Goffs Orby Sale Brings Some of Europe's Best-Bred Yearlings to Kildare

The European yearling sales season moves on to one of its most important stops next week as the Goffs Orby Sale begins at Kildare Paddocks, with a catalogue containing siblings to some of the biggest names in recent European racing.

Book 1 takes place on Monday and Tuesday, September 28 and 29, with 482 yearlings catalogued, before a further 428 go through the ring in Book 2 on Wednesday and Thursday. After record trade at last year's sale, Goffs has described the 2026 catalogue as its strongest yet, and there is certainly enough on paper to justify the excitement.

Among the headline pedigrees are close relations to Minnie Hauk, Saffron Beach, Goliath, Emily Upjohn, Ethical Diamond, Khaadem, Anthony Van Dyck and Jan Brueghel, while Frankel, Wootton Bassett, Justify, Kingman, Dubawi and Too Darn Hot are among the elite sires represented.

Minnie Hauk Family Returns to the Orby Ring

Few horses advertise the Orby Sale better than Minnie Hauk. The Frankel filly topped the 2023 auction when MV Magnier bought her for €1.85 million and subsequently developed into a multiple Classic and Group 1 winner for Aidan O'Brien.

Three years later, her family returns to Kildare with another potentially valuable offering. A Justify half-sister to Minnie Hauk, consigned by Camas Park Stud, is among the standout lots in this year's catalogue. Given the strength of the pedigree, her sire and what Minnie Hauk has subsequently achieved on the racecourse, she looks certain to attract attention from some of the world's biggest buyers.

She is one of 22 yearlings in Book 1 who are siblings to Group 1 winners, and the quality begins immediately. Lot 1, consigned by Ballylinch Stud, is a New Bay full-brother to dual Group 1 winner Saffron Beach, while Lot 27, offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, is a Baaeed colt out of Gouache, the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Goliath.

Frankel Pedigrees Set to Attract Attention

Unsurprisingly, the Frankel yearlings are likely to provide some of the most closely watched moments of the two-day sale.

Perhaps the standout on pedigree is Lot 97, a Frankel colt out of Laurens, the outstanding racemare who won six Group 1 races including the Prix de Diane, Matron Stakes and Sun Chariot Stakes. Consigned by The Castlebridge Consignment, he is one of seven Book 1 yearlings out of Group 1-winning mares.

Immediately before him comes another particularly attractive Frankel pedigree. Lot 94, consigned by Glenvale Stud on behalf of Watership Down, is out of Lah Ti Dar, the Group 2-winning and Group 1-placed Dubawi mare from one of the strongest families in the stud book. Watership Down's Simon Marsh has described the colt as exactly the type of individual they wanted to bring to a sale of Orby's standing.

There is also a Frankel colt out of Pretty Polly Stakes winner Urban Fox, catalogued as Lot 316 and offered by Glenvale Stud. With competition for the best Frankel yearlings consistently fierce across Europe, these are likely to be among the lots that bring the major international buyers to the ring.

Group 1 Families Run Throughout the Catalogue

The strength of Orby this year is not confined to a handful of obvious headline horses. Lot 43, offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, is out of Hidden Brief, the dam of dual Group 1 winner Emily Upjohn, while Lot 186, also from The Castlebridge Consignment, is a Dubawi filly out of Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Peaceful.

Another fascinating offering is Lot 188, the Awtaad full-brother to Ethical Diamond. Willie Mullins' globetrotting star has become one of the more unusual top-class Flat horses of recent seasons, and the yearling was himself bought for €380,000 as a foal before returning to the sales ring next week with Kellsgrange Stud.

Later in the catalogue, Lot 328, offered by Yeomanstown Stud, is a Chaldean half-sister to top sprinter Khaadem, while Lot 389, from Whitehall Stud, is a Wootton Bassett half-sister to Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck and Group 1 winner Bounding. Airlie Stud offers Lot 447, a Kingman half-brother to Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Skitter Scatter, before Lot 454, consigned by Barronstown Stud, a Camelot colt out of Devoted To You, brings another outstanding Coolmore family into the ring. His dam has already produced dual Group 1 winner Jan Brueghel.

For buyers, that depth is arguably as important as the likely seven-figure headline lots. Another 46 yearlings in Book 1 are siblings to Group 2 or Group 3 winners, giving the catalogue considerable strength beyond its first page.

A Sale Coming Off a Record Year

The 2026 Orby arrives with expectations particularly high following an extremely strong edition last year.

Book 1 in 2025 produced a record average of €134,256 and record median of €98,000, with 389 of the 435 yearlings offered finding buyers for a clearance rate of 89 per cent. Turnover reached €52.2 million and ten lots made at least €500,000, headed by a €1.9 million sale-topper.

Just as importantly, recent Orby graduates have continued to advertise the sale on the racecourse. Johanna Walsh, bought at Orby by Andrew Cary and Wells Watson, won this year's Irish Oaks for Joseph O'Brien, while fellow graduate Bay City Roller landed the Coronation Cup at Epsom for George Scott.

That racecourse success matters enormously when buyers are being asked to spend six or seven figures on an unraced yearling. Orby can point not simply to expensive horses, but to horses bought in the same ring who have subsequently delivered at Classic and Group 1 level.

The €2 Million Incentive

There is another significant attraction for buyers this year. Every yearling sold through both Orby Book 1 and Book 2 is eligible for the Goffs Two Million Series in 2027.

At its centre is the €1 million Goffs Million, Europe's richest two-year-old race, while another €1 million is available through €50,000 bonuses attached to selected juvenile races in Britain and Ireland. It gives buyers an immediate potential return before their yearling has even reached its three-year-old season.

Book 2 then broadens the market considerably. Its 428-strong catalogue includes progeny of established sires including Camelot, Dark Angel, Ghaiyyath, Lope De Vega, Mehmas, New Bay, No Nay Never, Siyouni and St Mark's Basilica, alongside younger names such as Native Trail, Paddington, Little Big Bear and Modern Games.

What to Watch Next Week

The obvious question is which horse will top the sale. The Camas Park Stud-consigned Justify half-sister to Minnie Hauk has the pedigree to generate serious international competition, while the Frankel colts out of Laurens and Lah Ti Dar are exactly the sort of offerings capable of attracting Coolmore, Godolphin and other major global buyers.

But the broader health of the market will be equally interesting. Last year's record average and median set a high bar, and the European yearling market has already produced some spectacular prices this season, including the €4.6 million Wootton Bassett colt who topped Arqana in August.

Goffs now gets its turn.

With siblings to 22 Group 1 winners, seven yearlings out of Group 1-winning mares and some of the most fashionable stallions in the world represented, the raw material is certainly there for another major week at Kildare Paddocks. The question from Monday morning will be just how far buyers are prepared to go to secure it.