Goffs UK wasn't exactly breaking new ground as it has previously staged two select sales at Yorton Farm Stud, but the relocation of its November P2P Sale from Doncaster over the border to the Welsh farm while England remains under lockdown proved to be an inspired decision.
The sale set a new record for the most expensive point-to-pointer ever to be sold at public auction when Jonbon (Fr) (Walk In The Park {Ire}), a full-brother to the outstanding steeplechaser Douvan (Fr), was bought for £570,000 by leading jumps owner JP McManus just four days after romping to 15-length victory on debut.
Trained by Ellmarie Holden and ridden in his first outing between the flags at the Dromahane meeting in Ireland by crack amateur Derek O'Connor, the 4-year-old gelding beat eight rivals in the three-mile maiden. Previously sold at last year's Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, Jonbon had been an expensive store at €140,000 when bought by Paul Holden and Michael Shefflin.
It is not the first time a pointer from Holden's Coolmeen Stables has struck big in the ring. Last year she sold another maiden winner, Sir Gerhard (Ire) (Jeremy), for £400,000 after buying him from the Goffs Land Rover Sale for €72,000. That in itself had been a big mark up from the €17,000 paid for him by Peter Molony as a foal and, after winning his point-to-point by 12 lengths, the 5-year-old was equally impressive on his first start for Gordon Elliott in the Cheveley Park Stud colours when cruising to a 14-length victory in the bumper at Down Royal on Oct. 31.
Jonbon was one of six horses to sell for six-figure sums at the Potter family's Yorton Farm on Thursday. Forty-two of the 63 lots offered found a buyer, amassing £2,910,000 in turnover for the day at an average price of £69,286.
Hamish Macauley went to £215,000 for Jim Key (Ire), a 4-year-old son of Shantou who posted an impressive time when winning his maiden at Lisronagh point-to-point last Saturday, again with the assistance of O'Connor in the saddle.
“I've bought him for a new client and he was very impressive when he won his point-to-point last weekend,” Macauley said. “I was particularly impressed with the way he quickened away from the back of the last [fence] and finished really strongly. He's not that big, exactly 16 hands, but that doesn't worry us as he's all there. He looks like he has plenty of speed to be a top-class hurdler.”
At the conclusion of the sale, Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent said, “I have never known a horse to be as highly touted following its success in a point-to-point and, if social media polls are to be believed, then Jonbon was always set to make a significant price, but to achieve a record price for a point-to-pointer during these unprecedented times is simply incredible. We are extremely grateful to the Holden family for putting their faith in Goffs and sending him to Yorton where he certainly lived up to the hype following his brilliant performance on Sunday.”
Kent added, “Jonbon was the highlight of the sale but we were delighted with the trade achieved throughout the day. Whilst we are not pretending that it wasn't selective at times, today was an opportunity to provide an outlet for these recent winners and the feedback that we received has been extremely positive. As such, we are indebted to James and Jean Potter, the Futter family and the Yorton team for hosting us today. They have done a fantastic to make room for us all and, once again, it has proven an outstanding facility which has worked fantastically well for vendors and buyers alike.
“We also want to recognise, and say a huge thank-you to, our vendors who took a leap of faith when agreeing to bring their horses to Yorton following the COVID-19 restrictions in Doncaster. The Yorton Sale only started last year, meaning some had seen the facilities in a sales environment but it was still new to many and we are extremely grateful for their support in this difficult year. In all, it has been a difficult few weeks as we juggled sale locations and lockdowns but we were determined to offer a vibrant market place where pointers could be placed in front of buyers from throughout the UK and Ireland and we have achieved that. We now turn our attention to our Doncaster December Sale on 4 December, in which we will offer horses-in-training alongside another top draft of UK and Irish pointers.”
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