Buyers were busy kicking up a dust cloud in the stable yards at the Doncaster complex Aug. 26 as inspections reached a peak ahead of the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale. Past form, both recent and historical, points to this being an unmissable annual event.
The winners of this year's July Cup (G1) and Phoenix Stakes (G1) are the latest cases in point, as both graduated from the Doncaster ring—and neither cost the earth. No Half Measures was picked up by trainer Richard Hughes for £34,000 in 2022, while 12 months ago Drumloose Stables signed at £44,000 for Phoenix Stakes scorer Power Blue.
There have been plenty of other success stories of late too, with the likes of Arizona Blaze, Fitzella, Sayidah Dariyan, Tadej, and Tropical Island all scooping notable prizes. Top 2-year-old Lady Iman, whose four wins include the Molecomb Stakes (G3), was another who was there to be bought this time last year.
Another headline graduate is Jm Jungle, who notched his sixth victory in the King George Stakes (G2) at the start of the month. The son of Bungle Inthejungle was picked up by agent Richard Knight and Sean Quinn, who trains the 5-year-old with his father John, for £46,000 in 2021.
"He's a fantastic advert for the sale and the sort of horse any of us would love to pick up," Sean Quinn said.
"In the big picture, he didn't cost a huge amount of money, but he's not only done it every year, he's actually got better every year. He's just a good, solid horse. They're the kind of horses we've had plenty of success with, and that's what you're hoping to see on the Doncaster sales ground.
All manner of agents, owners, and trainers were out working the sales ground on Tuesday, and Quinn suggested all the signs point towards positive trade.
"Everybody you'd expect to see has been here over the last couple of days and Deauville looked to be strong enough," he said. "I don't see why this would be any different."
Those sentiments were echoed by the Coulonces Sales team of Anna and Moa Sundstrom. The France-based outfit's five-strong draft is stabled in familiar territory in Barn F as, in 2016, Coulonces presented Laurens at this very sale. This year the six-time group 1 winner's box is home to the Ardad filly out of Wild Mimosa (Lot 14).
"We love coming here and it's been a fantastic sale for us in every way, sales-wise and on the racetrack with some super results," Anna Sundstrom said. "Coming from the Arqana August Sale, we've come here and seen some of the same faces, but also a lot of new ones that we didn't meet last week."
The Coulonces draft also contains a well-related colt from the debut crop of Naval Crown (191A) and a Muhaarar half brother to group 1 winner and upwardly mobile young stallion Sands Of Mali (236).
Although the Premier Sale's make and mark is very much physique over pedigree, there are plenty of pages that resonate.
Among those that catch the eye are the No Nay Never half brother to group 2-winning and group 1-placed Aloha Star (23); the Minzaal half sister to 2022 Prix Jean Romanet (G1) winner Aristia (41); a Dark Angel sister to Two Thousand Guineas (g1) runner-up Tip Two Win (185); a son of Mehmas out of a sister to 2022 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) winner Mischief Magic (290), and a Wootton Bassett colt out of a sibling to Broome and Diego Velazquez (384).
With the addition of two supplementary entries, this year's Premier Yearling Sale catalog contains 413 lots, down from 479 at last year's renewal. Goffs UK's managing director Tim Kent said the reduction was a combination of design and a sign of the times.
"We set out to be tighter on selection," he said. "There were probably 20 or 30 horses in there last year who shouldn't have been there, so we wanted to tighten up on that front. We've ended up with a few less than we'd anticipated, but, if you look at comparative numbers across the catalogues that are out at the moment, they're all down, bar Book 1.
Having spent the day working his way around the stable yard, Kent reported plenty of positive vibes from both buyers and sellers.
"We've got some lovely horses and we've been looked after by vendors from both sides of the Irish Sea," he said. "I've been really pleased by what I've seen here. The car park is very full and the biggest complaint I've had so far is that vendors are very busy and haven't had time to have a break yet, which is great to hear.
The two-day sale begins Aug. 27 at at the Goffs UK Complex in Doncaster at 10 a.m. local time.
