Top of the Somerville Lodge list of horses, and the earner of roughly a third of the yard's prize-money this year, is of course arguably the best horse in the world, Baaeed (GB), around whom continues to swirl uncertainty as to where we will see him next. What we now know with some certainty is that he will appear only once more on the racecourse, but whether that will be at Ascot or ParisLongchamp seems largely dependent on how soft the ground becomes in October following a drought-ridden summer.

The Haggas stable is no one-trick pony, however. Star of the show Baaeed is backed by a supporting cast which includes G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Alenquer (Fr), the Group 2 and 3 winners Sea La Rosa (Ire), Maljoom (Ire), Purlepay (Fr), Lilac Road (Ire), My Prospero (Ire), Ilarab (Ire), Bashkirova (GB), and the Haggas family homebred, Hamish (GB). A particularly pleasing result for the team would have been the victory nine days ago of Perfect News (GB) in the G3 Ballyogan S., a first at group level for the daughter of Frankel (GB) and the former Haggas-trained G2 Lowther S. winner Besharah (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who died earlier this year at the age of just nine.

The championship is far from over, with some of the most valuable races of the season still to be run during an action-packed autumn. Haggas will doubtless be guided not just by weather forecasts but by Baaeed's owner Sheikha Hissa when it comes to deciding on the colt's swansong. While the Arc is the more valuable race overall, the near £750,000 on offer for the winner of the QIPCO British Champion S. could potentially make the difference for Haggas to gain his own championship for the first time.

The relentless winner-producing machine that is Mark Johnston reached a new milestone in the last week when passing the 5,000 mark. Technically speaking, the Johnston counter was reset to zero on New Year's Day 2022 when the trainer brought son Charlie on board as co-trainer, but only a pedant could insist that Johnston senior, one of racing's most successful participants and clearest thinkers, could be denied a continuing tally. 

Donny Dances to the Tune

I was strolling on a quiet Scottish beach last week while my colleague Brian Sheerin did the hard yards at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. The Highland idyll was interrupted every now and then to check on proceedings at Doncaster, where the words 'frenetic' and 'hunger' appeared to be being bandied around with frequency. Indeed, the final results testified to the strength in demand across the board that is extremely welcome at a yearling sale pitched at a more everyday level than the elite boutiques of Arqana August, Goffs Orby or Tattersalls October Book 1.

There had been pre-sale angst in some quarters that the relatively new Tattersalls Somerville Sale had been taking some of the Premier Sale's ground but that appears to have been unfounded, and Donny did as Donny does, only better again than last year. A rise in the number of six-figure lots and strong clearance rate pulled the rest of the sale up by its bootstraps to deliver what appears to be a satisfying set of figures.

The results from next Tuesday's Somerville Sale will be indicative as to whether this level of demand is set to continue as the season wears on. Considering racing's myriad problems, particularly in Britain, it is heartening, and perhaps somewhat mystifying, that this bullish market for horses continues not just at the very top level but on lower tiers as well. Yes, to a degree, there will be people buying with a close eye on the overseas resale market, and that includes the bold breeze-up pinhookers. But a scroll through the results shows that there remains a huge range of trainers waving their catalogues to start the annual restocking of their yards, which is an encouraging sign.

John and Jess Dance's Manor House Farm was the second-leading buyer at the sale which must remain a favourite to them, having purchased the mighty Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at Doncaster six years ago. The Dances can also take encouragement from the excellent start made at Manor House by their resident trainer James Horton, who now has 12 wins to his name and sent out his first stakes winner at the weekend when Sam Maximus (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) won the Listed Hopeful S. at Newmarket. The 3-year-old was bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, which continues to enjoy an excellent year courtesy of its graduates. 

The sales caravan rolls on next to the somewhat depleted Osarus Yearling Sale at La Teste de Buch on Tuesday, with much livelier fare likely to emanate from Germany's main event, the BBAG Yearling Sale, on Friday. I've been lured back from the beach for a return to the glorious spa town of Baden-Baden later this week. Go figure. 

Buick Forges On

There are few nicer people to bump into for a quick chat at the sales than Walter Buick and his son Martin, who now works with agent Hubie de Burgh having completed a stint with the Niarchos family. Walter, a former multiple champion jockey in Scandinavia, is a regular buyer for a number of his contacts in that part of the world and can count this year's Swedish Derby and Norwegian Derby winner Hard One To Please (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) among his recent purchases. 

The greatest result of the season for the Buick family, however, will be if William, the eldest of Walter's three sons, is crowned champion jockey at Ascot in October, and it is a scenario that becomes more likely by the day.

After an extraordinary week, particularly at Goodwood, where he won all three group races on Saturday and eight of his 12 rides there across the weekend, William added another 13 wins to his name and is now 43 clear in the championship (though only nine wins ahead of Hollie Doyle for the year as a whole). 

Tempus Fugit

While William Buick was hogging the Goodwood group action, his nearest pursuer for the title of champion jockey, Hollie Doyle, added yet another black-type victory to her increasingly impressive record at Deauville on Tempus (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who has now won back-to-back Group 3 races for Archie Watson and the Hambleton Racing syndicate.

Tempus was already a four-time winner with a rating of 97 for Roger Charlton and Juddmonte when he came up for sale exactly a year ago, and it now seems scarcely believable that the half-brother to Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was bought for just 25,000gns. But by the time he popped up in the Tattersalls August Sale he had missed all of the 2021 season with what Juddmonte's useful and typically fulsome sales notes described as “sub condyle bone bruising in his left fore and left hind cannon bones” and which noted that Tempus had “exhibited a high level of form but is delicate”.

So, caveat emptor and all that, but in this case the outlay of 25,000gns was a risk worth taking because Tempus really is now flying. Making his first start for more than a year, and since being gelded, the 6-year-old won at Newcastle on January 2 and, with another five starts and a ratings rise to 103, he struck again at Ascot on July 23. Following that latest handicap success his two subsequent runs–and wins–have been in the G3 Sovereign S. at Salisbury, followed by Sunday's G3 Prix de Quincey. What next for the son of Group 1 winner Passage Of Time (GB)?

And talking of time flying, Deauville's August meeting has passed in what seems like the blink of an eye, and it has been a fruitful one for the Andre Fabre-trained Botanik (GB), who won the G3 Prix de Reux followed by Sunday's G2 Grand Prix de Deauville. With seven wins under his belt he thus becomes the top performer for his sire Golden Horn (GB). The Derby and Arc winner of 2015 recently moved from Dalham Hall Stud to Overbury Stud and has been represented in the past fortnight by the Ebor winner Trawlerman (GB) and Juddmonte's Listed Galtres S. winner Haskoy (GB), who appears to be heading next to the G2 Park Hill S. at Doncaster. 

Classic Potential?

If you saddle a horse with the name Classic, you'd have to be pretty sure he was worthy of such a portentous moniker. In the case of the 2-year-old Classic (GB), a winner at Newmarket for Richard Hannon on Friday, he had justifiable claims to a proper name just on paper, for the colt is a son of Dubawi (Ire) out of the stakes-placed Date With Destiny (Ire), the only offspring of the subfertile and ill-fated superstar George Washington (Ire).

Date With Destiny raced in the colours of Julie Wood, who now owns her son Classic. She has already produced the Group 3 winner Beautiful Morning (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), and Classic could yet surpass his elder sister as he has some pretty fancy entries in the coming months. 

“He still has signs of immaturity there but he is a very talented horse,” said Hannon of the colt, who was making his third start on Friday. “It wouldn't surprise me if we see him turn up at the top level, especially on soft ground. We will speak to Julie but she is never afraid of taking on these big races. I'd say there is a fair chance we go to the Champagne at Doncaster next.”

The Group 2 on September 10 is certainly a race in which the trainer has enjoyed plenty of success, having won three of the last eight runnings of the Champagne S.

Date With Destiny, who is now 14, remains in the Newsells Park Stud broodmare band and will be represented at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by her colt from the first crop of another Newsells Park graduate, the Arc winner Waldgeist (GB).

Secretariat's Silks For Sale

With the yearling sales in full flow, there is of course no guarantee that any of us will ever find a horse as good as Secretariat, but next Tuesday there is (bizarrely) a chance to bid for the right to register the famous colours carried by Penny Chenery's Triple Crown winner.

Officially described as 'royal blue and white check, striped sleeves, royal blue cap', the set of colours formerly worn by the champion lovingly known as 'Big Red' is one of six to be offered for auction by the BHA during Sotheby's sporting memorabilia sale on September 6. The sextet of cherished colours also includes the distinctive set of aquamarine jacket and black cap and, according to the BHA's notes, the auction “presents the opportunity to purchase a unique set of silks that are not available to own through any alternative avenue”. 

The guide price for Secretariat's silks is £5,000-£10,000. Then all you have to do is find a horse to wear them who moves like a tremendous machine. 

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While the day's ceiling was a far cry from the record high of £440,000 achieved in 2019 by the Kingman (GB) colt Admiral Nelson (GB), no one could dispute the vibrancy of a trade that wound up with an average of £39,368, up 8% over last year's overall figure, and a clearance rate of 87%. And although the sale lacked participation from the Maktoum family, in recent years such a driving force at this sale, each of the seven yearlings to break the six-figure barrier fell to seven individual buyers. Crucially, it was also a day that featured spirited participation from a range of trainers and pinhookers.

The session-topping son of Dark Angel (Ire) was one of three purchases made during the day by Dance's Manor House Stud, bidding through its trainer James Horton alongside agent Ed Sackville of SackvilleDonald.

Bred by his vendor Yeomanstown Stud and offered as lot 109, the colt is out of Elusive Beauty (Ire) (Elusive Pimpernel), whose three wins for Ken Condon included the 2017 Listed Eternal S. at Carlisle. Elusive Beauty, a relation to Group 2 winners Little Treasure (Fr) (Night Shift) and Rhythm Of Light (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}), sold for 185,000gns to Yeomanstown at the end of her career and this colt is her second foal. Her first, a sister to the colt named Angel's Dancing, is in training with John Gosden.

Horton joins Dance in Middleham following a lengthy spell as assistant trainer for Sir Michael Stoute, and was understandably delighted with the purchase.

“It's the first one that we've bought as a team,” he said. “We all loved the horse. John came down on Sunday and we saw a load of horses and everyone liked this colt. He's an exciting horse to go to war with next year.”

Dance also paid £95,000 for lot 146, a Showcasing (GB) filly from Lynn Lodge Stud. A 52,000gns Tattersalls December pinhook through Mags O'Toole, the filly is the first foal out of Girls Talk (Ire), a Shamardal half-sister to the Group 2-placed 2-year-olds Al Madina (Ire) (Noverre) and Basateen (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}).

Mehmas In Demand

Fresh off a week that featured the winners of the GI Del Mar Oaks and GII Gimcrack S. in Going Global (Ire) and Lusail (Ire), Tally-Ho Stud's Mehmas (Ire) was understandably in strong demand throughout the day. Each of the stallion's five yearlings through the ring changed hands, two of them for six figures to contribute to an impressive average of £90,800.

Leading the way was lot 175, a colt from Joe Reid's Shinglis Stud who will be trained by Andrew Balding after selling for £115,000 to Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah. The colt is the second foal of out a winning mare, Interweave (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), who hails from the fast Cheveley Park Stud family of champions Soar (GB) (Danzero {Aus}) and Entangle (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

Speaking on behalf of the new owner, agent Billy Jackson-Stops said: “We loved the horse, he's a lovely physical, and we are very keen on the sire. He seems to really upgrade his mares. He will be the first horse that Andrew trains for the owner–he was very keen to send him a horse.”

Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah maintains a numerically strong string in Britain, the bulk of whom are in training with Richard Fahey. John Gosden also trains the promising 2-year-old Alotaibi, who won well on debut earlier this month at Newbury.

Archie Watson, meanwhile, will train a Mehmas daughter of the listed-placed Fainleog (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) who was bought for £100,000 by Alex Elliott.

Part of a powerful draft from her breeder Tally-Ho Stud, lot 121 is the third foal out of her talented dam, in turn a half-sister to the listed-winning The Reaper (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}).

“She was the one I really wanted to buy today,” said Elliott. “She looks like an Ascot type of filly and Mehmas needs no introduction–we all know about him. Plus she vetted very well.

One of the great things about her is that if she doesn't quite hit the mark over here, she has good residual to race on overseas. Mehmas is going very well in the U.S.–he had the Del Mar Oaks winner, Going Global, the other night and the likes of Tetragonal and Quattroelle have done well out there too, so that could also be a viable option for her.”

Big Result For Havana Grey

Whitsbury Manor Stud's young sire Havana Grey (GB) received a major vote of confidence with the sale of a well-related colt (lot 120) for £110,000 to Richard Ryan, acting on behalf of owners Teme Valley.

Consignor Guy O'Callaghan of Grangemore Stud paid a relatively inexpensive 36,000gns for the colt out of the draft of his breeder Whitsbury Manor Stud at last year's Tattersalls December Sale, since when his half-brother Ehraz (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) has enhanced the page appreciably as the wide-margin winner of his maiden at Ascot for Richard Hannon. As such, it was no surprise to see Hannon try hard to secure the colt, eventually winding up as underbidder.

The pair are out of Exrating (GB), an unraced Exceed And Excel (Aus) half-sister to high-class sprinter Pearl Secret (GB) (Compton Place {GB}).

“He's for Teme Valley and will be the first one that we have with Clive Cox,” said Ryan. “He looks a proper fit for Clive and he loved him. When people specialise in a certain genre, I think it's foolish not to use that to our advantage and he looks to be the type that Clive excels with. I thought he was a fantastic example of a sharp, strong, 2-year-old type and his half-brother is well regarded.”

Teme Valley hit Grade I heights earlier this month when their State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), trained by Joseph O'Brien, made a successful trip to New York to land the G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes at Saratoga. The outfit also has several smart 2-year-olds to look forward to, notably the Listed Denford S. runner-up Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who is campaigned in partnership with Ballylinch Stud, and Claim The Crown (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who broke his maiden at Chelmsford City on Sunday.

Double Gold

Having enjoyed a productive buying trip to the Arqana August Sale, Fawzi Nass again made his presence felt in Doncaster yesterday, with agent Oliver St Lawrence going to £105,000 for lot 151, a Havana Gold (GB) colt from Baroda Stud.

St Lawrence outbid pinhooker Mick Murphy of Longways Stables for the colt, who is the first foal out of triple winner Golden Spell (GB) (Al Kazeem {GB}). A talented filly for Johnny Murtagh, Golden Spell filled the frame on seven occasions in stakes company, notably when second in the Listed Polonia and Legacy S.

“We loved him from the first moment we saw him,” said St Lawrence. “I thought he was a great first foal, a strong horse with a bit of Dubawi [sire of Al Kazeem] coming through. He really stood out–I thought it was very interesting how many trainers pulled him out in the walking ring.”

Training plans for the colt will be confirmed at a later date.

Murphy did not come away empty-handed, however, with a busy day consisting of the purchase of four lots worth £198,000. They were led by lot 74, the sole daughter of Kingman (GB) catalogued who cost £100,000.

Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock and sold through Whatton Manor Stud, the filly possesses a deep pedigree as the second foal out of the high-class Daban (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was trained by John Gosden to win the 2017 G3 Nell Gwyn S. and run third in the G1 1000 Guineas. Not only that, Daban was also a good breezer herself, commanding 260,000gns from Blandford Bloodstock at the 2016 Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale.

“I remember Daban as a breezer,” he said. “Katie McGivern had her and she was a quick filly. Hopefully this filly will be the same.

“We've had great success with fillies before. We bought Al Raya [winner of the G3 Prix d'Arenberg] out of this sale, and she went on to do well, and then we also had Queen Of Love [Listed winner], a good filly by Kingman. This filly might be a little bit handy but she looks quick, and were she to breeze well, then there would be an upside to her with that pedigree. Time will tell.”

Daban's first foal is a 2-year-old Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) filly named Nigwa while she also has a filly foal by Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). The daughter of Acclamation (GB) is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Thikriyaat (Ire) (Alhaarth {Ire}) and from the noted Gerry Oldham family of Mahalia (Ire) (Danehill).

McKeever On The Mark

A busy day for the buying team of Barry and Charlie Hills with McKeever Bloodstock consisted of the purchase of five lots worth £280,000 led by an Acclamation (GB) colt (lot 95) for £100,000.

The colt formed part of a strong draft from Eddie O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud, which had paid €82,000 for the youngster as a Goffs November foal. Out of the winning Dubawi (Ire) mare Dukinta (Ire), he is from the further family of Grade II winner Grandeur (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}) and champion Darjina (Fr) (Zamindar).

“He's a traditional Donny type of horse, the type that we come here to buy,” said McKeever. “He's a good, strong colt who looks as though he should be a 2-year-old and by a good sire.”

Hills is also set to take charge of a Kodiac (GB) filly bought through McKeever for £90,000 out of the Tally-Ho Stud draft. A homebred by her vendor, she is a half-sister to the listed-placed Lexington Grace (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) and this season's dual-winning 2-year-old Uncs (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}).

“She's looks a real sharp filly–a Queen Mary type of filly,” said McKeever. “She's by a great sire and has a great pedigree.”

A good day for Lynn Lodge Stud also included the sale of the aforementioned Showcasing filly (lot 146) for £95,000 to Manor House Stud and lot 23, a homebred son of Starspangledbanner (Aus) for £90,000 to Ross Doyle.

“He'll go to Richard Hannon,” said Doyle of the colt, the first foal out of the listed-placed Beach Wedding (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). “He's a typical Donny horse, the type we love to buy, and he's come from a great home. Starspangledbanner is also having a great season, probably his best ever.”

Doyle also later went to £92,000 for lot 168, a Showcasing (GB) colt out of Impede (GB) from Fernham Farm. The colt boasts regal Juddmonte connections as a grandson of Coraline (GB) (Sadler's Wells), dam of the high-class French performers Reefscape (GB) (Linamix {Fr}), Coastal Path (GB) (Halling) and Martaline (GB) (Linamix {Fr}).

With a £90,000 colt by Harry Angel (Ire) also among their haul, Peter and Ross Doyle went on to end the day as leading buyer with 12 purchased for a total of £742,000.

There was also a fine result for Ruth Pitman's Park Wood Stud in the sale of its only yearling catalogued, a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt (lot 196), for £92,000. Sam Sangster signed for the colt, who was bred by Elaine Chivers out of Kentucky Belle (Ire) (Heliostatic {Ire}), a half-sister to Grade II winner Ramazutti (Honor Grades).

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Ever Given (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) cost the Dandy Boys £40,000 last September, but he proved that was money well spent when taking home the lion's share of the £200,000 purse of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale S., pushing his account to £118,897.

The latest renewal of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale begins on Tuesday and concludes on Wednesday, with 400 yearlings set to go under the hammer. The Silver Yearling Sale will immediately follow the Premier on Wednesday, with 90 commercial yearlings set to sell.

Michael Owen has been a staunch supporter of the Premier Sale in recent years, and in the aftermath of his syndicate the Dandy Boys winning the Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. with Ever Given, Owen confirmed he would be back shopping this week. And he comes armed with a £34,007 voucher, thanks to the new 'Premier Prizes' incentives attached to the race for the first time this year. The Premier Prizes include a voucher for a 'free horse' for the race's winning owner-a voucher of value equal to the average of the prior year's Premier sale-plus a day of hospitality at York Racecourse, and a free six-month rental of a horse box for the winning trainer, in this case Tom Dascombe.

“When we are talking about ways to improve racing, ultimately it all comes down to owners,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent. “The Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. is often targeted by the leading syndicates. Happy Romance won the race last year and the owners of Happy Romance were first-time owners, and it was a great story. So we thought, 'how do we add a bit more to that race to try to incentivize ownership?' We felt this was a way to bring people back in and hopefully help those syndicates. Not only does [the race winner] have a good 2-year-old, they now also have the chance to buy another one for the following year.”

Kent said he hopes the added incentives now attached to the sale race will encourage buyers to have an extra bid or two.

“Hopefully it causes people to think a bit differently,” he said. “The race has been very popular, and some good horses have won it: the likes of Acclamation, Dark Angel and Wootton Bassett are the headline horses for it. Hopefully it has something for everyone and gets people thinking a bit differently.”

The Goffs UK Premier Yearling S., of course, is just one reason for buyers to shop the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale: others include the numerous Royal Ascot 2-year-olds, Group 1-winning sprinters and Classic winners, like the six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), to have emanated from the sale's ranks. This year has proven another very fruitful one for Premier graduates on the track, its star graduates in addition to the aforementioned Zain Claudette including Dream Of Dreams (Ire) (Dream Ahead), the popular winner of the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. after twice finishing second in the race; Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), last year's sale race winner who has won a pair of Group 3 sprints since; Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), last year's G2 Prix du Calvados winner who was third in the G1 1000 Guineas; Mystery Angel (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), the Listed Pretty Polly S. winner who was second in the G1 Oaks and, like Fev Rover, was bought here by Nick Bradley; and multiple group-winning 3-year-old sprinter and Royal Ascot victor Rohaan (Ire) (Mayson {GB}). Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) also won last autumn's G1 Middle Park S. From last year's sale, there are currently more than 50 individual 2-year-old winners.

“It's been another good year on the racetrack and that's what this sale is all about,” Kent said. “It's less about the pedigree and more about the type of the horse. Buyers want to get there and see a ready-made racehorse. That's what people expect when they come to us and that's certainly what plays out on the racecourse. We've had a very good year, we've had some good winners and good runners and hopefully there is more of the same to come. People come to Doncaster expecting to see a certain type of horse and we're confident those in are play.”

While, as Kent alluded to, there will be numerous star graduates to come from the sale that may not have lit up the catalogue page, there are nonetheless plenty of pedigrees in the book that fit the advertisement of fast, powerful racehorses. Those include lot 40, a Dark Angel (Ire) half-brother to G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}); lot 57, a Kodiac (GB) half-brother to G3 Superior Mile scorer Balty Boys (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}); lot 88, a Hot Streak (Ire) half-sister to champion 3-year-old sprinter Total Gallery (Ire) (Namid {GB}); lot 125, a Showcasing (GB) son of the listed winner Fig Roll (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), already a stakes producer thanks to the G3 Prix d'Arenberg scorer Al Raya (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}); and lot 291, a full-brother to G2 Duchess of Cambridge and G3 Albany S. winner and G1 Cheveley Park S. second Illuminate (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}).

Describing the typical Donny yearling, Kent said, “It's going to be a 2-year-old, and it has to have a good walk; that's one thing people really want to see in a Doncaster yearling. It's got to be an athlete and it's got to be ready to go. It's got to show a bit of speed and it's likely to be running over sprint distances as a 2-year-old and may progress up to a mile as a 3-year-old, but really a mile is the maximum capacity for the sort of thing we're selling. They have to have a toughness and determination about them that means you can get the tack on them and get on with them and get running. They're not just whiz-bang 2-year-olds, but they're 2-year-olds that can give you a shot at Ascot and those big 2-year-old meetings and train on. Something like a Guineas horse would be what we'd like to aspire to in the future.”

There are yearlings catalogued, too, that fit that Classic profile, like lot 74, the Kingman (GB) filly out of G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner and G1 1000 Guineas third Daban (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}); lot 101, a Kingman (GB) colt out of G2 Kilboy Estate S. second Earring (Dansili {GB}), whose own dam Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) won the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and was second in the 1000 and Irish 1000 Guineas, the G1 Fillies' Mile and G1 Matron S.; lot 102, an Invincible Spirit (Ire) grandson of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Mehthaaf; and lot 169, a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt whose dam is a half-sister to G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. victress Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

Premier graduates are going on to success not only on the racecourse, but also in the breeding barn. Acclamation and his son Dark Angel, as well as Wootton Bassett, have been excellent ambassadors for the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale as sale race winners that have gone on to success at stud. Those looking to follow in their footsteps include Group 1-winning Premier graduates Advertise (GB), Golden Horde (GB) and Harry Angel (Ire). Champion sprinter Harry Angel, a son of Dark Angel, has five first-crop yearlings catalogued to this year's Premier sale.

“It's great to see them come full circle like that, to see a graduate of the sale's progeny coming through,” Kent said. “We've seen some lovely horses by Harry Angel, I've seen a couple lovely yearlings by him and I know my colleagues have done the same. He's an exciting one; he was a brilliant racehorse. Clive Cox did a wonderful job with him and hopefully he can continue that line going forward.

“If you look at what Acclamation has done, he's been a phenomenal stallion. Dark Angel has re-written the history books in many ways and to be honest, there aren't that many stallions in the world that are hotter than Wootton Bassett after his move from France to Ireland. It gives the whole team an immense amount of personal satisfaction that a horse that won our sales race can go on to win a Group 1 in France and has now been bought by one of the leading stallion operations in the world and has been given the very best chance at stud.”

The European yearling sale caravan rolls into its second sale of the season with vibes positive after the Arqana August Yearling Sale 10 days ago, and Kent's enthusiasm is palpable heading into Goffs UK's headline sale.

“It's the physical that really will get people going when they get here,” he said. “Whatever you see on the page, we think it will be even better in real life, and that's what is exciting us. We've seen videos and photographs of these horses and seen how they've improved since we saw them however many months ago. All of the nominations team have horses they think will top the sale, and we're having a bit of fun between us, telling each other that we're going to do better than our colleagues. It's great that we all have horses we're really excited about. They're a great bunch of physicals and these horses do what it says on the tin. It's athletic racehorses we're looking for and we think we've chosen almost 500 horses that fit that mould over two days and we're excited to show them to purchasers at Doncaster.”

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Horses were ushered through the ring at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale with a briskness that spoke of a pragmatic willingness, among vendors, to clarify the extent of the damage. The clearance rate for the session was duly maintained at 84% across the two days. Albeit trading a marginally smaller catalogue, it says everything that this session finished well over two hours earlier than had the previous one. As Macbeath says: “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.”

Everyone knew it was going to be tough, and that nobody is to blame. All we can do is hope that the tempest in the global economy, in a pandemic year, abates sooner rather than later. As things stood, however, the indices were predictably grim.

Turnover for the second session was down 43% on last year, from £7,889,500 to £4,525,000; yielding a £30,782 average that declined 29% from £43,349, and a median slipping 25% to £24,000 from £32,000. Given somewhat stronger returns the previous day, that equated across the whole sale to a 38% slump in aggregate, to £11,503,500 from £18,468,000; a 27% loss in the £34,034 average from £46,519; and a 23% dip in a £27,000 median from £35,000.

As Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent observed, this had been one of the most anticipated editions of this sale in recent years.

“But not in the way that we normally prepare for a sale,” he said. “And we share everyone’s collective relief that we have been able to conduct the sale, and provide an opening to Europe’s yearling sales circuit during these difficult times.

“There is no doubting that trade across that last few days has not been straightforward, but the important thing is that horses are getting sold and the collective view from vendors and purchasers has been that this was a ‘good’ sale, even though ‘good’ may currently be difficult to quantify. We obviously missed some key faces who were active last year but there were a significant number of success stories over the last two days, including some spectacular pinhooks, and we must remember these moments as we reflect what has been achieved.

“Despite the two days proving predictably difficult, we echo what has been said many times this week, that we are lucky to hold sales and continue to trade despite the challenges that face us and our industry. It has been encouraging to see so many people descend on Doncaster and to see a respectable clearance rate upheld over the two days.

“Full credit to our vendors who have adapted to the market to facilitate trade and we now look forward to the Goffs Sportsman’s and Orby Sale which will take place here at the end of this month.”

As Kent indicated, this auction was always going to be exposed after finding itself shuffled to the front of the calendar. And the fact that it has so flourished in recent years only gave it farther to fall. Last year, it processed 35 six-figure transactions. The three recorded yesterday took the total this time round to just 12.

There will be anxiety, naturally, about the complete absence of the firm that had topped aggregate purchasing here in each of the previous five years. But Shadwell’s boss is a human being like everyone else, and it would be most ungrateful–after decades of priceless support from his whole family–for anyone to forget that the debt is owed to him by the industry, and not the other way round. For all most of us can know, his inaction this week may be governed by factors extraneous to the industry’s present difficulties.

That said, those preparing for elite sales ahead will be hoping that the whole market does not take its lead from the physical appearance of the ring here, with only sporadic green ticks among all the black crosses marking those sections of the benches to be left vacant to keep bidders safely apart.

Some vendors did make a stand, refusing to allow a nice horse to go too cheap–a description that even extended to the highest bid of the day when lot 322, a Cotai Glory (GB) half-sister to multiple Group winner A’Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), was bought in for £150,000. The new plan? “She’ll win a group race,” promised Daniel Creighton of consignors Salcey Forest Stud. “And they’ll all rue the day they didn’t buy her.”

By the same token, many other vendors will doubtless end up shaking their heads over the derisory reward they had to accept for subsequent high achievers. But one of the most seasoned sages on the circuit put it best. “Look, you couldn’t sell a kid’s bike at the moment,” he said. “Yet people are here selling racehorses. There’s trade, and trade is good.”

That was something you heard a lot. Lady Carolyn Warren of Highclere Stud summed things up well. “Yes, it’s been tough,” she said. “But we ought to be pleased that we’re able to sell horses at all. And with that in mind we must all be respectful of the ‘rules and regs’, going into such a busy sales season. But there are nice horses here, and the trade has been solid.

“Yes, we’ve had to adjust our sights a bit, but hopefully people will realize that the opportunities that are out there now; opportunities, to compete at the top level, that maybe weren’t there before. There could be better value around now than for many years, so we’ve just got to hope that people feel more encouraged to have a go.”

£115,000 Havana Gold Colt Tops Session

The top price of the day was paid by Oliver St Lawrence, who gave £115,000 for the Havana Gold (Ire) colt presented by Mountarmstrong Stud as lot 303.

He is out of Majestic Missile (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB})’s stakes-placed half-sister Majestic Alexander (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}), whose three previous foals onto the track have all won, two also gaining black-type.

“We’re all looking for a Royal Ascot 2-year-old, of course we are,” St Lawrence said. “And he does look a really strong, sharp type. Actually we hadn’t originally intended to buy him: he was on the radar, and I showed him to Fawzi [Nass] yesterday, but we hadn’t had him vetted. But then the trainer said how much he liked him, and we re-evaluated today. Of course it helps that he comes from breeders who do such a good job.”

St Lawrence diplomatically left the trainer in question anonymous, pending formal confirmation of the horse’s destination. Gentlemanly conduct, from one who described his mask-fetchingly adorned with sports cars–as more suitable for a second-hand car salesman. True to his own profession, however, he professed that even so depressed a market remained challenging.

“It’s still tough enough,” he said. “I know all bloodstock agents say that, and the market overall is a bit down. I’m not sure there are quite the horses here they’ve had in the last couple of years. Doncaster do a great job, and there are some really nice ones here. But I suspect some of the vendors have made a percentage call, with sales moving around and this one ending up first.”

Another Diamond for Middleham Park?

The embers of a cold market were stoked into life when the day’s second and third six-figure sales were achieved from its closing half-dozen lots. First of these was lot 418, a Showcasing (GB) filly bought by Middleham Park for £110,000–a good result for W.H. Bloodstock, having made €58,000 from Peter and Ross Doyle at Goffs last November.

“She was our nap of the sale, really,” said Middleham Park’s Mike Prince. “She just looks a lovely racing filly. Showcasing’s had a great year, and the mare has already produced [a dual winner] by Raven’s Pass. She’ll be going to Mark Johnston, so let’s hope she can follow in the footsteps of Marie’s Diamond (Ire).”

An apt turn of phrase, regarding that daughter of Footstepsinthesand (GB), who achieved a Group 1 podium in the Queen Anne S.

Encouragingly, Prince reported plenty of interest in Middleham Park syndicates from investors looking forward to getting back on the racetrack.

“We’ve bought five here,” he said. “One apiece for Mark, David O’Meara, Keith Dalgleish, Karl Burke and Richard Hannon. Our guys have got a taste for it, and as long as they’re buying, we’re buying.”

“It’s a very resilient industry,” concurred colleague Tom Palin. “We’ve been through two recessions and racing just seems to come back stronger than ever.”

A Brother to Make up for the One That Got Away

The very last horse into the ring, likewise, put a more heartening signature on proceedings. Certainly one of the best pedigrees of the sale had been reserved for last, the Dark Angel (Ire) colt (lot 423) out of multiple stakes winner Swiss Dream (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) being a brother to group scorer Yafta (GB).

That horse had made £280,000 here four years ago, when likewise consigned for breeders Lordship Stud by Highclere Stud. Given that he ended up running for Sheikh Hamdan, whose buying team was absent this time, £100,000 from Ed Sackville arguably represented an equivalent result in this market. Sackville was completing some business-like shopping over the two days for Tom Dascombe.

“It’s a nice story because [Dascombe’s landlord] Michael Owen was under-bidder on Yafta,” said Highclere’s Lady Carolyn Warren. “So I really hope that this one will be just as successful, if not more. He’s a lovely-moving colt who sailed through his preparation.”

Owen, the former England striker, has evidently managed to interest more of the North West’s football community in his Cheshire yard: Burnley midfielder Jack Cork had earlier been standing alongside Sackville when the agent gave £88,000 for another Dark Angel (Ire) colt, presented as lot 350 by Yeomanstown Stud.

This one, too, has a lively page: out of a stakes-placed half-sister to G2 Queen Mary and G2 Prix Robert Papin winner Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}); and the third dam is a half-sister to Classic winner Las Meninas (Ire) (Glenstal).

“It’s a lovely female family, going back to the tremendously fast Kingsgate Native (Ire) (Mujdail), and with a recent Royal Ascot winner on the page,” Sackville said. “SackvilleDonald have always been admirers of Dark Angel, including Art Power (Ire) who’s running for Alastair [Donald] in the GI Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.”

Dascombe’s partnerships are famously convivial and Sackville confirmed that his clients “have been very loyal and supportive–especially in these difficult times.”

Albeit even this price would represent a fairly marginal gain on Dark Angel’s fee, the mating is certainly paying its way: the colt’s sister realized €275,000 as a yearling at Goffs last October.

Murphy Hopes for New Dawn

This market is a teasing one for breeze-up pinhookers: there’s value, for sure, but they are betting on confidence returning to the economy as soon as next spring. For Mick Murphy of Longways, however, £95,000 for a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt (lot 346) was too tempting to resist.

“Gorgeous horse,” he said. “For me, the nicest in the sale. I saw him Sunday morning and didn’t think I’d get him. He’s an exceptionally correct individual, for a Night Of Thunder, who’s obviously very much in demand. I just hope he’s fast! He has the pedigree to be.”

The dam, indeed, is an unraced sister to G1 July Cup winner Fleeting Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). In previous years, perhaps, competition from absent friends such as Shadwell would have put a colt like this beyond reach. As it was, he was Murphy’s fifth purchase of the sale.

“But generally the ones you want are still making money,” Murphy said. “The top end looks after itself. There’s always someone to buy a nice horse. I suppose the market is down, without the likes of Shadwell. But let’s just hope they’re buying next April.”

Aguair Upgrading for next Stage of His Odyssey

As the son of a Derby winner out of an Oaks winner, Ulysses (Ire) might not seem the most obvious of the new stallions for the breeze-up pinhookers. But not enough people grasp how class can tell in any environment. Credit to Robson Aguiar, then, for stretching to £92,000 for lot 255, a February colt by Cheveley Park’s rookie out of a winning sister of listed sprinter Feet So Fast (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

After all, Ulysses won two Group 1 races over 10 furlongs, and his deep Classic pedigree will doubtless gain a bit of commercial spice from some of those zippy Cheveley Park mares. This colt’s dam was a case in point, albeit recently culled from the farm, as she is out of another of its black-type dashers in Splice (GB) (Sharpo {GB}), whose seven winning foals–besides Feet So Fast and her sister–include G2 Lowther S. winner Soar (GB) (Danzero {Aus}).

“He will probably be a horse for later on, for seven furlongs, but he is a very nice and scopey type,” Aguair said. “I’m trying hard to improve the horses, to keep things going forward, and it’s not easy: nicer horses will still sell well. I have tried for a few that I could not get. But I have some people who are investing with me, and I will keep a half.”

The Brazilian has certainly established his eye for a young prospect at a lower level. One graduate of his nursery is Alicestar (GB) (Charming Thought {Ire}), found for just £10,000 as at Tattersalls Ascot last August. She won on debut at Yarmouth in July, and seeks black-type for David Simcock in the G3 Unibet Dick Poole S. at Salisbury on Thursday.

Mother Takes Pride

Anna Sundstrom of Coulonces Sales had another happy tale to tell when following up the top price of the opening day with the £85,000 sale to Hillen-Ryan of a Caravaggio colt, lot 355.

Having co-bred Tuesday’s Starspangledbanner (Aus) sale-topper with head girl Charlotte Hutchinson, she revealed that this one was all the work of her 19-year-old daughter Moa–who, just like Hutchinson the previous day, led up her charge.

“Moa has done an amazing job with her and deserves every penny,” Sundstrom said. “She bought the dam privately the night before [her subsequent group-winning half-brother] Peace Envoy (Fr) (Power {GB}) won first time out. She had obviously done her homework, and now the mare has a lovely Starspangledbanner colt foal and is in foal to Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy).”

“Very well produced colt,” said Kevin Ryan, congratulating her consignor. “Athletic, with a lot of quality.”

The selective cross-Channel raids of Coulonces to South Yorkshire have paid wonderful dividends, both in the ring and on the track, above all through Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). When she won the G2 May Hill S. on the adjacent track in 2017, it was just the first downpayment on the spectacular dividends she achieved as a £220,000 graduate of this sale the previous year.

Lloyd Excels in Premier Sale Debut

Let’s end on a positive note. It would be misleading to construe the figures, severely depressed as they are, as causing universal despair. Horses were brought here by resilient and realistic people, and the skills of their presentation remain undiminished.

Jamie Lloyd of Far Westfield Farm will have been speaking for many, then, when he concluded his first experiment in selling at this sale with the sale of an £80,000 Exceed And Excel (Aus) filly, lot 414, to Richard Brown.

“It’s been great,” he said. “I’m very glad we came. I brought six and sold five, including an Acclamation (GB) for £95,000 and a Showcasing (GB) for £80,000, which was great–we were supposed to sell that one as a foal, but he wasn’t up together enough.”

The mating that produced this filly had been directed by the dam’s half-sister, Group 3 winner Sound Of Silence (GB), also by Exceed And Excel.

“I bought the dam off Darley, off the track for 25 grand, before Sound Of Silence had run,” Lloyd said with a grin, before reiterating his broader satisfaction. “They’ve managed to get lots of people here and, given what the market’s like, they’ve done a brilliant job.”

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Embarking on the European yearling circuit was always going to be extremely challenging for an industry so exposed to catastrophic loss of momentum in a global economy reeling under the pandemic. Sure enough, as an auction that had been on a tremendous roll in recent years, the opening session of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale registered some sobering returns—and a very sobering absence, too, with no sign of Shadwell after a five-year streak as leading buyers.

An average of £36,687 was down from £49,202 on the opening session last year—but should perhaps be less randomly measured against the £46,519 average across both days. The £30,000 median compared with £38,000 on day one (and £35,000 overall) last year. Turnover was down by one-third to £6,970,500, from £10,578,500. But perhaps the most instructive index was the number of six-figure sales. In last year’s opening session, there were 19—topped by the £440,000 Kingman colt who set a new record for this auction. This time round there were nine, with the session topped at £170,000.

Certainly the most conspicuous keynote from these opening skirmishes was the fact that Shadwell appeared to have taken “social distancing” to an unwelcome extreme. Needless to say, the absence of Sheikh Hamdan’s buying team caused alarm among those consignors whose perennial and pervasive debt to the Maktoum family had been measured, at this particular auction in 2019, by 17 yearlings at an aggregate just shy of £2 million.

It would be premature for those preparing yearlings for elite sales to leap to conclusions about the broader intentions of the various Maktoum concerns. Yes, the industry finds itself in grievous need of its greatest benefactors. But if we have learned anything from the travails of 2020, it is to repent of our complacency in so much that we have always taken for granted.

But things could always be worse. As Guy O’Callaghan of Grangemore Stud wisely remarked, after selling a Dark Angel (Ire) colt well towards the end of the session, “Obviously it isn’t as strong a market as in recent years but the world’s in a different place compared with six months ago. We’re lucky to have a market at all. Isn’t it good that at least we’re able to turn up and trade?”

Speaking to TDN on the eve of the sale, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby had said that planning for a financial year that opened with the start of the coronavirus lockdown was predicated on the firm’s lowest turnover in recent years. In the case of its British sales, that was 2013—when turnover at the Premier Sale stalled at £13,310,250 for an average of £32,464 and median of $25,000. Some breathing space, there, if day two maintains Tuesday’s levels of business.

So not only could things be worse; they have been, not so long ago. We all know that plenty of very productive racehorses will be picked up cheaply this week. And so, however painfully, the next cycle begins.

Another Banner Sale for Coulonces with £170k Star

When signing a £115,000 docket for lot 160, an Acclamation (Ire) colt, Richard Ryan found himself responsible for the top price of the day to that point. Nonetheless he promised that somebody would be spending a good deal more within the next few minutes. Sure enough, Ryan himself promptly gave £170,000 for lot 165, a January colt by Starspangledbanner (Aus) imported over the Channel by Anna Sundstrom of Coulonces Sales.

This was a happy reunion for vendor and purchaser alike, Ryan having been forced to £280,000 in last year’s buoyant market for the Wootton Bassett (GB) colt now known as Legion Of Honour (GB). Trained for Teme Valley 2 by Roger Varian, he was a promising second on his Haydock debut this summer. Both of these colts were bought in the same interest and will likewise head to Varian.

“He was the star of the show,” Ryan enthused of the session-topper. “The best in the sale in our opinion, and in the opinion of the trainer. We also bought a very nice horse here last year from the same vendor, for whom we have high hopes. Starspangledbanner gets winners out of all sorts of mares and all sorts of pages, but only very rarely will they have that kind of look at this age: that scope and quality, backed up by a top-class pedigree. It’s a beautiful family.”

It certainly is, with a distinct stamp of Classic quality for a catalogue that typically majors in speed and precocity. The colt’s Classic-placed third dam Agathe (Manila), herself a half-sister to GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arcangues (Sagace {Fr}), is the dam of two elite winners in Artiste Royal (Danehill) (dual Grade I scorer in the U.S.) and Aquarelliste (Fr) (Danehill), who won the G1 Prix de Diane and chased home Sakhee (Bahri) in the Arc.

Sundstrom was ecstatic that her Doncaster migrations had once again proved so lucrative. This colt was co-bred with Charlotte Hutchinson as the first foal of a Dalakhani half-sister to G2 Grand Prix de Deauville winner Ziyad (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), cheaply culled by the Wertheimer brothers at the Arqana Autumn Sale of 2017.

“Charlotte is my head girl and was leading him up,” said an emotional Sundstrom. “She bought the mare out of training, she only cost €16,000. We love Starspangledbanner, we’ve had a lot of luck with him, so he was an obvious choice for Dalakania.

“It’s the most fantastic thing that he’s going to Roger Varian. And a fantastic result in a market like this. It just shows that there are people there for good horses. It’s difficult to know when things are like this, we knew he had a lot of people interested, but I didn’t think he could make this much. It’s incredible.

“Goffs has been very good to us. The results on the track from horses we sold here include Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Nickajack Cave (Ire) (Kendargent {Fr}), so it’s easy to come back.”

Laurens was the top filly of this sale in 2016, at £220,000, and went on to become one of its all-time poster girls with multiple Group 1 success; while Nickajack Cave made £65,000 the following year and last month won his first group race at The Curragh.

Equally delighted was Dermot Cantillon of Tinnakill House after selling the Acclamation colt so well—due reward for his breeders (Tinnakill Bloodstock and Ian Thompson) holding their nerve when he was bought in for 40,000gns as a foal at Tattersalls last December.

“That’s our first horse through and a really good start at a difficult time,” said Cantillon. “He just did really well, foal to yearling, and Acclamation has had a very good year—including with [G2 Prix Robert Papin winner] Ventura Tormenta (Ire), who we sold here last year.”

Ryan described this as “the best Acclamation I’ve seen in the ring in recent times: a very tidy, well presented colt.”

4,000gns Mare Proves a Hidden Bounty

The first lot to break six figures represented a splendid dividend for Ken Carroll and Tom Wallace, of Lewinstown Farm and Lemongrove Stud, respectively. Their Kodi Bear (Ire) colt (lot 30), who made £110,000 online from Phil Cunningham, was acquired in utero with his dam, an unraced Bahamian Bounty (GB) mare named Usem (GB), when she changed hands for just 4,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2018.

Two Sayif (Ire) fillies she had previously delivered both did well, one winning four times and the other listed-placed in France, and the quality of this colt had meanwhile persuaded her new owners to upgrade her coverings.

“She has a Galileo Gold (GB) filly who’s a queen, and she’s in foal to Invincible Spirit (Ire)—so what would you say we think of her?” said Carroll, who has “12 to 15” mares on his farm. “To be fair, Invincible Spirit was a Kodi Bear once upon a time.”

Carroll learned the ropes with Eddie O’Leary at Lynn Lodge, up the road from his base in Co. Westmeath, while Wallace has experience both in the United States and at another highly astute outfit in Tally Ho.

“It’s the centre of racing, is Westmeath,” Carroll said with a smile. “But he was one of the easy ones. He had six or seven vettings. Good horses sell, don’t they?”

Doyles Trust in Happy Fortunes with Redpender

One team that wasn’t missing the competition from Shadwell was Peter and Ross Doyle, always purposeful participants at this sale. They stuck to a tried-and-trusted formula when giving £105,000 for lot 49, an Acclamation (GB) colt presented by Redpender Stud—both in terms of his Co Kilkenny origins and his breeding.

“We’ve had a wonderful relationship with Redpender over the years,” Ross Doyle observed. “Jimmy [Murphy] and his family do a wonderful job and have sold us two champions in Canford Cliffs (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) and Toormore (Ire) (Arakan), as well as Estidhkaar (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). And last year they sold us Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) here.”

That filly cost just £25,000 at this sale and won her second valuable prize in the associated Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. at York, taking her earnings past £175,000 already. She now seeks some black-type in the G3 Dick Poole S. at Salisbury on Thursday.

Doyle’s interest was further stimulated by his team’s record with the sire of this colt, who actually achieved only a marginal gain having been pinhooked for €94,000 as a foal at Goffs November. “We’ve been very lucky with him with our clients and the Hannons, with Mehmas (Ire) and Harbour Watch (Ire),” he said. “Oh This Is Us (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) is under the second dam, so they’re closely related, and this one reminded us very much of him.”

Oh This Is Us, who includes two listed prizes among his 13 wins for the Hannon stable, is out of the Group 3 winner Shamwari Lodge (Ire), herself out of a half-sister to that flying filly Pipalong (Ire) (Pips Pride {GB}).

Doyle signed another six-figure docket minutes later when giving £100,000 for lot 56, a filly by another “Donny” standing dish in Kodiac (GB). Bred and consigned by Loughtown Stud, she was acquired in utero when her stakes-placed dam Zvarkhova (Ire) (Makfi {GB}) made 125,000gns through Emerald Bloodstock at Tattersalls December in 2018. Zvarkhova’s granddam is an unraced sister to champion Mark Of Esteem (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}).

Alice’s Looking Class

For someone who speaks so modestly of an operation confined to “mornings, evenings and weekends”, Alice Fitzgerald is producing horses of which any 24/7 professional would be proud. Previous sales through this ring include Hey Jonesy (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}), who won the Wokingham H. at Royal Ascot this summer; star hurdler My Tent Or Yours (Ire) (Desert Prince {Ire}); and Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Ginger Nut (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}).

And Jake Warren was in no doubt that the Mehmas (Ire) half-sister to Ginger Nut he bought for £100,000 as lot 78 has the potential to emulate their example. “We’re thrilled with her,” the agent said. “She has a very nice pedigree and is a real athlete, a wonderful mover, and looks a real summer 2-year-old. She’s for a private client and likely to go to Richard Fahey.”

Fitzgerald, known to many in the Co Tipperary racing and breeding fraternity through her day job in advertising, has three yearlings in this sale; two in the Orby; and one in Book III at Tattersalls. “We thought this was a very nice filly, but couldn’t have hoped that she would do quite so well,” she said. “But the sire is flying, of course, and she’s a half-sister to a very fast filly.”

Fitzgerald emphasized the role of partner Michael Doyle; and also deserving a mention is Royal Applause, who is not only sire of this filly’s unraced dam but also grandsire of Mehmas.

Warren, meanwhile, was acting for the same client when giving £140,000 late in the session for a Dark Angel (Ire) colt (lot 219) bred and presented by Guy O’Callaghan of Grangemore Stud in Co Kildare.

“Cracker of a horse,” Warren said. “A terrific mover with a lot of substance who should make a cracking 2-year-old. I would think he’ll stay in the U.K.”

He is the first foal of Futoon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), purchased by O’Callaghan for 100,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2017 after she had achieved serial stakes placings for Kevin Ryan. With 19 yearlings spread across a variety of sales, O’Callaghan has his biggest draft of yearlings to date—a tough year to be growing your business, but we have already cited his admirable breadth of perspective and he saluted this as “a champion of a horse.” Here, plainly, is another young talent worthy of a remarkable dynasty of horsemen.

Sackville Shows Faith in Fast Families

Tom Dascombe is to welcome a couple of brisk-looking colts picked out by SackvilleDonald: one by Dark Angel (Ire) for £105,000, offered as lot 162 by Yeomanstown Stud; and one by Acclamation (GB) for £120,000, presented by Eugene Daly of Longview Stud as lot 186. Both are related to star sprinters. The Acclamation colt’s dam is a full-sister to Slade Power (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}); and the Dark Angel is out of a Verglas (Ire) half-sister to champion Pipalong (Ire) (Pips Pride {GB}).

He is also a full brother to G2 Robert Papin runner-up Frozen Angel (Ire). “He was a very good horse for us and was sold on to Hong Kong for 335,000gns,” Ed Sackville said. “We thought this one was a very similar type. So it’s not only a stallion we’ve been lucky with, but also a family.

“Acclamation is another sire we’ve been very lucky with, including with a nice 2-year-old called Lauded (GB), who runs in the G3 Unibet Sirenia S. this weekend. This looked a similar model: strong and precocious-looking. He’s from a very good farm that we know well, just down the road in Chasire, and we hope to have a lot of luck with him.”

As for trading conditions, Sackville gave a shrug. “It’s a typical Donny catalogue and there are nice horses here,” he said. “We just haven’t been as strong as in recent years—for the obvious reasons.”

Undaunted, most people will be back for another go when the sale concludes on Wednesday. Selling opens at 10 a.m.

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All that said, the opening skirmishes of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale are bound to be treated as a barometer for what lies ahead. During these uniquely challenging times, vendors and consignors will watch the early returns with far more than even their customary trepidation. Equally, the likelihood of “a buyer’s market” will not assuage the anxieties of core clients such as trainers, nervously awaiting orders, or pinhookers, who have to gamble on a return of economic confidence as soon as next spring.

So while the whole community has demonstrably been at pains to hold its collective nerve and work together, not least the rival sales companies, it is only when the gavel comes down that we can begin to know whether we have merely been helping each other to rearrange the furniture on the Titanic; or have actually managed to board a serviceable lifeboat, with a functioning motor and plenty of buckets.

For the little it may be worth, the ambience on the sales grounds on the eve of the sale seemed positive. The consensus was that there were more prospectors, relatively speaking, than has been the case at sales staged in other sectors since the lockdown. Nobody was foolhardy enough to be making predictions, and the ongoing fidelity of the Maktoums–perennial mainstays of the industry–is being monitored with more angst than ever.

But perhaps there was something auspicious about the change in the weather: horses had been unloaded over the weekend into a bitter north wind, like a sadistic downpayment of the coming winter. On Monday, they were being displayed in the kind of perfect late-summer weather–high, slow clouds occasionally filtering warm sunshine–that could only be more flattering to cricket on the green than it was to the shimmering flanks of a meticulously groomed yearling.

At the best of times, Henry Beeby approaches the sales season with a candid paranoia about picking up any kind of infection that might compromise his resonance from the rostrum. As a friend said to the Goffs CEO: “You must be delighted: nobody’s touching you, everyone’s washing their hands the whole time–and nobody thinks you’re weird anymore!”

But the pandemic has been a rollercoaster to challenge even Beeby’s trademark dynamism.

“An ex-colleague, who has retired, rang me up recently and said: ‘I bet you’d like a bit of foot-and-mouth!'” Beeby says. “And I said: ‘Well, I’m not sure I’d like it. But yes, by comparison, having seemed an absolute nightmare at the time, foot-and-mouth now seems like the mildest of inconveniences.’ When we moved a sale, someone said: ‘At least you’ve given us certainty.’ And I replied: ‘In the COVID world, there is no such thing as certainty.'”

That clearly extends to the next two days. While it would clearly be unfair to invite public commitment to any specific number, even in private it is presumably difficult for the Goffs management to agree what might pass as a tolerable loss of momentum after the relentless bull run of recent years. In broad brush-strokes, however, Beeby explains that the accountants will be measuring the year against an established “worst-case scenario.”

“I’ll be quite open,” Beeby declares. “Our financial year is Apr. 1 to Mar. 31 so, if there could be such a thing, I suppose from that point of view it happened at the right time. It meant we could recalibrate all our budgeting for the year. Rather than base it on the last couple of years, we said: ‘What is the worst year we have had, in terms of ring turnover, in recent memory?’ In Ireland, it was 2010; in England, 2013. So we worked everything backwards from there: if we can hit those targets, having worked out our costs to a break-even position, then we can just tread water and hopefully move forward again after COVID.”

Beeby remarks that last year’s Irish turnover of around €123 million matched almost precisely the business done in 2007, having slumped to €45 million in 2010 after the financial crisis. In other words, a perfect U-shaped recovery had been completed. What the whole global economy is craving now, of course, is a much narrower, steeper “V” revival.

“It does put everything in perspective,” Beeby reflects. “Normally, you’re deeply upset if your sale hasn’t grown by at least inflation. But now it’s a question of leading with the clearance rate, because our primary focus–going into every sale–is to deliver liquidity to the market, to let the vendors sell their horses for a price they can accept.

“The Land Rover Sale was down 36%. In a normal year, that would have me virtually suicidal, though actually, compared to its competitors, it wasn’t too bad. But the clearance rate on day one was 84%. Slightly less on the second day, but it was a question of just keeping the wheel turning, keeping the market going, keeping the liquidity, helping people through their cycles. Because of course a yearling is only a yearling once, and same with your 3-year-old store, or your breeze-up horse.

“So what it needs from us, and from our clients, is adaptability, flexibility, reactivity. It’s about not being afraid to act quickly, to make quick decisions; but equally to be unafraid of saying: ‘No–we need to change it again.'”

And Beeby speaks warmly of how the industry, as a whole, has stepped up to the plate. He is also perfectly aware that a lot of people looked to the sales houses for a lead. He stresses that Goffs and its principal rival Tattersalls already tend to work together, in the interests of their clients, more routinely than people may realise.

“We are competitive, of course we are, but this year in particular it’s been a question of putting that to one side and helping each other,” Beeby says. “Because we know we’re in it together. There was a period of a week or 10 days when I think I must have spoken more to [Tattersalls chairman] Edmond Mahony than some of my colleagues. We’re swimming in a very small pool, most of the clients are mutual clients, and in various categories–be it the breeze-ups, be it stores, be it yearlings–most major vendors sell in all places. So it just makes enormous sense to co-operate and co-ordinate and harmonise.”

The toughest nettle to be grasped, perhaps, was the decision to transfer the Orby and Sportsman’s Sales here to Doncaster from Co Kildare.

“The Orby used to be called the Irish National Yearling Sale,” Beeby notes. “It’s a major event in Ireland. The modern-day Goffs was set up in 1975 to provide high-class facility in Ireland for Irish breeders, so it was a big decision to move. But aren’t we lucky that we had this complex here? First of all, prior to 2007, it wouldn’t have been as easy because D.B.S. [Doncaster Bloodstock Sales] was a separate entity; and prior to 2008, we were across the road with 290 stables that weren’t to a high enough standard for these horses, and certainly the Orby and Sportsmans. So we’re very lucky that we are served by two such high-class sales facilities. And largely people have said: ‘That makes sense, let’s do it.'”

No market, of course, can sustain perennial growth. Nobody could have anticipated quite what it was that eventually broadsided the bloodstock bonanza, but everyone always knew that cycles are inevitable. In our industry, moreover, too many sectors are too interdependent for the headline figures to show “pure” gain. Many Thoroughbreds are sold many times over: in utero, even, and certainly as foals, yearlings, breezers, horses-in-training, breeding stock. And then everything starts over. But an apparently booming yearling market, for instance, always raises the stakes for the breeze-up sector. In turn, that will often mean that even a corresponding boom in the 2-year-old market is illusory; that margins have remained pretty stable.

Certainly pinhookers here are treading warily. “We have seven months for everything to turn round,” said one. “But we don’t even know what things will look like in seven days.”

Another, who had actually come out ahead from the breeze-up sector’s delayed calendar, was hoping that these initial yearling exchanges may be particularly cagey, saying: “If they do wait and see, then I’m hopeful I might get one or two early on. But nobody knows what’s going to happen. If we had another lockdown of racing, then we’re all in trouble. But we’re here. That’s a start!”

And it is in these times, when the soil seems thinnest, that the seeds of subsequent fortune will often be sown.

“Absolutely,” says Beeby. “There will be great opportunities. These horses were bred in pre-COVID times, when things were going really well, and there are some beautiful horses here.”

As detailed by colleague Kelsey Riley in yesterday’s edition, moreover, Premier Sale graduates have been excelling even in the constricted programme contrived after lockdown. As ever, they have been doing so where the emphasis is on speed; but they have been doing so at the highest level, with consecutive wins in both the GI Commonwealth Cup and GII Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot. Already nine graduates of last year’s sale have won stakes.

Beeby feels that the bloodstock market, so far as it has been tested, has so far stood up surprisingly well at a time when owners have been deprived of their customary adrenaline at the racetrack; and when prizemoney dividends have made even less sense than usual of the investment demanded of them. That gives him “quiet hope” for the next two days.

“There’s going to be a market here,” he says with a shrug. “Quite what it is, remains to be seen. But it’s the old cliché. All you can do is your best. We are a very resilient industry. And why is that? It’s because for most of us, it’s not a job, it’s our life; it’s what we live and breathe. Even if we wanted to, most of us probably couldn’t do anything else. I certainly can’t: I’ve done this for 38 years, don’t want to do anything else, and am certainly not qualified to. And I daresay that’s true of most of us here. So what do you do? You make hay when the sun shines. You have a good time, you make the most of it. And when things go badly, you knuckle down and make sure you get through it.

“There was a time, before the breeze-up sales, when the previous year we had already turned over £46 million–and this time it stood at zero. But what’s been heartening has been the calmness of so many people. There’s never really been a sense of panic, which you could have understood. People have said: ‘Just give us something to aim for.’ And even though sometimes we’ve had to change even that, there has just been that feeling that we have to keep the wheel turning. People have been prepared to knuckle down and work together, put their normal differences or individual ambitions to one side. That’s been refreshing.

“We have to keep trying, to keep as much normality as we can in an incredibly abnormal world. And I suppose someday we’ll look back and say: ‘Do you remember 2020?'”

He gives a wry grin. He knows how few of us will do so in tones of nostalgia. But even though his father, DBS stalwart Harry, will be missing for the first time since 1964, he will be avidly following proceedings on Beeby’s mother’s “machine”.

“So the message,” concludes Beeby, “is really to keep calm and carry on.”

The first of 423 lots catalogued over two sessions enters the ring at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

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The Lir Jet would go on to finish second to fellow Premier graduate Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G2 Prix Robert Papin and was runner-up again in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S.

Such is the quality of last year’s Premier Sale intake, however, that it could be someone other than The Lir Jet or Ventura Tormenta who winds up top of the heap. Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) proved to be well-named with a four-length score in the G2 Richmond S. on July 30 that earned him a rating of 115. Method (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) looked a smart type when taking the Listed Rose Bowl S. at second asking in July, and the filly he had beaten by 4 1/4 lengths on debut, Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), came roaring back to take the Listed Star S. and last weekend won the G2 Prix du Calvados. These are among nine graduates of last year’s Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale to have already won stakes, and they set a strong precedent for the 423 yearlings set to go under the hammer at this year’s edition of the sale at Doncaster on Sept. 1 and 2.

“It’s been a wonderful year on the track and we have a wonderful bunch of horses,” said Goffs UK’s Managing Director Tim Kent. “If we were in a normal year we’d be very confident we’d have a wonderful sale but it’s difficult to know what to expect with the way everything is going, but the market has held up remarkably well in Europe up until now. The breeze-up sales went better than anyone expected and the horses in training sales have had plenty of demand. So we have to hope that continues. We’re confident we have a nice draft of horses and the stallion index is reading well. There have been a lot of photos on social media and videos online and just looking at those you think ‘blimey, that’s a nice horse…that’s a nice horse…’ and they’re by the right stallions and from some good farms, so we’re hopeful it will all come together.”

Three of the sale’s likely heavyweights will come on day two, beginning with a Starspangledbanner (Aus) half-brother to Ventura Tormenta (lot 313) from Baroda Stud. Given the Group 2 update supplied by his elder brother, that one is likely to provide a hefty return on the €40,000 paid by the Tweenhills team Redwall Bloodstock at Goffs November last year.

Just a few lots later Salcey Forest Stud’s Cotai Glory half-sister to A’Ali (lot 322) will grace the ring (see Monday’s TDN for more on her). And the very last horse through the ring is likely to ensure that bidders stick around; he is a full-brother to the 2016 sale topper and G3 Hackwood S. winner Yafta (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) (lot 423) offered by Highclere Stud, the same draft that sold Yafta as well as Golden Horde here. Others that appeal on paper include a No Nay Never daughter of the G3 Round Tower S. scorer Dingle View (Ire) (Mujadil) (lot 170); an Invincible Spirit (Ire) colt out of G3 Firth Of Clyde S. winner Distinctive (GB) (Tobougg) (lot 173); a Kodiac (GB) filly out of a half-sister to Equiano (Fr) (lot 195); a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt out of a full-sister to champion sprinter Fleeting Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (f2lot 346); a Siyouni (Fr) filly out of a half-sister to GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf victress Queen’s Trust (GB) (Dansili {GB}) (lot 361); and a Lope De Vega (Ire) son of the Group 3-placed Royal Empress (Ire) (lot 380).

With the consequences of Britain’s low prizemoney levels being increasingly felt, it is perhaps more important now than ever to provide owners with incentive to get in or stay in the game, and races like the £180,000 Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes open to all graduates of this sale can go some distance towards that. The winner of this year’s contest at York on Aug. 20 was the Dandy Man (Ire) filly Happy Romance (Ire), who cost £25,000 at Doncaster a year ago and is the first horse owned by the McMurray family. It is likely no mistake, either, that trainer Richard Hannon targets the race so heavily, and Happy Romance gave him his fourth win in it in the past five years. Happy Romance was scratched from Saturday’s G3 Prestige S. but will doubtless get her shot at black-type soon.

The Premier Yearling Sale S. has not only been taken by some quality fillies, but also by three of the best colts to ever come from the sale: Wootton Bassett (GB), Acclamation (GB) and his son Dark Angel (Ire). That triumvirate sits atop a burgeoning group of successful sires to have emanated from this sale.

Acclamation was a £33,000 purchase by his trainer Gerald Cottrell in 2000 under this sale’s former guise as the St Leger sale and was a member of the first crop of his sire Royal Applause (GB). Acclamation capped a productive juvenile campaign the following year with a victory in the £200,000 St Leger Yearling Stakes. After an interrupted 3-year-old campaign he blossomed to take the Listed Starlit S. and the G2 Diadem S. at four, but it was in the breeding shed where his legacy was truly cemented. While his best runner was the superstar sprinting filly Marsha (GB), he has left behind a stacked roster of colts to carry on his line, thus far led by Dark Angel and Equiano (Fr) and with this year’s first-season sensation Mehmas (Ire) potentially poised to join them. He can also lay claim to the very useful sires Lilbourne Lad (Ire) and Harbour Watch (Ire), the latter of whom is responsible for this season’s impressive G2 King Edward II S. and G2 Great Voltigeur S. scorer Pyledriver (GB). And with young horses like Aclaim (GB) and Expert Eye (GB) still to have their first runners, the Acclamation sireline looks likely to continue to thrive.

Dark Angel, meanwhile, has already firmly established his own branch of the Acclamation line. Like Acclamation was, Dark Angel was a member of the first crop of his own sire and was a £61,000 purchase from the 2006 St Leger sale. He won the sales race for trainer Barry Hills in 2007 before going on to take the G2 Mill Reef S. and G1 Middle Park S. before retiring upon the conclusion of his 2-year-old campaign. Dark Angel’s first crop, interestingly, would include the G1 Diamond Jubilee and G1 July Cup S. winner Lethal Force (Ire), the sire of current Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale poster boy Golden Horde. Dark Angel looks in these early days to be making a similar mark on the breed to his sire, with Gutaifan (Ire) proving his prowess in his second year with runners and with Estidhkaar (Ire) and Markaz (Ire) each having gotten off to a promising start with his first runners this season. And while his best runner to date, Battaash (Ire), will not get the chance to pass on his genes as a gelding, Dark Angel still has the Goffs UK graduate and champion sprinter Harry Angel (Ire) waiting in the wings with his first foals this year. Another Group 1-winning sprinter to come from the sale with a chance to make his mark as a sire is the Phoenix S., Commonwealth Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest scorer Advertise (GB), a £60,000 graduate who covered his first book at the National Stud this year.

Already a sire on the rise, Wootton Bassett is set to enter a different stratosphere, having been purchased by Coolmore just prior to getting his second Group 1 winner in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet victress Audarya (Fr). A £46,000 graduate of 2009, Wootton Bassett won the sales race midway through a perfect 2-year-old career which was capped by a G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere score and French champion 2-year-old honours. With Coolmore having pledged the support of its impeccable broodmare band and with Wootton Bassett’s best son Almanzor (Fr) set to have his first runners next year, there looks to be plenty more to come in the Wootton Bassett story.

With such opportunities on the line, the shrewdest buyers will not miss this week’s Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. And as the first yearling sale during this pandemic-stricken season, all eyes will be on the figures as an indication of what is to come.

“The big thing for us will be clearance rate,” said Kent. “People have brought these horses here to sell and we’re providing an opportunity for that to happen. The way we’ll measure the sale is going to be different; the normal metrics will go out the window and it will be very much about clearance rate and feel. If vendors are happy with what they’re achieving and purchasers are saying they can’t buy horses, for us that’s a good feel for this sale. We’re normally worried about comparative metrics-average, turnover, median, that sort of thing. It’ll be less about that this year and more about clearance rate and the ability to get horses sold.”

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KR: You have purchased four winners of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes in the past five years, most recently Happy Romance this year. Is that the kind of result you’re looking for when you go to Doncaster, a precocious horse who can collect those kinds of purses early on?

RD: Its great when you can win the race dedicated to a particular sale; it confirms that our team are doing a very good job selecting the yearlings along with the great job Richard Hannon and his team have done with Happy Romance. The Premier Sale is known for precocious types but you would hope they can train on as 3-year-olds like Canford Cliffs, Olympic Glory and Barney Roy, for example, in the past.

KR: Happy Romance is the first horse raced by the McMurray Family. How important is a result like that at a time when we need to incentivize owners to stay involved and when prizemoney levels are such a concern?

RD: Happy Romance is repaying her owners in spades considering she cost £25,000, not only by winning the Weatherbys Super Sprint but also the sales race, taking her earnings to £177,600 so far for the season. It’s a huge help to get the owners something back on their initial investment which will hopefully spur them on to reinvest during these tough times for everybody.

KR: You have a long list of successful purchases from the Premier Sale-the likes of Canford Cliffs, Olympic Glory, Tiggy Wiggy, Barney Roy, and Ventura Tormenta most recently. Can you tell us what you recall about some of those horses at their times of purchase?

RD: A lot of the horses you mentioned had a presence about them, strong but balanced with good movement, temperament and they all came from top nurseries. The team at Goffs UK along with the vendors obviously do a fantastic job selecting the right types to suit the sale.

KR: What first-season sires are you looking forward to seeing the progeny of this year?

RD: On the back of our old friend Mehmas doing so well this year with his first crop, it will be nice to see the Aclaims being by Acclamation as well. I have seen some very nice yearlings on the farms recently by Caravaggio, Churchill, Profitable and in particular by Ribchester; they look very racy.

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The March-born filly is poised to provide her breeder Andrew Davis with a cozy return; through Creighton, Davis bought her dam, the Motivator (GB) mare Motion Lass (GB), for just 9,000gns while carrying her at the Tattersalls February Sale. Four months later A’Ali won the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot followed by the G2 Prix Robert Papin and the G2 Flying Childers S. A sales ring score, however, would come with a touch of sadness, as Motion Lass died at the height of A’Ali’s powers.

“From day one she’s always been a nice filly; when she was born she had quality and class,” Creighton recalled of the Cotai Glory filly. “She’s always been very easy to deal with. The mare, unfortunately, colicked and died which was terrible for all of us. And that was after A’Ali won the Norfolk. So it was very disappointing.”

The Cotai Glory filly is just the third foal out of the mare and her only filly.

“It’s the only chance to have the bloodline if somebody wants to buy into it, which is quite important,” Creighton said. “It’s hard not to offer a filly like her because she’s quite valuable. She has a lot of quality, a very nice head. She’s a good mover, very easy mover in the lunging ring. She floats across the ground, she’s very strong and she strikes me as a 2-year-old type. She’s probably going to be very similar to her brother in regards to trip and precocity.”

While Davis will feel the loss of Motion Lass for some time, another mare, Solfilia (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), has likely helped ease the pain. She was picked up by Creighton and Schwartz for 4,500gns at Tattersalls July in 2018, and her 2-year-old at the time, Bodhicitta (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), was Grade I-placed in America in May. Davis opted to retain Solfilia after bidding stalled at £340,000 during the Tattersalls Online August Sale.

Also among Davis’s offerings at the Goffs UK Premier Sale is a colt from the first crop of Time Test (GB) (lot 312) who was bought back for 19,000gns as a foal. He is the first foal out of Midnight (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), whose dam is a full-sister to Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire).

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a horse that can walk better than this horse,” Creighton said. “He’s got fantastic action.”

Creighton also pointed to a filly by Kodiac (GB) (lot 52) as a potential head-turner. She is the third foal out of Yukon Girl (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}), a half-sister to the dam of Group 1 winner and sire Mount Nelson (GB).

“Kodiac is riding the crest of a wave right now,” Creighton said. “He’s had a fantastic year with Campanelle, Nando Parrado and Hello Youmzain. This filly is a bit weak at the moment but she has a very good back page. For me she’s a very good physical and just a very nice filly.”

“We have a very nice Bungle Inthejungle colt (lot 265) as well,” Creighton added. “He’s really strong, very typical of the stallion and probably very much in the Doncaster mould, but with scope as well.”

Creighton spent his formative years between Ireland, England and Spain, honing his eye for a horse alongside his father Eddie Creighton, who was a trainer. He dabbled in various facets of the business-including administration at HRI and as a multi-lingual race commentator-before his keen interest in pedigrees and the sales scene led to he and Schwartz founding Creighton Schwartz Bloodstock in 2011. The pair took on Salcey Forest Stud around the same time for a handful of their own mares, and it has since snowballed into a full-fledged commercial operation.

While Creighton will likely be long associated with Laurens, he said he is keen to prove that he isn’t a “one-trick pony.” Other sales purchases include the G3 Cornwallis S. winner Abel Handy (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}), the Cornwallis-third Jouska (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) and John Dance’s recent G1 Prix Morny third Rhythm Master (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who was making his second start after breaking his maiden first out. Creighton described Dance as “great to work for.”

“He loves being involved in the training of the horses,” Creighton said. “And when it comes to buying horses we work together very well. He’s into statistics and numbers and he likes to put things to an algorithm; I am more about looking at the physical of the horse. He has been very supportive of mine and Josh’s business and he’s taken it to a different level. I have to also give a mention to all the other clients that I have as well. They’ve all been very good and most of them are very good friends and we’ve had success with them, too.”

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