The biggest clash of the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale boiled down to Anthony Stroud and Jason Kelly. As was so often the case during last week's Tattersalls Craven Sale, it was Stroud who emerged victorious, with a bid of £420,000 (US$525,000, £1 = US$1.25) required to bring the gavel down April 24.
The sales-topping duel was sparked by Derryconnor Stud's Havana Grey filly out of the winning Firebreak mare In Trutina. She shares the further reaches of her page with 2023 European champion 2-year-old male City of Troy, but a more crucial piece of evidence was her performance during April 23's presale workouts, with the youngster having clocked inside the day's top five times.
"This filly did a very good breeze and we liked the way she went," said Stroud. "She's a nice, well-balanced filly and we thought she was one of the nicest fillies in the sale. She's been bought for KHK Racing but no trainer has been decided as yet."
Stroud has emerged as one of Havana Grey's biggest fans, and with good reason as the agent was responsible for unearthing the stallion's unbeaten, dual group 1 winner Vandeek.
"He seems to be putting a lot of toughness and speed into his stock. He's doing exceptionally well, especially if you consider the mares that were bred to him in those earlier years. He's really upping the game. He's got a very bright future and he's doing some remarkable things."
Also doing remarkable things was Katie McGivern of Derryconnor Stud as she registered a 740% return on investment with the Havana Grey filly, who was signed for by Creighton Schwartz Bloodstock at £50,000 at last year's Premier Yearling Sale.
"Based on her homework we expected her to breeze like she did, but after that you just have to leave it up to the market to her value her," said McGivern. "Everyone had her vetted and she was squeaky clean on that front, so it was just a case of who turned up. It's not a huge surprise she made a bit of money because we loved her at home. All her homework was exceptional. Everything about her was exceptional and I'm delighted with the result. She deserved it."
Brown back in business
Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock is rarely far from the action at the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale and duly signed for five of the day's top 10 lots. The priciest of those was the Mehmas colt out of Jane Doe, who fetched £380,000 when offered by Willie Browne's Mocklershill.
"He's by one of the best sires of 2-year-olds around, a gorgeous horse and from one of the doyens of the breeze-up sales," said Brown. "I saw him on Sunday and Willie was very high on him then and he did a seriously good breeze yesterday. The ground was tough yesterday and he's a low-actioned horse who should go on summer ground.
"He looks forward-going but no trainer has been decided. He'll get a short break now and then we'll try and point him towards Ascot, as I'm sure a lot of people will be doing."
In-house reflection
While the top of the market became increasingly lively as the session wore on there was a distinct selectivity to trade, particularly away from the upper echelons. This was evidenced by a clearance rate of 81% as an expanded catalog saw 167 sell from 207 offered.
Those transactions helped the sale reach a record level of turnover for the second year in succession, with spending rising 3% to £10,359,700 (US$12,949,625). The average price was marginally behind last year's record level at £62,035 (US$77,544), while that market selectivity was also reflected by the median price being clipped in by 10% to £36,000 (US$45,000), having been £40,000 12 months ago.
Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent said: "Wow. What an incredible finish to a fantastic day in Doncaster. It was always going to be difficult to build on the massive advances made by this sale in 2023 and part way through the day, it was looking unlikely we would achieve this feat. But the sale appeared to gather momentum as the day progressed and finished with a flourish to deliver record turnover.
"These results were aided by a top price of £420,000, 12 horses selling for £200,000 or more, and 28 horses achieving a price of £100,000 or above.
"We are the first to acknowledge that none of this could have been done without the loyal support of an incredible group of vendors. The inspection team were bullish when visiting the farms and we were heartened to read that the average purchase price of the yearlings had increased by 6% compared to 2023, but none of this matters when you get to the sale, and we were relieved to hear positive feedback from agents and purchasers who have been inspecting horses.
"We'd therefore like to extend a heartfelt 'thank you' to everyone who trusted Goffs to sell their best early-season breezers and we are delighted that we were able to deliver in style at Doncaster."
He continued: "While we have much to celebrate today, it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the fact that the market has been selective. There was a stark difference between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' and this has been very evident today. However, while some horses failed to find buyers in the ring, some 50 private sales helped to drive an 81% clearance rate, and some have commented that's a true reflection of any breeze-up market—if they breeze well, they sell well.
"Lastly, we must thank our buyers at all levels of the market. We were delighted to have a strong domestic buying bench competing with a significant number of new visitors to the sales at Doncaster. Indeed, the Goffs team has worked tirelessly to deliver international buyers to this sale and this has been rewarded with horses selling throughout the day to race in America, Bahrain, Dubai, France, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scandinavia and elsewhere."
Complete results for the sale can be viewed here.
