With the spectacular Burj Khalifa as their backdrop, 69 blue-blooded two-year-olds galloped on Tuesday morning as the inaugural Dubai Breeze-up Sale got underway.
The sale is on Wednesday 23 March at 17h00 in the Parade Ring at Meydan Racecourse.
Meydan Racecourse’s Tapeta training track was the venue for the breeze which began at 07h45 and was completed two hours later without a hitch.
Henry Beeby, Group Chief Executive of organisers Goffs, took to the microphone to commentate on the action which took place in front of several hundred onlookers.
Those taking a keen interest in proceedings included HH Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Racing Club and a Group 1-winning owner, as well as top trainers Charlie Appleby, Roger Varian, Jamie Osborne, Roger Varian and Ado McGuinness, while jockeys Tadhg O’Shea, Pat Dobbs and Antonio Fresu also kept a close eye on the action.
Tom Taaffe, International Consultant for Goffs, was pleased with the breeze, commenting: “We are delighted with how smoothly it all went and that is down to the organization of Dubai Racing Club and the cooperation of all the consignors,” he said. “The ethos of the sale was for the horses not to be pushed out and timed, but just to be asked to gallop two furlongs so people can see their action and then inspect them up close later in the stable yard.
“The consignors are all delighted at how well their horses galloped and a number of buyers have mentioned to me that it was nice to see them move them like that, without being pushed.”
With the progeny of leading stallions such as Into Mischief, Dubawi, Frankel, Night Of Thunder, American Pharoah, Showcasing, Exceed And Excel, Justify and Arrogate among the lots on offer, bidding is expected to be strong when the sale takes place at 5pm on Wednesday in the Meydan Racecourse Parade Ring.
Potential buyers must register in advance via this link: Goffs Dubai BreezeUp_Catalogue_22 Mar.pdf (dubairacingclub.com)
