By Emma Berry
The Goffs London Sale may have a reputation as the last call to buy a Royal Ascot contender but the two top-priced horses in training sold in London on Monday night will both be heading to Hong Kong without taking up their engagements at the meeting this week.
Leading the way was the William Haggas-trained Lockheed (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) (lot 7), who will be able to remain in the cool of his stable at Somerville Lodge rather than endure 30-degree heat at Ascot where he was engaged in today's G1 St James's Palace S.
“He'll be scratched from the race and will go to Hong Kong eventually,” said agent Chris McAnulty, who, in partnership with Eric Wong, bought the G2 German 2,000 Guineas runner-up on behalf of Henry Cheng Kar Shun for £900,000.
He added, “He'll be trained by John Size and the horse ticked a lot of boxes for us–there aren't many opportunities to buy a horse like Lockheed privately. It's my first time here and I take my hat off to Goffs for putting on a sale like this, it's a great concept. Owners have confidence in buying here as there's plenty of transparency.”
The Gold Coast-based agent wasn't the only Australian in the hunt for horses to race in Hong Kong as Justin Bahen struck late in the select sale for Born To Play (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) (lot 19), who brought the hammer down at £500,000. Runner-up in the G3 Gallinule S. last month for Joseph Murphy, the 3-year-old had entries for the G3 Hampton Court S. and King George V S. this week but will now be given a break before resuming in Hong Kong in September.
“Certain horses meet the criteria for different parts of the world and this horse will be aimed eventually at the Hong Kong Derby after the new season starts in September,” said Bahen, who was acting on behalf of an unnamed client with trainer Chris So.
The heady heights of last year's £1.3 million for Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Jet Setting (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) weren't quite met this time around but significant gains in median and average underlined a frenetic hour of trade in the sweltering heat at Kensington Palace. Of the 19 offered, 12 changed hands at a rate of 63%, with the average price being up by 27% at £377,083, while the median climbed by 79% to £340,000. Turnover fell by 12% to £4,525,000.
Almost half that aggregate figure was spent by Thai businessman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the owner and chairman of Leicester City Football Club, who kept agent Alastair Donald thoughout the session, signing for six horses for £2,050,000. Among the group was Straight Right (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) (lot 13), who is trained near Bordeaux by Christophe Ferland and will run in Friday's G1 Commonwealth Cup under new colours after being bought for £450,000. Also running this week under Srivaddhanaprabha's Abudencia Co Ltd banner is Tisbutadream (Ire) (Dream Ahead) (lot 17), a four-time winner and entry in the Sandringham S., who fetched £400,000.
“At the moment it's our intention to run all the horses with Ascot entries. They will stay with their existing owners for now and then we'll see what happens after that,” said Donald.
“Mr Srivaddhanaprabha is looking to build up his stable and he was attracted to this sale by the Ascot runners. He already had a big interest in polo and is a great horseman who is now expanding his racing interests in Britain.”
Of the 19 lots offered on the night, two were mares with foals at foot, including lot 11, Baldovina (GB) (Tale Of The Cat), who was offered with a filly from the first crop of Shadwell's Group 1-winning sprinter Muhaarar (GB) and is in foal to Le Havre (Ire). The mare also has a close connection to Royal Ascot as she is the dam of Chasemore Farm's G2 Queen Mary S. winner Ceiling Kitty (GB) (Red Clubs {Ire}). Sold for £300,000, she was another on Alastair Donald's list.
A supplementary entry last week after winning at Chester for Jamie Osborne was lot 19, Armum (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), a half-sister to last year's Listed Windsor Castle S. and G2 Flying Childers S. winner Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {Ire}). The filly will run in the G2 Albany S. later this week for Ed Dunlop, who bought her for an unnamed client for £250,000.
After the close of play, a private sale boosted the figures for the sale when Aim To Please (Fr) (Excellent Art {GB}) (lot 14) was sold to owner John Dance for £340,000. A Group 3 and listed winner in France, the Francois Doumen-trained 4-year-old heads for Wednesday's G2 Duke Of Cambridge S.
Commenting on the fourth edition of the groundbreaking Goffs London Sale, chief executive Henry Beeby said, “We welcomed a huge international audience once again to the Orangery at Kensington Palace which got Royal Ascot week kicked off in some style. Spirited bidding saw the key statistics advance with average rising by 27% to £373,083 and median up almost 80% to £340,000. These figures speak for themselves and demonstrate the enormous hunger for the quality and class that is offered at the Goffs London Sale.”
He added, “I would like to thanks our title partners QIPCO for their continued support of the London Sale and all our supporting partners Selfridges, Chateau Leoube, JetSmarter, Select Mobile and Rolls Royce who added so much to everyone's enjoyment of the evening.”
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