£135,000 Jukebox Jury relation to Master Minded heads selective Goffs Spring Store Sale trade

As had been widely predicted, vendors faced choppy waters at the Goffs UK Spring Store Sale on Tuesday. Although there was the usual level of activity at the head of the market, notably five six-figure lots, broader trade in Doncaster proved decidedly selective. 

The challenging nature of trade was encapsulated by the clearance rate, which closed at 69 per cent as 170 sold from 246 offered. By comparison, last year’s two-day renewal saw 81 per cent of lots find a buyer. 

Those 170 transactions brought turnover of £4,394,050, a 27 per cent fall in spending from an offering that was down three per cent year-on-year. The average dipped by 12 per cent to £25,848, while the median was down 13 points to £20,000, having been £23,000 in 2023.

The Tom Malone-Paul Nicholls axis took home the two priciest stores on the day, with the haul led by a £135,000 son of Jukebox Jury out of a half-sister to dual Champion Chase hero Master Minded. 

The dam, an unraced daughter of Spanish Moon, is still awaiting her first runner under rules, although the early signs are promising after this youngster’s four-year-old brother He Can't Dance made a winning point-to-point debut. He duly went the way of Gordon Elliott for £300,000 at the Goffs Aintree Sale. 

“The pedigree stacks up and Paul had Master Minded, who’s under the second dam,” said Malone. 

“The brother, He Can’t Dance, made £300,000 at Aintree after he won at Monksgrange. Rob James [trainer and rider] said he was an absolute machine, and he just underbid this store here now. There’s the confidence he had in him, and they’re similar types of horses.” 

Trade may not have been quite as buoyant as recent years, but Malone said he had been encouraged by how much action there had been at the top end. 

Tom Malone: "Once I’d gone through all the horses yesterday I knew where trade would be at"Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

“Once I’d gone through all the horses yesterday I knew where trade would be at,” he said. “I’m still pleasantly surprised there’s been as many £100,000 horses as there have, though. It’s very patchy underneath that, so it’ll be interesting to see how it rolls on to the next sales.” 

While plenty of those selling endured mixed fortunes, the session-topper capped a fine day for Willie Bryan’s Worthen Hall Stables. The Shrewsbury-based operation brought four lots to the Spring Store Sale and sold three for receipts totalling £280,000, with the Jukebox Jury gelding joined by a £105,000 daughter of Walk In The Park and a £40,000 son of Poet’s Word, both bought by Dan Skelton and Ryan Mahon. 

“I bought all four that we’re selling today on the same day while they were still on their mares,” said Bryan over a celebratory pint. “They all came from Louis Vambeck, a very good breeder in Mullingar who has some great French families. He had a good year and we were in the right spot at the right time.” 

Bryan’s pinhooking prowess helped Worthen Hall Stables top the consignors’ charts by average price and aggregate sales. 

Explaining how he has honed his craft, Bryan said: “You get an eye for it after a while. My dad [Bill] was much better at it than me. He did it for about 55 years. He could walk into a field, see 20 mares and foals, pick out three, and they were the best three. I don’t know how he did it. 

“A few things must have rubbed off from my dad, and I’ve tried to build on that and evolve a bit. You’ve got to be commercial in three years, not the day you buy them.” 

The Goffs Spring Sale got under way on TuesdayCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

Bryan was responsible for this year’s Goffs UK Spring Sale Bumper winner Regent's Stroll, who sold to Malone and Nicholls for £175,000 two years ago. The consignor said he came here hopeful of a good sale despite the apprehension among his fellow vendors, and added he could have another winner of the Spring Sale Bumper in the shape of the Walk In The Park filly. 

The youngster is out of the Prix Finot winner En Vedette, making her a sibling to the black-type performers Lady Adare and Sabrina. 

“They were my strongest stock, the Walk In The Park filly particularly,” said Bryan. “I think she’ll win the sales race next year as she’s head and shoulders the best filly I’ve ever had. 

“We’ve learned over the years that if you want to make the most, you have to aim for the best. We had to up our game and pay more for them as foals, which means a bigger risk, but we had to get a bit more serious about what we bought.” 

Malone gets up to speed

Malone also secured the first six-figure lot of the day when he went to £110,000 for Beau Speed, a well-related son of Beaumec De Houelle offered by Johnny Collins’ Brown Island Stables. 

The three-year-old is out of Tangaspeed, a dual Listed winner in France who has bred five winners at paddocks. The best of those is Authorised Speed, a four-time winner and Listed-placed bumper runner for Gary Moore. 

“I’ve bought him for Paul Nicholls so he’s going down to Ditcheat,” said Malone. “We actually underbid his brother when he made €155,000 at the Land Rover Sale three years ago. He’s a lovely animal and stood out here today. He’s beautiful and has a lovely step to him. 

Brown Island Stables' Beau Speed sells to Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls for £110,000Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

“We have another Beaumec De Houelle at home that we really like; we bought him at the Land Rover last year and he looks smart. Beaumec De Houelle’s by a good stallion himself in Martaline, so hopefully he works out.” 

Beau Speed was making his first appearance at public auction after Collins bought the youngster privately from his breeder, Laurence Gagneux.

“I bought him as a foal out in France,” said Collins. “He’s a very straightforward horse who showed himself well all week. All the right people were on him so hopefully he’ll be lucky for Mr Malone. I didn’t know much about the stallion when I bought him because he’d had no runners. I just liked the look of the horse, and I’d sold his brother, Authorized Speed, as well.” 

Snowden scoops standout

Malone’s name also appeared on the docket of a third six-figure lot when he signed alongside Jamie Snowden to secure Lakefield Farm’s son of Vol De Nuit at £100,000.

Already named Style De Folie, the youngster is a sibling to three winners, including Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle runner-up Style De Garde. 

“He’s a lovely mover and a great individual,” said Snowden. “He was a real standout I thought, so he’s an exciting one to get. As we know, it’s not all about the sire, but he’s got a great page. He’s a lovely model and that’s what we like buying. He walked around the parade ring like he owned the place.” 

Style De Folie: "He walked around the parade ring like he owned the place"Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

The 23-year-old Vol De Nuit ranks as one of the more unheralded names among the catalogue’s sires’ index. The grey son of Linamix was a prolific winner in Italy, where he was also runner-up in two Group 1s, the Gran Premio di Milano won by Electrocutionist and Premio Presidente della Republica won by Altieri. 

On the subject of trade, Snowden added: “The good horses are making their money but the middle ground is probably harder to buy in. We’re after good horses. We’ve never gone after quantity, it’s always about quality. I think our figures suggest that over the course of the last couple of years. We’re just trying to buy the best animals we can.” 

Asked who he was buying on behalf of, the trainer said: “I’ve got an owner in mind, but they don’t know it yet!” 

Skelton strikes 

Ryan Mahon and Dan Skelton were among the busier buyers on the day with five lots secured for an outlay of £377,000. As well as the £105,000 Walk In The Park filly from Worthen Hall Stables, the pair also went to £100,000 for Goldford Stud’s well-related daughter of No Risk At All. 

The filly is out of Brise Vendeenne, a  Listed-placed half-sister to three-time Grade 1 winner Vroum Vroum Mag. This makes the filly a half-sister to Walk In The Brise, a daughter of Walk In The Park who has won two races for Willie Mullins. 

The six-figure transaction continued Goldford’s good run in Doncaster, having set a British store sale record when the Blue Bresil filly out of Petticoat Tails sold to Highflyer Bloodstock and Jerry McGrath for £210,000 12 months ago. 

“It’s a great family,” said Skelton. “I couldn’t quite afford the filly off Sally [Aston] last year but we’re delighted to get this one. I’ve got a few people looking for well-bred fillies and she basically sells herself. She’s a beauty and she’s grey, and everyone loves a grey horse. 

Sally Aston after her No Risk At All filly's sale to Ryan Mahon and Dan SkeltonCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

“I’ve had a few by No Risk At All and they’re horses that I feel improve a great deal, although she looks a bit more finished than the vast majority. The ones I’ve seen before have been high behind but she conformed a bit better than that, so hopefully this is the start of something special.” 

Goldford’s draft also contained a well-related Kapgarde filly bought by Bobby O’Ryan, who signed alongside Nicky Henderson, at £70,000. 

Speaking after the sale of the No Risk At All filly, Goldford’s Sally Aston said: “She’d never left the farm until Saturday, she’d been there her entire life. It’s the same with the Kapgarde filly, they actually lived together at home. They’ve been spot on from day one. They were lovely foals and have turned into beautiful three-year-olds.”

Although Aston described trade as “tough”, she declared herself pleased with the prices and purchasers of her headline offerings.

“They were really popular here so our expectations have been rising throughout the viewing," she said. “It’s lovely when these horses go to trainers like Dan Skelton, especially when you still have the mare, because you have a real chance of keeping your pedigree going.”

Sales house sentiment

In his end-of-sale statement, Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent said: "The highly anticipated Spring Store Sale is the first sale of its kind each year and, as such, is always met with much anticipation. However, this was further heightened after a number of recent sales that proved difficult away from the very top, while we are all very aware of the challenges that the point-to-point vendors have faced during the last 12 months.

"Despite all of this, we were obviously hopeful of a healthy sale and while we feel that plenty of people achieved this today, we cannot escape the fact that it has been a tough day for some. As ever, the top of the market has been very strong and those who had the desired lots sold very well – as demonstrated by the five horses that sold for £100,000 or more. 

Tim Kent: "We have worked extremely hard to promote this sale"Credit: Goffs UK

"However, other levels of the market have certainly softened as witnessed by the drop in numbers sold, though it has been encouraging to see a lot of horses sold outside the ring, showing that demand is there if vendors are prepared to trade."

Kent continued: "While we cannot draw any firm conclusions until after the comparative sales in Ireland, we are proud of the fact that we have worked extremely hard to promote this sale and this ensured that we had a strong catalogue of horses that were viewed by a diverse buying bench consisting of buyers at all levels from both sides of the Irish Sea. 

"While we are disappointed not to have matched the figures achieved in recent years, we are still enormously proud of this sale and its 63-year history."

The Goffs UK Spring Sale continues on Wednesday at 10am with a session dominated by point-to-point graduates. 

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