The Goffs London Sale has never been short of big stories, be it the sale of the first Frankel foal at auction with his dam to Coolmore for £1.15 million in the first edition in 2014, or China Horse Club’s purchase of Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Jet Setting for £1.3m two years later, and this year’s tenth anniversary renewal was no different.
Action aplenty as Lot 11 Sparkling Plenty causes a buzz(Pic – X)
A large international crowd of leading figures in racing and bloodstock – including Bobby Flay and John Stewart from the US, Gai Waterhouse from Australia and football stars Michael Owen and Álvaro Odriozola from closer to home – was at the iconic Kensington Palace Gardens on Monday to enjoy the unique event.
They were treated to a new high price for the Goffs London Sale and a host of big-money transactions.
In all, 13 of the 23 horses on offer were sold for a clearance rate of 57%. Turnover increased by 113% year-on-year to €8,040,000, the average rose by 80% to €618,462 and the median dipped by 20% to €200,000.
Sparkling Plenty (Lot 11) was always going to be one of the highlights of this year’s Goffs London Sale, having won the Prix de Sandringham by three lengths earlier in the month, but her value soared when she landed the Prix de Diane on the eve of the auction.
Few would have predicted the fireworks that ensued, though, with Amo Racing, Emmanuel de Seroux and Amanda Zetterholm trading blows for the beautifully bred filly, a Kingman full-sister to Jersey Stakes winner Noble Truth from the family of multiple Group 1 heroine Stacelita.
Zetterholm had the final say with a bid of £8.1 million, but it later transpired that she was acting for the vendor. A private sale was swiftly negotiated, with Al Shaqab Racing taking half of the filly for £5m – still a new sale record price.
Al Shaqab Racing representative Nicolas de Watrigant said: “She’ll stay with the same trainer and the same team. The trainer will target the Nassau Stakes, the Prix de l’Opéra and maybe the Arc. We’ve been following the filly for a long time.
“She probably should’ve won the French Guineas, she was very unlucky in that race, but she ran some very good split figures. We like her physically; she keeps progressing and won the Sandringham very easily.
“She’s also got a beautiful page and is by a great stallion, so she’s got everything going for her. Sheikh Joaan is delighted to have her.”
