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Aga Khan Draft Highlights Goffs Horses-In-Training Sale

The Aga Khan draft, always incredibly popular at the Goffs Autumn Horses In Training Sale, may have been down on numbers but captured the imagination once again with the 77-rated Karakoul (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) (lot 97) selling to Mohamed H K Al Attiyah for €72,000.

That made Karakoul, trained by Johnny Murtagh, the joint top lot of the sale, as fellow maiden Midnight Toker (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) (lot 137) was sold to Marco Bozzi to continue his career in Italy.

Midnight Toker carried Peter Brant's double green silks to place in five of his seven starts for Ger Lyons and, with a rating of 83, the juvenile boasted an attractive level of form without managing to win.

As did Karakoul, notably when running Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}) close in a Killarney maiden last year and Tom Taaffe, acting on behalf of the Qatari buyers, signed for the Aga Khan gelding.

He said, “He's been bought to go to Qatar for Mohamed Al Attiyah. He liked the horse's pedigree and his form and I liked the horse when I saw him this morning. He has a nice profile for Qatar.”

Late in the session, Bozzi swooped for The Castlebridge Consignment's Midnight Toker, a horse he thinks can do well in Italy.

He said, “We like this horse a lot and have followed him all season. We think he can mature and race well in Italy. He has a very good pedigree and will go into training with Giovanni Colella in Rome for the former owner of (Group 1-winning filly) Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}).”

As well as supplying Karakoul, the Aga Khan and Johnny Murtagh offered Shajak (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}), who was knocked down to Tom Malone and Aidan O'Ryan for €52,000.

“He's a very nice horse and he's one that we've had our eye on for some time,” Malone said. “You'd like what he has done on the track so far and I thought he wasn't bad value relative to the horse we hope he could develop into over hurdles. He's going to be going to Gordon Elliott.”

The Aga Khan's third and final offering, Riyami (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) (lot 140), trained by Michael Halford, was snapped up by Denis Hogan for €30,000.

The aggregate of just under €1.4m was up 7% on last year despite the fact there were two six-figure lots in 2021. The average of €16,679 was 24% ahead on last year's figure while the median jumped from €8,000 to €11,000 (+38%). There was also an improvement in the clearance rate which went from 78% to 84%.

Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said, “Although not our biggest or most prestigious sale in the calendar, today's HIT sale fulfills an important need in the market by providing a viable outlet for Horses-In-Training in Ireland. As the forerunner to our big two-day Autumn Yearling Sale, we attract a large and diverse international crowd, and it is fair to say that we would like to grow the catalogue as we consistently deliver for the horses presented. Indeed, this is a low cost, convenient option for Irish owners and trainers when compared to the alternative and benefits from the unique contribution of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and our network of proactive international agents.”

He added, “We are grateful for the support we receive but can do so much more as is the case in every other category each year. A look at today's buyers list sees horses knocked down to successful bidders from across Eastern Europe, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Gulf Region as well as the UK and domestically, and a buoyant trade from start to finish as we continue to exceed expectations. Despite a smaller catalogue every metric has improved headed by an impressive 84% clearance rate and big rises in average and median price. For the next two days we turn our attention to yearlings and our Autumn Yearling Sale that is once again packed full of potential and value.”

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Owner-Breeder Predicts Dreamloper To Bow Out With A Bang At Breeders’ Cup

Dreamloper's owner-breeder Olivia Hoare has admitted to being overcome with emotion ahead of a trip of a lifetime to the Breeders' Cup to see her dual Group 1-winning homebred bow out from racing on the biggest stage of all.

Trained by Ed Walker to win two top-flight races at ParisLongchamp this season, Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is likely to race for the final time in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile given the 5-year-old is entered up in the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale next week.

The decision to allow Dreamloper to go under the hammer after Saturday's race, for which she is as short as 6-1 with most firms, was one of the most difficult ones Hoare has ever faced, according to the enthusiastic owner.

However, she will retain a major interest in the family and reports Dreamloper's dam Livia's Dream (Ire) to be in foal to Lope De Vega (Ire), meaning a full-sibling is expected on the ground in the spring.

Hoare, who is in her mid-70s, said, “I'm excited and terrified at the same time. I get very nervous when she races. We watched the draw for the Breeders' Cup Mile the other night and, as the outside stalls had been filled by the time her name was called out, I grew in confidence.”

She added, “It's been incredibly exciting following Dreamloper. The highlights were unquestionably the two races in Paris this summer. I was there with my step grandchildren and step granddaughter and the children could not believe that the adults were jumping up and down and screaming their heads off. They were greatly entertained. That was tremendously exciting.”

The Dreamloper story began in 2010 when Hoare purchased her dam, Livia's Dream, from Luke Lillingston's Mount Coote Stud at Book 1 at Tattersalls for 45,000gns.

Lillingston, who boards many of Hoare's mares and has acted as an agent on behalf of the Roscommon native for over a decade, was not present when she viewed the then diminutive yearling by Teofilo (Ire).

However, Hoare remembers how Lillingston's father provided her with some inspiration ahead of the sale, and she hasn't looked back since.

She recalled, “Dreamloper always had a remarkable walk. I'm not very good at judging foals but, when she was a yearling, I said, 'you've got your mother's walk and, if you have her gumption, you'll be fine.'

“I love Lope De Vega. I went with Luke, who looks after a lot of my mares, to see a few stallions and thought he was the business down at Ballylinch Stud. With her mother's determination and her father's talent, I expected things from her.”

Hoare added, “Luke is also my agent and I went out of politeness to see his horses at Tattersalls in 2010. He would never tell me anything about the offerings of Mount Coote Stud and is very professional with things like that.

“But when he was on his lunch break, I went to see the horses and, while Luke's father told me that Livia's Dream was very small, he also told me that she was the fastest of the yearlings. I thought, 'well, that's good enough for me.' I got a friend of mine to bid on her while I hid and we got her for 45,000gns.”

Livia's Dream was then sent to Ed Walker who, along with John Murphy in Ireland, trains the majority of Hoare's horses. The filly was talented, winning four times, including at listed level but Dreamloper has exceeded all expectations.

Hoare explained, “Livia's Dream was one of the first outside horses Ed trained. It was the first year he was training. Ed is a wonderful communicator and is an awfully nice young man.

“I own her outright now. I leased her to my son for a couple of years and that lease ran out last month. I share her with my sister but I am the major owner.

“The dam is in foal to Lope De Vega so I am hoping, please God, to have a full-sibling next year. It was a heartbreaking decision to offer Dreamloper for sale at Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale but there will potentially be a lot of money on offer and things can go wrong in this game.”

She added, “I've had my share of ups and downs with horses and risking not getting her in foal or missing a year is too much for me right now. She has become too valuable. I took this on as a hobby but it has turned into a business. My business brain tells me that now is a good time to get out and concentrate on the rest of the family. Livia's Dream is still quite young at 13 and I am hoping that she can deliver a few more for us.”

Before then, there is that trip of a lifetime to the Breeders' Cup negotiate, and Hoare is predicting her star filly to bow out with a bang.

“Ed is very positive. We are all very positive, I'm delighted to say. We were all on the phone together last night and we think stall three should be perfect for her. I think she's in with a good chance. Let's hope she can be bang there.”

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Stride Syndicate Platform Launched

Stride, a new syndicate platform for buying and selling shares in elite-level racehorses, was launched on Tuesday. Stride will purchase unraced yearlings and 2-year-old breeze-up horses in a price bracket from €25,000-€150,000 and will sell shares in syndicates of between two and six horses. The intention is to sell within 12 months of purchase and profits returned to owners.

Cillian Barry and Eugene Cosgrove, founders of SportCaller, are the Chairman and Head of Product, respectively, while veteran COO Donal Browne will handle the day-to-day business operations for a venture whose horses will initially be placed with trainer Joseph O'Brien. Stride's CEO is former Munster and Leicester rugby star Johne Murphy, who has operated Rugby & Racing and Thoroughbred Racing Syndicates, the latter also attached to the O'Brien yard.

Murphy said, “Stride is more than a responsive platform for buying and selling shares in elite-level racehorses. It's also a way for racing to reconnect, engage and retain its most vital stakeholders: passionate owners who support the sport through times good and bad. Our fractional ownership model readily articulates the merits over micro-ownership and its associated cautionary tales, and enables our members to choose a portfolio of racehorses that elevates enjoyment and mitigates downside at a challenging economic time across most sectors. Investors can now research, buy, manage, and watch their stable of syndicated Thoroughbreds at a fraction traditional ownership spends, with zero hidden costs or clawbacks. The price you pay for your share in the syndicate is the sole fee you'll ever be asked for.”

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Monfort Labels Graduate Gold Trip “A Warrior” After Melbourne Cup Win

Michel Monfort, the man responsible for breeding this year's G1 Melbourne Cup hero Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}) (video), has described his graduate as “a warrior.”

Monfort bought Gold Trip's dam Sarvana (Fr), a daughter of Dubai Destination, before mating her with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Outstrip (GB), who now stands in Brazil having spent six seasons at Dalham Hall.

The resulting foal turned out to be Gold Trip, who made €60,000 at the Arqana August Sale from the Haras de Grandcamp draft to Gerard Larrieu.

Gold Trip won a Group 2 in his native France for Fabrice Chappet and changed hands to join Ciaron Maher and David Eustace's barn in Australia after he finished third behind Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last year.

But the undoubted highlight of Gold Trip's career came when he stormed to a two-length victory in Australia's most famous race and his breeder has backed him to be a continued success.

Monfort told Jour de Galop on Tuesday morning, “He could have continued to have a very good career in Europe. He's quite a warrior. Gold Trip won beautifully this morning in Australia, particularly given the weight he was carrying. It augurs well for the future.”

Back in 2020, Monfort told JDG about his approach to buying Sarvana, recalling how he overlooked her obvious flaws.

He said, “I bought Sarvana in almost a timid manner. She wasn't very expensive, but she was from a good Aga Khan family. She was by a stallion who has proven to be a good broodmare sire.

“These were the criteria upon which I was concentrating on during that time to buy a mare. I appreciated also that she had made it to the races, even though it was only one time.”

He added, “She proved that she had a good enough head on her and that she didn't have any hidden health problems. I envisioned the only start Sarvana had made and she wasn't at all defective. But the big outlets, if the horse didn't have a future in big races, didn't hesitate to turn the page.”

Sarvana was sold for €280,000 to David Redvers acting on behalf of Sheikh Fahad al Thani in the interim, but Monfort's interest in the family continues as he retained two fillies from the mare.

He added on Tuesday, “We have kept two fillies, of which Got Wind (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) has earned black type at two and three. In general, I think if you use mares with solid families, you increase your chances to produce good horses.

“I also try to have mares from good stallions or good broodmare sires. With a descendant of Mr. Prospector like Sarvana, using stallions from the Danehill line was an interesting option.

“I believe very much in the outcross, like in the case of Gold Trip. It was my idea, anyway. The fact of carrying a different blood, that's one of the factors of the success of sons of Dubawi (Ire) right now in Europe. You can also point to the purchase of Wootton Bassett (GB) by Coolmore.

“You can get a Grade 1 winner by Outstrip or by Hat Trick (Jpn). I think there is still a place for passionate breeders, people looking for good crosses. Even if it is surely more and more difficult, and more and more expensive, to stay competitive. I also think that Outstrip is a horse who could have stayed in Europe. Without getting good mares, he still produced horses who pleased a lot of riders.”

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