Tasked with identifying just one horse to head to Sell Orby next week, Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby must have realized he was in a clover-leaf as he ripped his descendants apart with these sensations of Dubawi (Ire) males, Frankel (GB) and Sea The Stars (Ire) but admits that having the opportunity to be offered 11 Galileos (Ire) is a special perk ahead of one of the most anticipated sales on earth.
Beeby also described himself as excited about the 2-year-old field that Goffs Million drew at Curragh on Saturday and shared his hope that the race could prove a springboard to what promises. It’s going to be a risky trading week.
“Having 11 Galileo in his penultimate case was a big deal for us,” he said. Kirsten Rausing’s Dubawi is gorgeous and has some adorable kids by Sea The Stars also. We had FrankelS, Kings (GB), Invincible Spirits (Ire), Night Of Thunders (Ire), Dark Angels (Ire), Kodiacs (GB), Siyounis (Fr) – everything you could want.
“We have some really good sire profiles and deep, deep pedigree. Saffron Beach’s brother (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), I met him back in May and my tongue stuck out, what a handsome horse he is. “
There are also siblings with top characters Champers Elysees (Ire), Pretty Gorgeous (Fr), Chanel (Ire), Homeless Songs (Ire), Mother Earth (Ire), Sonnyboyliston (Ire), Blackbeard (Ire) and many others in the sale.
Beeby added, “There are some great No, nevers and Frankels I have also seen very beautiful. I went to the National University of Ireland and I think they have a very strong draft but it is very difficult to pick one or two horses on top of my head because all the major vendors have supported us so well . Put it this way, everything is ready for it to be a big sale.”
Before Orby kicks off two days on Tuesday, there’s Goffs Million, which will be run for the first time since 2009 on Saturday and boasts a massive €1,234,000 prize fund. Beeby described his satisfaction with the field of 19 athletes who assembled for the seven-time competition on Saturday and explained the reasoning behind the race rescheduling.
He said, “We are happy with the sector as it has good representation from the UK and Ireland, which shows interest in the sale. Looks like this is a good race with good 2-year-olds who will move on to bigger and better things. What the race has to offer is a focal point. We had a rough time two years ago, and thinking about last year’s sale, we decided we needed something that really caught people’s attention. .
“We looked at everything, the offers and the bonuses, it all had value, but we just felt that Goffs Million really made sense to it. There are 19 runners, 10 of whom will receive a bonus and the winner will receive €617,000 as the race is worth €123,400 as any excess entry fees will be returned to the race. It was a lot of fun and really captured the imagination at last year’s sale – this can be seen by the diversity of the race’s owner and coach profiles. “
Beeby added, “Two years ago was very difficult. We were very clear about the fact that we could make better decisions in 2020. We basically asked the Irish breeders to give us another chance and they were very happy. . They were pretty well rewarded last year and, one of the important things that I will always say, we are nothing without the horses.
“We can come up with as many gimmicks or marketing campaigns as we like but if you don’t have the raw materials – that is a quality purebred Irish breed – you have nothing.
“As a result of the great support we received last year, we have seen great trade and as a result, Irish breeders have shared more with us the best horses of them for this year’s sale.
“Many vendors have upped their game. We have a larger catalog than ever and building this sale is meant to convince Irish breeders that they have a flagship store in the Goffs and that they don’t need to go elsewhere. More and more people are satisfied with that way of thinking. “
There is no better advertisement for a sales company than a racecourse and Orby was once again brought to the light as Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) stormed to the glory of St Leger at Doncaster.
A Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) graduate, G1 winner Falmouth S. Orby’s reputation as a guaranteed source of top talent.
He said, “People come back to the Orby Sale to buy handsome and well-bred individuals to perform on the track. Eldar Eldarov and Prosperous Voyage are clearly the top-rated graduates this season but they still pump out every year. In that respect, the sale outweighs its weight. We call it the Irish national sale, because it is, but it’s Europe’s top sale. It’s one of the most important days of the year, certainly in Europe, if not breeding season in the Northern Hemisphere. It will focus all the attention and we expect a sizable buying frost to emerge.
“That’s definitely a sign at the moment because hotel rooms are running high and we’re bringing in people from the United States. We get interest from the Middle East, the Far East, obviously from Ireland, the UK and Europe, so we’re prepared for a really big turnout.”
And American concerns should not be underestimated. Given the strength of the dollar, it is understood that up to 60 US-based dealers and buyers could attend the Orby Sale next week, which would be a record.
Add to that the fact that demand for annuities has been strong at the August Sale in Arqana, the Premier Yearling Sale at Goffs UK, the Tattersalls Somerville Sale and even at Tattersalls Ireland last week. , Beeby is quietly optimistic about the trend continuing at Idiot.
He said, “This year’s sales are phenomenal. We will hope for a good deal. American interest is higher than ever, the exact number of increases remains to be seen but the dollar is in a prime attraction. They were looking for our horses and we caught them.”
Beeby added, “I’ve seen a lot of these horses and I’d be surprised if buyers weren’t impressed. For our sale, we needed to have pedigree and structure because there’s a lot of good aspiration coming in the following weeks, and that’s always been the case, so you really have to be Articles suitable to join Orby. “
And with all this excitement comes great responsibility. Beeby admits there will be butterflies in his stomach as he stands on that stage at 10am on Tuesday for sales that broke the €40m mark 12 months ago but everything is set for a record-breaking session other.
He said, “From Goffs’ perspective, this is the most important week of the year for us because the two days of the Orby Sale are our highest in a way. Any sale that I participate in, and I really mean this, I’m very interested in it and want it to go well.
“For example, the Premier sale means a lot to me and I’ve been working at it since the late 1970s, but the Orby is the most important one. As my late father used to say, desirable sales are all potential and you can see before your eyes what the horse will look like – it’s like looking at a late teenager from a young age. People. You can see athletes”.
Beeby added, “The overarching emotion is anticipation, excitement, and having a certain amount of adrenaline flowing. When I get up on that stage, I’ll feel the tension, but I think you need that. If you’re an auctioneer, the whole point of this job is the moments leading up to when a horse enters the ring, everything else leads up to that moment. So step forward with a microphone on, hammer in hand and see a beautifully bred horse from a major surgery with a track record of selling first class horses circling an established ring. seeing champion after champion, that’s what I live for. I just love it and I can’t wait for next week.”
