Goffs UK

Not since Elon Musk became infatuated with space has there been so many rockets assembled in the one place at any given time than at Doncaster ahead of the Premier Yearling Sale.  These particular starships have been bred to fly and, lurking among the 411 yearlings getting ready for takeoff at Goffs UK over the next few days could be the next Acclamation (GB), Dark Angel (Ire), Wootton Bassett (GB) or Tasleet (GB), all of whom are graduates of this sale.  Joe Foley knows a thing or two about rockets....

DONCASTER, UK--New dreams abound for Natalie Folland and her partner Matt Bowen, who offer their first yearlings at this year's Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale under the banner of Folland-Bowen Bloodstock.  Many people will know Folland from her days of managing Elkington Stud. She met her partner Bowen, who worked at a neighbouring farm, during that time but now the pair are concentrating on going it alone at Fonthill Stud in Wiltshire.  Not long after the pair welcomed daughter Imogen (2) into the world, Folland-Bowen Bloodstock was formed, and this...

Miss Heritage (Ire) (Pour Moi {Ire}) (lot 166), a Grade 2 winner over jumps, brought a sale-topping £78,000 on the bid of Richard Venn Bloodstock and Simon Davies's DahlBury at the Goffs UK August Sale on Wednesday. Consigned by WH Bloodstock, the bay landed the G2 Yorkshire Rose Mares' Hurdle at Doncaster in January and is in foal to Newsells Park Stud's Nathaniel (Ire), the sire of this year's G1 Cazoo Derby hero Desert Crown (GB). The debut winning pointer Townhill (Ire) (Presenting {GB}) (lot 101) was knocked down to...

The 433-strong catalogue for the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale at Doncaster is now online. Set for Aug. 23-24 at 10 a.m. each day, the sale has enjoyed a good run of late with its alumni, with G2 Superlative S. hero Isaac Shelby (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) the latest poster child. The 2021 edition has already yielded 43 winners sold through the ring last year, tops of all juvenile sales up to this point in the season. Some of the highlights include an Al Kazeem (GB) half-brother to Isaac...

Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) became the latest European freshman sire off the mark when the Kevin Ryan-trained 2-year-old gelding Washington Heights (GB) notched a first winner for the Bearstone Stud resident in Wednesday's Scaleby Restricted Maiden S. over five furlongs at Carlisle. 1st-Carlisle, £10,000, Mdn, 6-22, 2yo, 5fT, 1:01.41, g/f. WASHINGTON HEIGHTS (GB) (g, 2, Washington DC {Ire}--Epping Rose {Ire}, by Kodiac {GB}), who ran fourth in his June 7 debut at Wetherby last time, broke smartly to lead from the outset here. Holding sway throughout, the 4-1 third...

Confirming his position as the chief three-year-old sprinting colt, Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) produced his customary generous effort to emerge on top in a highly-competitive and tight G1 Commonwealth Cup on Friday. First establishing himself in the top tier when storming up the stand's side to win the G2 Norfolk S. here 12 months ago, the relentlessly-professional star of the Richard Fahey set-up had since garnered the G1 Prix Morny, G1 Middle Park S. and G3 Greenham S. before being stretched beyond his capabilities...

Becoming the first of the TDN Rising Stars to emerge successful at Royal Ascot in 2022, Victorious Racing Limited's Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) conquered a host of talent to win the G2 Coventry S. and make Hollie Doyle Royal Ascot's most successful female rider on three successes. Keen initially from her draw in the centre, the Archie Watson-trained £47,000 Goffs UK Breeze-Up graduate ended up tracking the right rival in Royal Scotsman (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) to the two-furlong pole. Taking over soon after, the 8-1 shot forged away for a...

Demand for horses-in-training and point-to-pointers was strong at Goffs UK's Doncaster complex on Wednesday, which reached record turnover of £5,085,700 during the first session. Of the 180 lots through the ring, 162 sold for a 90% clearance rate. The average was £31,393 (-1.1%) just down on 2021 and the median was marginally lower at 4% (£22,000). Leading the way among the pointers and bumper horses that made up the majority of the first session was Porthill (Ire) (Flemensfirth), who brought £250,000 from the buying duo of H. Kirk and Willie...

The Goffs UK Spring Store Sale at Doncaster came to a close on Tuesday, and figures were the second highest achieved in the sale's history. Of the five lots that made six-figure sums over the two-day stand, three of them went through the ring during the second session, led by a gelded son of Gris de Gris (Ire) as lot 301. Henriette Knight paid £155,000 for the bay from the Brown Island Stables draft, who is from the same family as the listed hurdler Queen des Places (Fr) (Sabrehill), who...

The opening day of the 60th Goffs UK Spring Sale at Doncaster with saw a Ballincurrig House Stud-consigned son of Adlerflug (Ger) establish a new British record for a store sale with a top price of £200,000. Achieved on the occasion of the sale's diamond anniversary, Monday'ss top lot surpassed the previous record that has stood for 20 years. The Adlerflug gelding (Lot 38) attracted an opening bid of £80,000 and subsequent salvos from around the ring before being knocked down to Henrietta Knight. The new British record surpassed the...

DONCASTER, UK—There may be "wars, and rumours of wars", but somehow for the bloodstock market it seems as though these things really will just pass. Having emerged from the economic shock of the pandemic with record business last year, the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up once again raised the bar as investors seemingly remain impervious to dramatic new volatility in the geopolitical environment. The juvenile sector had been first to take the Covid broadside in 2020, and no meaningful comparisons can duly be made with the auction salvaged—in conjunction with one...

DONCASTER, UK—Having seen their rivals open up with two booming aces—graduates of the Tattersalls Craven Sale won both the big Classic trials at Newmarket last week—the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up returned serve at the weekend with an equally timely advertisement for the auction staged here on Thursday. First and foremost, of course, the G3 Greenham S. success of Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) was another win for the whole breeze-up sector, reiterating consignors' ability not just to showcase precocity and professionalism, but to lay a foundation for continued development. At...