Haunui Stud shuttlers Elusive City and Iffraaj dominated the leader-board at Goffs yearling sale in Co. Kildare on Friday.

Elusive City’s colt from Back at de Front (Cape Cross) sold to Peter Doyle Bloodstock for 29,000 euros.  The Iffraaj colt out of Entrepreneur mare Trespass was next best at 28,000 euros.  He was purchased by Yeomanstown Stud.

Elusive City yearlings have been popular in both hemispheres this year.  His colt from the Star Way mare Strawberry Affair set an new record of $90,000 at the 2010 NZ Bloodstock Festival Sale in February.  And an Elusive City colt made 120,000 pounds (AUD 209,095) at the Doncaster Premier yearling sale in August.

“He’s one of the nicest Elusive City colts that we’ve seen since Soul City and he comes from a good home,” Doyle said.  “We’ve bought him on spec and have plenty of clients that we could recommend him to.

Iffraaj is flying in Europe with 33 first-crop winners to date.  He was popular at the Tattersalls October Sale with four session toppers during the marathon auction that concluded last week.

“No one is pretending it was the most fashionable place to buy or sell,” Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said after reporting an average of 3,750 euros.  “There’s a long way to go before we get back to the vibrancy of a few years ago but we are moving in the right direction.”