THERE are 500,000 reasons to pay good attention to the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale.
That is 200,000 more reasons than buyers had this time last year because the sale’s dedicated race, the Harry Beeby Premier Yearling Stakes, won by Dragon Leader at York on Thursday, has been backed significantly again, and will be rebranded as Harry’s Half Million by Goffs, continuing its commemoration of the late Goffs UK Chairman Harry Beeby.
It’s another step forward for a sale that already registers clearly with buyers and sellers alike, with its most recent high profile graduate Laurens, who sold for £220,000 in 2016, going on to win four Group 1s. Dream Of Dreams, Golden Horde, Advertise, Rohaan, Rajasinghe, The Lir Jet and Barney Roy are just some of the notable Royal Ascot winners to emerge from the sale also.
Speed is the common denominator and the sale’s marketeers don’t shy away from that fact, coming up with the label ‘Donny Rockets’.
Jasour can lay claim to being a Donny Rocket. So much so he is the cover horse for the catalogue to this year’s sale after he ran out an impressive winner of the Group 2 Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes at Newmarket.
Dragon Leader was bought for £45,000 at the sale last year and his trainer Clive Cox is very likely to be back at Doncaster again. The son of El Kabeir looks at least Group 3 standard but also qualifies for the £300,000 Weatherbys Scientific 2-Y-O Stakes race.
Among the most notable lots is a No Nay Never colt out of an Invincible Spirit half-sister to the Group 1 winner Lillie Langtry, the dam of Group 1 winners Minding and Tuesday. Trillium did some of his best work at Doncaster and his half brother by Wootton Bassett goes up for sale here while there is also a Kingman filly out of the Group 3 winning Queen Of Bermuda that should catch plenty of suitors.
It’s not all speed either. Watch out for a Sea The Stars colt out of a Frankel half sister to Group 2 winners Spirit Quartz, Caspian Prince and Tuscan Gaze. There is also a Saxon Warrior half sister to the Group 3 winner Rainbow Royal.
Other sires to feature in the catalogue include Blue Point, Calyx, Churchill, sales graduate Harry Angel, Havana Grey, Invincible Spirit, Kameko, Mehmas, Night Of Thunder, Pinatubo, Sergei Prokofiev, Showcasing, Siyouni, Starspangledbanner, Ten Sovereigns, Too Darn Hot and many more.
As well as the Harry’s Half Million, the Premier Prizes are also back again as an extra incentive for buyers.
The winning trainer of the dedicated sales race will receive a six-month lease of a two-stall horse box from the manufacturer Theault. Alongside the prize money, the winning owners will receive badges, lunch and a bottle of champagne on a table for six on a race day at York within the year.
Sales info
Sale: Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale
Date/time: Tuesday & Wednesday, August 29th & 30th (10am start both days)
Lots: 437 (13 withdrawn as of Friday afternoon)
Tel: 0044 1302 349166
Email: winners@goffsuk.com
Web: goffsuk.com
Catalogue highlights
Lot 5, a Showcasing half-sister to the Gr.2 winner Without A Fight and out of the Gr.3 winning Dubawi mare Khor Sheed.
11, a Siyouni colt out of the Gr.1 placed mare Lady Darshaan and a half-brother to the L. winners Beholding and Let’s Go.
48, a Wootton Bassett half-brother to the Gr.2 winner Trillium.
123, a Kingman filly out of the Gr.3 winning mare Queen Of Bermuda.
183, a Saxon Warrior half-sister to the Gr.3 winner Rainbow Royal and out of the listed winning mare Show Rainbow.
234, a Sea The Stars colt out of a Frankel half-sister to the Gr.2 winners Spirit Quartz, Caspian Prince and Tuscan Gaze.
338, a Dark Angel own brother to the Gr.2 winner Juliet Caputlet and listed placed Juliette Fair.
345, a Kodiac half-sister to the Gr.3 winners Balty Boys and Artistic Rifles.
433, a No Nay Never colt out of an Invincible Spirit half-sister to the Gr.1 winner Lillie Langtry dam of Gr.1 winners Minding and Tuesday.