‘We all know the best horse isn’t necessarily the most expensive’ – buyers and sellers prepare for crucial spell as store sale season kicks off in Doncaster

A crucial period in the National Hunt calendar commences in Doncaster on Tuesday against a backdrop coloured by anticipation and apprehension. Some 1,644 unbroken three-year-olds have been catalogued to come under the hammer over the next six weeks, with sales split between Britain and Ireland set to have a profound impact on the fortunes of buyers and sellers alike. 

Store auction season kicks off with the Goffs UK Spring Sale, which has returned to a one-day format and is also back in its traditional curtain-raising slot. The sale has seen back-to-back record top lots, with last year’s market capped by the £210,000 Blue Bresil filly out of Petticoat Tails bought by Highflyer Bloodstock and Jerry McGrath. 

For a flavour of what is in store in South Yorkshire this time around, there are a dozen lots by newly minted champion National Hunt sire Walk In The Park, 14 by Blue Bresil and a host of French-bred youngsters by blue-chip stallions such as Jeu St Eloi, Kapgarde and No Risk At All.  

But, while weekend inspections for this event may have taken place in glorious sunshine, the outlook for the wider National Hunt landscape is not quite so rosy. A significant market correction has, in places, led to a brutal level of selectivity. With this trend expected to continue throughout the coming weeks, consignors are taking a pragmatic approach to selling. 

“There’s probably a bit of an adjustment going on,” said consignor Peter Nolan, whose season begins with a five-strong draft in Doncaster. “I’d say the middle to the top end of the market should hold up fairly well, but it’ll be very selective. That’s the way I see it going.” 

He added of the mood among his fellow consignors in Doncaster: “There’s a bit of apprehension, but then the first sale of the season always feels a bit choppier.” 

Juliet Minton: consigns 12 lots under the Mill House Stud bannerCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

Despite the understandable uneasiness among vendors, Juliet Minton of Mill House Stud reported encouraging footfall from prospective purchasers at Goffs UK. 

“We were showing [on Sunday] and were busy, which is a good sign,” said Minton, who offers 12 lots at the Spring Store Sale. “We’re in strange times at the moment so won’t really know [what trade will be like] until we turn up in the ring. 

"I think the market will come back a bit, so vendors will want to have realistic reserves. The top end will probably be fine, but the middle and bottom might struggle a bit.” 

While the sellers approached for comment by the Racing Post seemed sanguine about the likely state of trade in Doncaster and beyond, they stressed that a softening of the market isn’t reflected by the standard of stock on offer, which remains as high as ever. With plenty of well-credentialled youngsters due to change hands, some buyers will ultimately get more bang for their buck. 

“The quality of horse hasn’t changed at all,” said Minton. “And we all know the best horse isn’t necessarily the most expensive. There’s every chance that there’s something here that will be bought for a very reasonable price that will turn out to be very good, because there’s surely some very nice horses here.” 

Given handlers’ increasing scale of investment, store sale trade has become inextricably linked to the point-to-point market. 

Results on the track have continued to make for happy reading, with a whole host of point-to-point graduates on the board at the major spring festivals. However, for a variety of reasons ranging from the weather to the spending habits of the wealthy, results in the sales ring have been somewhat less favourable. 

The Goffs Spring Sale kicks off at Doncaster on TuesdayCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

Spending at Tattersalls Cheltenham during the 2023-24 season fell by 32 per cent compared to 2022-23, with 195 lots selling for a combined £15,566,500 and at an average of £79,830. The previous season saw 261 lots sell for £22,765,500 and an average of £87,225. Goffs’ boutique auctions at Aintree and Punchestown followed a similar trajectory, with aggregate sales falling by 34 per cent (to £1.945 million) at the former and 29 per cent (to €2.808m) at the latter. 

Anecdotal evidence suggests prominent owners’ reluctance to spend big at public auction has resulted in an increase in activity on the private market. This means point-to-point traders are not expected to scale back their involvement at the store sales to quite such a dramatic degree, even if the raw materials may come in at under previous years’ prices. 

“The point-to-point sales have been back, but then there have been a good few horses sold privately that didn’t come onto the market,” said Nolan. “If they’d been there then it would have given those results a bit of a better complexion. 

"I’d imagine that the point-to-point men will buy fewer stores, or certainly be more selective, although they’ll probably be able to buy a bit of value this year.” 

Those sentiments were echoed by Minton, who said: “A lot of the point-to-pointers have been sold privately, either after they’ve won or before they’ve raced, so some of those sales will read a bit differently to the true market in that sector. Hopefully the point-to-point boys will still be buying plenty, but who knows. Everyone is amazed by how busy we’ve been today, so that hopefully bodes well.”

Expanding on the decision to return the Spring Store Sale to a one-day format, Goffs UK’s managing director Tim Kent said: “There were 20 or 30 horses that probably shouldn’t have been there last year, so we wanted to cut back on numbers and really focus on quality. 

"When the catalogue came out and we looked at the pedigrees, we felt then the standard had risen. Having spoken to vendors and seen the horses on the sales ground, there’s no doubt the quality has improved.” 

Kent shared Nolan and Minton’s prediction that the middle to lower tiers of trade would likely prove the most challenging, and said Goffs UK had been proactive in its response to the current market challenges. 

Tim Kent: "there’s no doubt that throughout the week the top end will be fine"Credit: Goffs UK

“We’ve made a concerted effort to get around as many trainers as we can and said to them they might have an easier chance of buying a store this year,” he said. “There’s no doubt that throughout the week the top end will be fine, it’s the middle to lower we’ve worked hardest to get additional people there for.” 

The Spring Store Sale is followed by two days of form-horse trade, with Wednesday dedicated to point-to-pointers and Thursday featuring horses-in-training. Around 570 lots have been catalogued, including 180 supplementary entries featuring a host of recent winners from past masters of the point-to-point sphere, like Colin Bowe, Donnchadh Doyle and Matthew Flynn O’Connor. 

Arguably the most eyecatching draft comes from John Nallen’s Minella Racing, with the quartet headed by Minella Premier (lot 498). The strapping four-year-old son of Shantou created a huge impression with a 12-length debut victory at Ballindenisk, travelling powerfully and storming clear to score with the minimum of fuss. 

Nallen, the man responsible for a famous Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National double with Minella Indo and Minella Times, also sends two five-year-old debut winners in Minella Sixo (499), another son of Shantou who struck at Loughrea, and Dromahane scorer Minella Juke (518), a well-related son of Jukebox Jury. 

“The point-to-point catalogue only really came together in the last few weeks, but we’ve got around 180 supplementary entries, which tells you something about the season the point-to-point lads have had,” said Kent.

“If you want a less expensive horse to have a bit of fun with, or if you want a potential Gold Cup horse, there’s something for everyone on Wednesday.” 

The horses-in-training session features the ever-popular Million In Mind dispersal, which includes Listed mares’ bumper winner Avakate (708) and the progressive dual hurdle scorer Largy Poet (709). 

Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics operation is dispersing five lots on Thursday, including Mossy Fen Park (721), a maiden hurdle winner on his penultimate start who was last seen finishing second to Captain Cody in a Grade 2 novice event, and Western Diego (723), who was also placed in Grade 2 company last time out. 

“We’ve done a couple of trips to the States this year and there’ll be some new faces turning up who’ll hopefully take some horses back to America,” said Kent. 

“We’ve made a concerted effort to get out and get more people to the sale. Time will tell whether they like what they see, but we expect some new faces to join the traditional buying bench.” 

Goffs UK Spring Store and Horses-in-Training Sale factfile 

Where Goffs UK sales complex, Doncaster

When Spring Store Sale begins on Tuesday, with the two-day Spring Horses-in-Training Sale following on Wednesday and Thursday. All sessions start at 10am

Last year’s Spring Store Sale stats From 254 offered, 206 (81 per cent) sold for turnover of £6,041,300 (down 16 per cent), an average of £29,325 (down seven per cent) and a median of £23,000 (down eight per cent) 

Last year’s Spring Horses-in-Training Sale stats From 432 offered, 379 (88 per cent) sold for turnover of £8,923,450 (up 25 per cent), an average of £23,545 (up nine per cent) and a median of £14,000 (up eight per cent)

Notable graduates Constitution Hill (sold by Bernice Stables, bought by Seven Barrows for £120,0000); Good Land (sold by Messrs Grech & Parkin, bought by Ed Bailey Bloodstock for £28,000); Henry's Friend (sold by Park Farm Racing, bought by Ben Pauling Racing for £60,000); Kerryhill (sold by Loughanmore Farm, bought by Tom Malone and Ruth Jefferson for £115,000) 

Read more

Former Premier League player Ben Turner has more goals in store with star mare Marsh Wren and his syndicate