NEWS
Danehill colt tops Goffs Orby final session
Posted: Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Demi O'Byrne outbid two familiar rivals to purchase a son of Danehill and a half brother to Irish highweight Second Empire (Ire) for approximately $2,431,273 (2.1-million Irish punts) during the final session of the Goffs Bloodstock Sales Orby yearling sale on Wednesday in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. O'Byrne survived a three-way bidding duel with Richard Mulhall, racing manager for Prince Ahmed bin Salman's The Thoroughbred Corp., and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum for the colt.
Sold as the property of Kilcarn Stud, the colt is out of the Ela-Manu-Mou mare Welsh Love, who has produced four stakes winners. She is the dam of Second Empire, winner of the 1997 Grand Criterium (Fr-G1) and third-place finisher in the '98 Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1). Welsh Love is also the dam of stakes winners Ajhiba (Ire), Hemingway, and Ihtiram.
"Second Empire was a good horse," O'Byrne said. "The champion two-year-old in 1997. This is his brother by the champion stallion. The horse of the sale."
The Danehill colt was one of a dozen purchases for $6,240,273 at the sale for O'Byrne, who represents Coolmore principals John Magnier and Michael Tabor.
He also secured another colt by Danehill during the opening session for $717,805. Out of Ingabelle, by Taufan, the colt is a half brother to Group 1 winner Priory Belle and Group 3 winner Wild Bluebell (Ire).
O'Byrne was also listed as the buyer of a colt by Peintre Celebre for $694,650 on the first day.
Out of the Homing mare Happy Landing, the colt is a half brother to three stakes winners, including Creaking Board (GB), the dam of Grade 3 winner Crowd Pleaser, and German highweight Dyhim Diamond (Ire).
Goffs reported 372 yearlings as sold at the two-day sale for gross receipts of $36,421,053, a decline of 9.8% from last year when 369 yearlings were sold for a total of $40,391,087. Average price was $97,906, a 10.6% decrease from last year's average of $109,461.
Complete results are available on the Goffs Web site at http://www.goffs.com
