No Nay Never Filly Tops Day 2 at Goffs Orby Sale
Coolmore have enjoyed plenty of success with Blackbeard and Charles Darwin , and can now look forward to the pair’s year-younger sister after bidding €1,900,000 (US$ 2,229,935, €1=US$1.17) for the daughter of No Nay Never on day two of the Goffs Orby Sale Sept. 30.
“She’s a lovely filly,” said M.V. Magnier after signing for the Glenvale Stud-consigned filly. “Blackbeard was a very good racehorse, and his yearlings are selling very well; they look very promising. He’s having a good sale here, and apparently, he has a few good ones coming up in the next couple of weeks.
“And of course, Aidan (O’Brien) thinks a lot of Charles Darwin; he thinks he’s a very good horse. I’m not saying that he’s Albert Einstein; Albert looks like he’s pretty special, and Charles looks like he could be a very good horse, too.
“To be fair to the mare, she always has a good-looker. Blackbeard is a very nice, correct horse who was very fast. Charles looks like he could be the proper job, so let’s hope this filly can do something similar. She’s a very valuable filly. There’s a lot going on on the page, too; the mare is in foal to Wootton Bassett.”
Magnier added, “This is great for Goffs and everyone involved. They’ve done a great job all week getting the people and the horses here, and every year something good comes out of this sale.”
The filly is out of Muirin, a daughter of Born To Sea who won a Curragh maiden for Eddie Lynam, and also ran fourth in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) on just her second outing. The €41,000 yearling was knocked down to Broadhurst Agency at €210,000 at Goffs in November 2018 before beginning her broodmare career for Newstead Breeding.
Her first foal was Blackbeard, the son of No Nay Never who showed plenty of idiosyncrasies as well as a bundle of talent during a top-class juvenile career. He won six of his eight starts for the Coolmore partners, culminating with top-level victories in the Prix Morny (G1) and Middle Park Stakes (G1).
He retired to stud at 3 and covered a book of 194 mares at a fee of €25,000. His first crop of yearlings is hitting the market this year, including the €165,000 colt signed for by Ted Durcan, who topped day one of Tattersalls Ireland’s September Yearling Sale.
Muirin has been wedded to No Nay Never throughout her breeding career, a decision that has been justified with a record of four winners from as many runners. Her brood includes the listed-placed Run Away and this year’s 2-year-old Charles Darwin .
Charles Darwin was last seen clearing away from subsequent Middle Park (G1) hero Wise Approach to win the Norfolk Stakes (G2) by clear water. Although injury has curtailed Charles Darwin’s season, his trainer indicated he could yet reappear at the Breeders’ Cup.
Glenvale’s Ciaran ‘Flash’ Conroy was quick to heap praise on Suzanne Macken, who not only led up the seven-figure filly on Tuesday but has been responsible for looking after the other progeny of Muirin too.
“We all know the family well, and it’s a great family,” said Conroy. “She’s an amazing mare; she gets lovely-looking stock, so they suit the sales ring. She’s bred some great 2-year-olds; she’s produced Blackbeard, she’s produced Charles Darwin. She’s a rare mare to have, and any time you get that kind of money is great.”
Run Away topped the Orby in 2022 when bringing €2.6 million, but was subsequently resold privately after Derby-winning owner Saleh Al Homaizi failed to pay his yearling sale bills. She was added to the Ecurie des Monceaux broodmare band at a cost of 650,000 guineas and visited Wootton Bassett for her first covering earlier this year.
The Night of Thunder filly consigned as Lot 298 at Goffs
The sale’s second seven-figure transaction came a short while later when Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing went to €1 million for a well-related daughter of Night of Thunder from Noel O’Callaghan’s Mountarmstrong Stud. The signing was Amo Racing’s sixth purchase over the two sessions, and took the operation’s spend to €2.66 million.
The filly is the second foal out of No Speak Alexander, whose three racecourse successes were capped by a gutsy victory in the Matron Stakes (G1). No Speak Alexander, who was raced by O’Callaghan and his sons, Charles and Paul, also won the Athasi Stakes (G3) and finished third in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1).
“We don’t need to say too much about Night Of Thunder at this stage—what a year he’s had,” said Amo’s talent scout Alex Elliott. “She’s out of a group 1 winner and it’s Noel’s family from top to bottom.
“She’s a very sweet, good-bodied filly. She’s going to have to be early. She’s a January foal, she’s bred to be fast, and she looks fast. I’d say we’re going to know our fate early, as you’d like to think she’s in that Royal Ascot 2-year-old type of mould.”
Late in the session, that figure was matched when a Lope de Vega filly dropped the hammer for €1 million to Hugo Merry on behalf of Imar Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud.
The youngster, who was bred by Nicky Hartery and presented by The Castlebridge Consignment, is a sibling to six winners, most notably 2021 Del Mar Oaks (G1T) scorer Going Global and the classy group 2-winning sprinter Mitbaahy.
“Beautiful,” said Al Sagar as Merry signed the ticket. “More important than the pedigree is her conformation. She’s a very correct, strong, early type. She looks ready to go today! In addition, there’s the Argentinian bloodline (her dam Wrood is by Argentinian-bred stallion Invasor), which, for me, is very important as it’s proven as a turf influence.”
The two sessions produced a decidedly positive set of figures. The combined clearance rate was 89% as 383 yearlings sold from 435 offered. Despite 31 fewer lots coming under the hammer than last year, turnover increased by 2% to €52,225,500 (US$61,329,668).
The average reached €134,255 (US$157,568), which was not only a 5% year-on-year gain but also a new high mark for the sale. The median was also a record at €98,000 (US$115,018). The latter metric was up 23% on last year’s figure of €80,000, a result underpinned by 194 six-figure lots this time around, compared to 159 twelve months ago.
At the close of trade Sept. 30, Henry Beeby, group chief executive of Goffs, said: “Consistent—that is the word that probably sums up the Orby Book 1 of recent years. Whereas other sales often rise one year and fall back another, the Irish National Yearling Sale has proved reliably steady, making year-on-year progress since the pandemic.”
