Cosmopolitan Market Sees Bloodstock Figures Rise
A busy two weeks at the Irish yearling sales saw a cosmopolitan group of buyers gather around sales rings at Tattersalls Ireland and Goffs, where positive returns saw the total bloodstock figures for the year so far grow to €104,155,100.
This figure includes the Wildenstein Dispersal at Goffs and is part of a 6% increase in bloodstock sales from this time last year.
The Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale ran from the 20th of September, with their two day sale producing a turnover exceeding €10million, the second-highest aggregate in the sale’s history. A stand out season that saw €33,000 graduate Galileo Gold win the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas brought buyers from far and wide, boosting the British contingent in particular. Topping the buyers list was bloodstock agent Ed Sackville, whose clients present at the County Meath complex included Michael Owen, while fellow British agents Gill Richardson and Amanda Skiffington made their way into the top ten. Another two days of selling followed in the form of their Part II sale, bringing final exports to 103 horses sold to Italy, with significant numbers also bought by French, Czech and Polish buyers.
The positive trend continued at the Goffs Orby Sale the following week, where a €1.4million colt bought by Godolphin’s John Ferguson topped a turnover totalling €39,925,000. Ferguson’s spending saw him top the buyers’ table, followed by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Estate Company, while South Africa’s Form Bloodstock sat third after spending over €2 million on 11 horses. A new buyer to enter the list was Justin Zayat, whose family owned American Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, and bought four horses on his first visit to Goffs, aided by agents David Ingordo and Justin Casse. Other notable international buyers were Hong Kong owner Little Kwok Hing Hung, who spent over half a million on two horses, and Japanese buyer Koji Maeda, who spent €600,000 on a daughter of top-class racemare Alexander Goldrun (IRE).
An increasing foal crop saw statistics fall at the succeeding Goffs Sportsmans’ Sale Part I and II, but the market was boosted by the presence of Chinese investor Zhang Yuesheng, who purchased 61 horses over the two days, in addition to five lots purchased at the Orby, aided by bloodstock agent Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland.
Commenting on the recent sales figures, Irish Thoroughbred Marketing CEO Charles O’Neill said, “With an extra two days of sales this year, which had an effect on the overall clearance rate, it was very welcome to see so many overseas buyers in Ireland. It was great to see so many new faces from North America, while welcoming back all our clients from the UK. It was also particularly pleasing to see a significant draft sold at public auction going to China for the first time.”