Will sparks fly again at Goffs sale?

There will be blue bloods to be found both in and out of the sales ring when Goffs holds its premier auction of thoroughbred yearlings at the bloodstock agency’s HQ close to Naas, Co Kildare, on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Last year’s sale at Goffs generated healthy returns for breeders, and sparks really flew on the second day when Waterford developer and one-time Nama client Michael Ryan’s Al Eile Stud sold a yearling colt for €2.85 million to Coolmore agent MV Magnier.

Lineage

The colt is a son of two champion racehorses, Irish Derby and King George winner Montjeu, and Finsceal Beo, which ran in Ryan’s colours and won at the highest level in

Ireland

, Britain and

France

.

Now called Ol' Man River and jointly owned by Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, partners in Coolmore Stud, he recently made a winning debut in a race at the Curragh, where he collected all of €11,385 in prize money. Not a bad pay day, but a fair bit shy of €2.85 million.

He is likely to have one more chance to add to that this year before being prepared for a 2015 campaign that could include next June’s Epsom Derby. At least one friend of this column has already backed him for that race, so fingers crossed.