is in a positive place."
Among the various United States buyers doing their due diligence on a balmy afternoon were Glenn 'Bo' Bromagen and Ramiro Restrepo.
"The quality here is fantastic and obviously there's access to pedigrees we don't have in America," said Restrepo, who has been in the headlines this year as the buyer and co-owner of Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Mage . "The Irish really know how to raise a good horse so we just want to come along and get a slice of that pie."
Expanding on the appeal of purchasing European bloodstock with a view to racing in the U.S., Restrepo continued: "The New York Racing Association and a couple of other jurisdictions are creating some big turf programs, and the athletes that come out of here are just a cut above our American turf horses.
"Rather than trying to go through the private market and buy a horse who's won a maiden or run second and pay a high six figures, you can come here and have the horse from day one, put it through our program and go after these big races."
The Marquee Bloodstock man has already enjoyed success out of the Orby, having purchased the listed-placed Expert Eye filly Isabel Alexandra from Deerpark Stud in 2021.
Bromagen suggested there are other benefits to traversing the Atlantic, too, as he said: "From a professional perspective, being able to see a different kind of horse makes us better at our job; seeing more is part of the game."
The agents noted the strength of the yearling market on both sides of the pond, and said they expected that trend to continue in Kildare.
"In this day and age there are so many sharp horsemen around that it's hard to sneak one past the goalkeeper," said Restrepo. "All the big guys are here. We'll just do our best to identify something with pedigree and athleticism and then hope the racing gods are on our side!"
Word on the sales ground suggests there is athleticism in abundance, and there is certainly a strong collection of pedigrees contained within the catalog. As well as Stauffenberg's headline offering, Kingman is also represented as the sire of Lot 504 from The Castlebridge Consignment, which presents the half brother to Two Thousand Guineas (G1) winner and Coolmore resident Saxon Warrior. The pair are out of the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) winner Maybe.
Sea The Stars has 15 lots entered, including three youngsters who are siblings to group 1 winners. Perhaps the most eye-catching of the triumvirate is Tinnakill House's filly out of the budding blue hen Repose (Lot 48), which makes the yearling a half sister to globe-trotting four-time group/grade 1 winner State of Rest.
The Castlebridge Consignment presents the Sea The Stars filly out of Jumooh (Lot 434), a full sibling to Sydney Cup (G1) winner Shraaoh, group 2 scorer Raheen House, and the listed-winning Sea of Faith, while Newtown Stud offers the half brother to Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1) victor and up-and-coming sire Phoenix of Spain (Lot 488).
The final crop of the late, great Galileo contains just a dozen yearlings, making the two that are entered in the Orby Sale bona fide collectors' items. Baroda Stud offers the colt out of Prix de Lieurey (G3) winner Wind Chimes (Lot 179), while Castlehyde Stud presents the brother to Irish St. Leger Trial (G3) and Herbert Power Stakes (G2) scorer Delphi (Lot 269). Both colts were bred by Coolmore.
