Members of the first crop of 2009 European Horse of the Year Sea The Stars made a big splash at the Goffs November foal sale, which ended its three-day run Nov. 17 in Ireland. The stallion’s offspring commanded the auction’s top four prices during the final session and the amounts for three in that group surpassed the previous record for a weanling sold by Goffs.
A Sea The Stars colt out of Irish added-money winner Affianced (by Erins Isle) brought the highest price of all, €850,000 ($1,147,050 in U.S. funds). John Clarke, on behalf of Sunderland Holdings, purchased the bay colt from the consignment of Jim Bolger’s Redmondstown Stud.
The weanling is a half brother to Soldier of Fortune (by Galileo, an Irish champion who won the 2007 Budweiser Irish Derby (Ire-I), 2008 Juddmonte Coronation Cup (Eng-I), and two group II events in France in 2007. The €850,000 colt also is a half brother to Heliostatic (by Galileo), a group III winner in Ireland, and another Irish stakes winner, Carraiglawn (by Rock of Gibraltar).
A Sea The Stars – Finsceal Beo filly brought €800,000 guineas ($1,079,580) from John McCormack. Al Eile Stud was her consignor. In addition, a Sea The Stars – Scribonia filly consigned by Redmondstown brought €800,000 from Rob Speers of Mertoun Paddocks. He was acting on behalf of Ibrahim Araci.
The auction’s fourth-highest-priced weanling, a Sea The Stars -- Senora Galilei filly consigned by Redmondstown brought €300,000 ($404,841) from Julie Wood.
The results for the auction included a gross of €14,423,200 ($19,463,700) for the 496 weanlings that were sold. The average price was €29,079 ($39,241) and the median price was €16,000 ($21,592). Compared to a year ago, when 399 horses were sold, the gross increased 42.3% while the average rose 14.5%. The median grew 6.7%.
The clearance rate was 75.8%, up from 68.2% in 2010.
“Sea The Stars is an Irish legend like no other, so it is fitting he should dominate proceedings at today’s Goffs November foal sale,” said Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby. “However, I think even the most seasoned bloodstock observers have been taken aback by the unprecedented interest in his first crop of foals.
“Sea The Stars foals have been sold to buyers from Hong Kong, Turkey, America, and England and the three top prices comfortably surpass the Goffs foal record set back in 1984 when a daughter of Golden Fleece realized IR500,000 guineas.”