Twice-placed juvenile Handsome Champ heading to Qatar after £42,000 sale on ThoroughBid

The Harry Eustace-trained Handsome Champ sold for £42,000 to Hamad Al Jehani at ThoroughBid’s Christmas Sale on Wednesday.

Less than 48 hours after finishing runner-up in a Wolverhampton maiden, the twice-raced son of Camacho will continue his career in Qatar for new connections. The juvenile was also second on his debut at the same track in November. 

Eustace said: "Timing-wise, the sale worked perfectly. It had been on our minds about selling him for a couple of months, and then he started showing us plenty at home. 

"There was an ideal race for him at Wolverhampton on Monday, which obviously tied in perfectly with him selling on the Wednesday, and although he didn’t quite manage to get his head in front, he ran another good second and everyone was delighted with the price he made. 

“It’s never easy letting nice two-year-olds like this go, and we were aiming to try to keep him in the yard as he’s progressive and there are races to be won with him, but we put a value on him before the sale started and he reached that. 

"Now I just hope he’s lucky for his new connections in Qatar.”

James Richardson, CEO of ThoroughBid, said: “Getting a good price for a nice two-year-old like Handsome Chap and seeing him sell overseas is a brilliant example of how the online sales industry can benefit a lot of people. Racing across the Middle East is growing year-on-year and it’s great to be able to provide a shop window for owners and trainers over there.

“It’s been another successful sale, with a good mix of Flat horses, jumpers, as well as mares-in-foal all selling well, and we’re looking forward to 2024.”

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