‘This is the most I’ve ever got for a horse’ - £420,000 Havana Grey filly heads profit-filled day in Doncaster

Pinhooking profit is never guaranteed, but those who offered the right article at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale in Doncaster on Wednesday were invariably rewarded with a significant return. Some more significant than others. 

The biggest clash of the day 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 required to bring the gavel down. 

The sales-topping duel was sparked by Derryconnor Stud’s Havana Grey filly who shares the further reaches of her page with champion two-year-old City Of Troy. A more crucial piece of evidence was her performance during Tuesday’s pre-sale 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. 

Asked for his views on the Whitsbury Manor Stud resident, Stroud said: “Vandeek is obviously a help but I think he’s a very good stallion. 

Katie McGivern of Derryconnor Stud after her Havana Grey filly topped the saleCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

“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 per cent 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.” 

Despite confirming this was a personal-best sales ring result, McGivern cut a decidedly composed figure in the aftermath. “You have to be able to let it all happen,” she said. “You pick your figure and be happy for the next man whoever buys it and whether it’s for value or a really good price. We got lucky that plenty of people wanted her but we were happy to let the market dictate her price.

“This is the most I’ve ever got for a horse so it’s a big achievement and fair dues to Jeremy [Mactaggart, Goffs director] because she was meant to go to Tatts but he loved her and made that very obvious; he rang me a bunch of times so he got her.” 

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 per cent as an expanded catalogue 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 by three per cent to £10,359,700. The average price was marginally behind last year’s record level at £62,035, while that market selectivity was also reflected by the median price being clipped in by ten points to £36,000, having been £40,000 12 months ago.

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 ten lots. The priciest of those was the Mehmas colt out of Jane Doe who fetched £380,000 when offered by Willie Browne’s Mocklershill. Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock was left to fill the role of frustrated underbidder. 

“He’s by one of the best sires of two-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.” 

Tally-Ho Stud's Mehmas half-brother to Marshman is knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock for £350,000 Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

The Godolphin buying team weren't backing down at Tattersalls last week, but Brown eventually got the better of David Loder and Anthony Stroud when he bid £350,000 for the Mehmas colt closely related to the high-class sprinter Marshman. 

The youngster was making his second appearance at the sales having been sold by South House Stud at last year’s Goffs Orby Sale, where Tally-Ho Stud signed the ticket at €50,000. 

With the immediate pedigree not having received any significant updates, the colt’s price is a testament to the breeze he put in during Tuesday’s two-furlong workout. Brown said he hoped that athleticism would help the six-figure purchase book his ticket to Royal Ascot. 

“He’s what you expect to find when you come to Donny,” he said. “He’s beautifully proportioned, not over big but looks like an out-and-out two-year-old. Obviously he comes from a hotel we’ve had a huge amount of success with, with Ardad, Dream Ahead, Perfect Power and the rest, and Roger O’Callaghan was very high on this horse all the way along. 

"He stepped up here and performed so we were delighted to get him. You come here with the dream of getting to Royal Ascot and hopefully he’s the kind of horse who’ll be capable of doing that.” 

Brown also signed for Tally-Ho’s Mehmas colt out of an unraced sibling of Campanelle at £360,000 and later bid £300,000 for Oak Tree Farm’s Starspangledbanner colt who descends from the blue hen Rafha, dam of influential stallions Invincible Spirit and Kodiac.  

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock was busy throughout the day in DoncasterCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

The agent is a key part of the buying team behind the emerging force of Wathnan Racing but was unable to reveal whose colours many of Wednesday’s purchases would be carrying. When he was asked who would be training the sibling to Marshman, he said: “Nobody at the moment, but there’s no shortage of offers.” 

Blandford Bloodstock signed for ten lots for an outlay of £2,370,000 (23 per cent of turnover), making the agency comfortably the biggest purchaser on the day. Reflecting on market conditions in South Yorkshire, Brown said: “The top is very strong. It’s patchy below and you can soon drop into very choppy waters. It’s polarised. 

“Valuing horses is so subjective. It’s one of the hardest things to do and most of the time it makes you look foolish. But that’s the great thing about public auction, two people hook up and it can make an enormous difference to the end result.”

Reflecting on his day’s work, Brown said: “Last week was frustrating but I always drive up the A1 excited about coming to Doncaster. They’ve done a superb job and have some very nice horses. We love the breeze-ups and we’ve bought some very good horses from these sales, particularly this one, so you can come back here with a bit of confidence.” 

O’Donovan at the double 

Plenty of vendors were toasting a fruitful trade on Wednesday, but few had as much reason to celebrate as Danny O’Donovan. His Donovan Bloodstock operation brought two lots to Doncaster, namely fillies by Sioux Nation and King Of Change. 

The former, a €45,000 pinhook with Adam Potts, was sold on to Anthony Stroud for a cool £300,000, while the latter, another Potts pinhook at £39,000, was knocked down to Alex Elliott for £280,000. 

“I had the two fastest times yesterday and part of me was thinking it might be a bad thing,” said O’Donovan. “I’m just delighted to have sold Mr Stroud a horse, and fair play to Alex Elliott as well – he underbid the Sioux Nation filly and then went on to buy the King Of Change filly. 

Donovan Bloodstock's King Of Change filly out of Evie Speed sells to Alex Elliott for £280,000 Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

“I was watching the live times and knew that the King Of Change filly was sitting pretty on top. A couple of people were saying to me that she was very quick and that nothing would knock her off top spot. Before the Sioux Nation breezed, I said to some of the lads down at the start that I wouldn’t be surprised if this filly knocked her off top spot. In the end, she breezed fractionally slower but it was some thrill to have the top two. It’ll probably never happen to me again.” 

This isn’t O’Donovan’s first big result at the breeze-ups as he also topped Goresbridge last year with a Zelzal cost who realised €270,000 to the bid of Peter and Ross Doyle. 

“I’ve been breezing horses for ten years now,” he said. “This is my third year consigning under my own name. We topped Goresbridge last year with a Zelzal colt who I’m told is on course to run in the French Derby. I didn’t think I’d ever have a day like that again but this has definitely topped it.” 

On the Sioux Nation filly, Stroud said: “She was bought by KHK Racing and is a nice filly who did a very good breeze. She looks like she’s ready to go on with. I’m not sure who’ll train her yet, we’ll see how the rest of the day pans out then Sheikh Khalid will make a decision. When you come here Royal Ascot is the aspiration. The reality is you get them home and then the trainer makes a plan and goes from there.” 

Elliott was effusive in his praise of the King Of Change filly, commenting: “She did a superb breeze, the fastest on a lot of clocks, so that’s the first part of the jigsaw. The second part of the jigsaw is that she has the right physical, she was that for sure. She looks like a filly with a lot of speed but like she’ll be able to carry it going seven furlongs or even a mile given the way she’s bred and built. 

"She’s been bought for Amo Racing but a trainer is yet to be decided because Kia is in America at the minute. She’s a beautiful filly and well done to Donovan Bloodstock.” 

Danny O'Donovan: "I didn’t think I’d ever have a day like that again but this has definitely topped it"Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

Reflecting on the broader state of trade at the breeze-ups, Elliott said: “It’s like knocking your head against a brick wall half of the time. The selection process has got so good that everybody knows which the good horses are; there’s no hiding in these sales. When you walk in to buy a good horse you’ve got to pay a black-type premium. When they breeze well, vet cleanly and the physical adds up, you’ve got to be prepared to pay. 

“Kia must have put two million into the market at the Craven just from underbidding horses. Doncaster do a fantastic job and this sale’s Royal Ascot stats are phenomenal.”

He added: “You’ve got Richard Brown, Anthony Stroud, if you walk in to bid against them you can’t really beat them, you’ve got to try to find other spots and that’s hard to do because we’re all falling on the same horses. Congrats to the sales company and the vendors for finding these horses and getting them through all the hoops. 

"These horses, when they jump through so many hoops, they have such a good chance of being a good racehorse and that’s been proven year and year. All power to the breeze-up community.” 

Godolphin get going 

Godolphin may have missed out on the Mehmas sibling to Marshman but atoned for that reversal later in the day when Stroud and David Loder secured Slievebrook House Stud’s Starspangledbanner filly for £270,000. 

The filly received an important update just 48 hours before she came under the hammer as her half-brother Deira Mile staked his Classic claims with a four-length romp at Windsor on Monday. 

“She’s a nice filly who breezed very well and there could be a good update in the pedigree,” said Stroud. “She’ll go to Charlie Appleby.” 

Stroud also shared his assessment of the market in Doncaster, saying: “I think like all breeze-ups, it’s very selective. Either everyone is on the same horses or they’re not. If you looked at my list and three other agents’ lists, they probably wouldn’t be dissimilar. That’s how it feels to me.” 

Anthony Stroud: "Either everyone is on the same horses or they’re not"Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

The £270,000 result ensured Kevin Coleman of Slievebrook House was among the vendors who registered a personal-best result. The filly was pinhooked through Sean Grassick Bloodstock for just €36,000 at Book 2 of last year’s Goffs Orby Sale. 

“I’m used to buying them for £28,000 and selling them for £18,000!” joked Coleman. “I’ve always thought a lot of her. She had a good update on the page, she’s by the right sire and has a great action. She did a very good breeze and showed very well so all the right people were on her. I hope to God she turns up at Royal Ascot and is competitive. 

“We were confident she’d do one of the top breezes here because she’s been working all over the horses she’s worked with at home. She does her work in a rhythm so we were confident she’d do a good time. Michael Hussey was very confident after he pre-breezed her.” 

Coleman also holds his trainer’s licence but offered a pragmatic response when he was asked if there was a bittersweet element to offloading such a bright racing prospect. 

“Obviously I train a few but even when we train them, we sell them,” he said. “We rarely keep them beyond three so they’ll rock up at a sale sometime if they’re not sold privately. For me, they have to go on and do well so I hope this one does too. We can’t all be champion trainers so I’m happy with the level I’m at.”  

Grant sees shades of Bradsell

The sale hadn’t even reached the 30-minute mark when Oliver St Lawrence went to £200,000 for the Acclamation colt out of Point Reyes offered by Mark Grant. 

The same consignor sold dual Royal Ascot winner Bradsell at this sale in 2022, and although Tom Biggs of Blandford Bloodstock signed the docket on that occasion, it was St Lawrence who tabled the private deal to secure the subsequent Coventry and King’s Stand Stakes winner following an impressive debut victory at York. 

“He’s a lovely horse, and not that we bought Bradsell from Mark Grant directly, but we go back to the source of Bradsell,” said St Lawrence. “He looks like a two-year-old type and hopefully he can get to Ascot – Mark’s promised us he will.” 

Mark Grant Racing's Acclamation colt out of Point Reyes takes his turn in the sales ringCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

The agent continued: “He did it very nicely and got quicker throughout the breeze. I’ve been a fan of Acclamation for some time – and a shareholder in Acclamation for some time – and he’s still got it. This horse goes to George Scott for Fawzi Nass’s Bahraini clients.” 

The transaction provided Grant with a chunky bit of pinhooking profit as he paid €45,000 for the colt when he was offered by Castletown Stud at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale. 

“I was hoping he’d do that as his homework has been very good,” said Grant. “He’s a good horse and is going to a good trainer for the same connections as Bradsell, so I'm hoping he can go on and do good things. He has a similar profile to Bradsell and his work is as good as Bradsell’s was at the same stage, so hopefully he can go on and do the same on the racecourse. 

“It’s a brilliant result and gets the pressure off a bit. We had an up and down sale in Newmarket, one filly sold well and one colt just okay, but I thought he was our big shot today and he delivered.”

In-house reflection

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 rurnover. 

"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 six per cent 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. 

Tim Kent: delighted with record turnover but aware of selective nature of tradeCredit: Goffs UK

"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: “Whilst 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, whilst some horses failed to find buyers in the ring some 50 private sales helped to drive an 81 per cent 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.

“Once again, we would like to thank everyone who has been part of today’s success and we look forward to seeing these horses on the racecourse, where we are confident that they will continue our unrivalled association with success at Royal Ascot.”

Read more

Meet the 6ft 3in Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey keen to keep going in the saddle - and the sales ring