Classic Form To The Fore At Goffs London Sale

The Goffs London Sale scaled new heights in 2022 when G1 Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) sold to Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Johnny McKeever for £1.2 million, while last year that sum was very nearly matched when the G3 Marble Hill S. winner Givemethebeatboys was bought by Bronson Racing for £1.1 million, less than 24 hours before his commendable fourth-place finish in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot.

Those results leave the 2024 edition of the London Sale with quite the act to follow, but the strength of the catalogue suggests it could well prove equal to the task, with 23 lots–including a number of Royal Ascot contenders–set to be offered when the great and good of the racing and breeding communities descend on Kensington Palace Gardens on Monday for the sale's tenth anniversary.

The catalogue received the ultimate update on Sunday when Sparkling Plenty (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) (lot 11) won the G1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly. It would be quite the coup for the London Sale should her connections proceed with their plans to offer the Classic-winning full-sister to the G3 Jersey S. scorer Noble Truth (Fr), out of a half-sister to the six-time top-level winner Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}).

Classic runner-up Queues Likely (GB) (lot 9) is another potential highlight of the sale, last seen chasing home Darnation (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) in the G2 German 1,000 Guineas. Bred by Mickley Stud–who stand Queues Likely's sire, Massaat (Ire)–she is the winner of five of her 13 starts for Stan Moore and holds a special place in the heart of Mickley's Richard Kent because of the circumstances in which he bought the dam, Bakoura (GB) (Green Desert).

“There was a lovely man who used to milk cows and was an apprentice when he was a young fella,” Kent began. “Anyway, he got out of horses and always wanted to get back into them, but his circumstances didn't allow it. He begged me for years to take him to a sale, so I took him to the Foal Sale in Goffs a few years ago. He had the most fantastic week and helped us out.

“He asked me if he could stay on for the Mares Sale [at Goffs] and I begrudgingly said 'yes'. I was going to Newmarket and I suddenly remembered he didn't have a passport. He'd never been on a plane in his life and he'd never been on a boat, only when he went over with the foals. So, I told my sister Nicola to buy the dam of Queues Likely so that he could get a lift back to Mickley on the lorry and we could get him home safely to his wife–he was in his 70s.

“Nicola bought the mare for €3,500 for me and the first foal was a Rajasinghe who made 50,000gns and won three times. Then she had this Massaat filly and just to breed a filly like that, by your own stallion and out of a mare who you bought to do a fella a good turn, it was kind of an emotional result [when Queues Likely finished second in the German 1,000 Guineas].”

Looking ahead to Monday's London Sale, Kent added, “The vet told Stan Moore that she'd never seen such a fantastic specimen. She said it normally takes her two and a half hours to write a veterinary report and this one would take her two and a half minutes. She's a high-quality horse and very genuine. She doesn't seem ground dependent–she's won on all grounds and on the all-weather surfaces as well. I think she'll be attractive to people from all over the world.”

Incidently, Kent was celebrating success on the world stage on Saturday when Tax Implications (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}), bred by his daughter, Aoife, won the GIII Eatontown S. at Monmouth Park for Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables, while the same connections were represented by Unit Economics (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), co-bred by Mickley Stud and successful in a maiden special weight at Belmont At The Big A.

“We bought her mother for £2,500,” Kent said of Tax Implications. “I sold a foal to Roger O'Callaghan a few years ago and part of the deal was that I was to send a mare back to his stallion. He rang me up to remind me and tell me off in April, so I sent the mare out that night. I think the stallion he'd wanted to cover her with was too busy, so I said 'cover her with whatever you want'.

“I didn't actually know she was in foal to Mehmas until she foaled the following year. It was a nice surprise–Mehmas is flying–and she was a lovely filly. We covered the mare last year with Supremacy and she had a nice filly last week who is very similar to her [Tax Implications].”

The influence of Mickley Stud is likely to be felt strongly at Royal Ascot this week, with stallion sensation Havana Grey (GB)–co-bred by Mickley and the late Lady Lonsdale–set to be represented by the likes of Vandeek (GB) and Elite Status (GB). Before then, Havana Grey has the potential to make headlines at the London Sale when lot 3, a breeding right in the stallion, goes under the hammer.

Other standout lots include an unraced Kingman (GB) two-year-old filly out of the six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) (lot 6) and Adrian Keatley's Listed-winning juvenile Francisco's Piece (GB) (Mayson {GB}) (lot 10).

Attendance is strictly by invitation only, with the auction scheduled to begin at 5pm.