With a recent Royal Ascot record that is unmatched by any breeze up sale, buyers chasing their next royal winner came to Doncaster in their droves today for the Goffs UK Breeze Up Sale and propelled it to record levels that are well in advance of what was a record producing sale 12 months ago.
With seven Royal Ascot winners in seven years, headed by a Royal double with Bradsell and Perfect Power last year, the Doncaster Breeze Up Sale continues to gain traction with buyers around the world and a global buying bench drove the sale average up 29% to £63,396 while the turnover grew 54% to £10,016,500. The sale also achieved a clearance rate of 86%.
A total of 33 horses sold for six-figure sums, up on the previous record of 17 last year, and they were headed by a record £500,000 top price, and a trio of 2YOs exceeding £300,000.
With an opening bid of £200,000 late in the day, it was clear Tally Ho Stud had a special colt on their hands and their Harry Angel 2YO (Lot 191) duly carried all before it, taking bids from multiple bidders around the ring before being knocked down to Michael O’Callaghan – a trainer who has enjoyed much success with graduates from this sale. The £500,000 price surpassed the previous record which was set by Al Raya who sold for £450,000 in 2019. The price also set a record for the highest price achieved for a flat bred horse in Doncaster.
The trio of £300,000 2YOs was headed by Tradewinds Stud’s Twilight Son filly (Lot 141) which sold to Blandford Bloodstock for £360,000 following a very quick breeze yesterday on Doncaster Racecourse. Grove Stud’s Starspangledbanner filly (Lot 102) was another to feature when selling to Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for £350,000, while Longways Stables’ Dark Angel filly (Lot 167) also commanded plenty of attention when eventually being sold to Highclere Agency for £340,000.
Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent commented: “What an incredible day at Europe’s Oldest Breeze Up Sale. A record top price; record turnover; record average; record median; four horses selling for £300,000 or more; 10 horses selling for £200,000 or above and 33 horses realising £100,000 or more. “That is an incredible achievement for any sale and accurately sums up today’s trade but there is so much more that goes into today and we must thank all our vendors and purchasers who have supported this record-breaking event. When we started to visit vendors in the early part of the year, we knew they were planning to target this sale with some of their better horses and the fact that there was a healthy increase in their purchase price compared to last year was a positive way to start. We then began to hear many positive reports after vendors had started to work these horses and the momentum continued to Town Moor where some sensational breezes led to some breath-taking prices. “But it’s not just the top end that has been a success. Indeed, the success of any sale relies on buyers at every level of the market, and we made a concerted effort to ensure that everyone was encouraged to participate at a sale which has a long history of winners being bought at all levels of the market. This obviously meant that we focussed on all domestic buyers, but we also worked closely with GBRI to ensure that we had an increased participation from overseas clients with many new faces visiting Doncaster for the first time including those from Australia, Denmark, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. All of this led to a healthy 86% clearance rate which is the envy of any recent sales of this kind. “Today’s results graphically illustrate how this sale is capturing the attention of buyers from across the globe and this is purely down to the unrivalled success on the racecourse. Seven Royal Ascot winners in seven years is an incredible accomplishment for any sale and this ‘royal dream’ is a large part of what has attracted so many people to Doncaster today and helped to fuel this breath-taking trade. We are certain that vendors have provided the ammunition to continue this incredible success story and we look forward to welcoming these horses to the winner’s enclosure in the coming weeks. Roll on Royal Ascot!” Statistics Offered: 184 Sold: 158 (86%) Aggregate: £10,016,500 (+54%) Average: £63,396 (+29%) Median: £40,000 (+11%)