TURNOVER at the Goffs London Sale may have dipped by a little over a million pounds, but the average and median soared like the temperatures that engulfed The Orangery at Kensington Palace for the hour long sale. A curtain raiser for the five-days of racing at Royal Ascot, many of the entries carried engagements at the festival as an added attraction.

The million pound barrier was threatened but not surpassed as a dozen of the 19 horses offered changed hands. Incredibly, half of the lots sold were purchased by a single buyer, Alastair Donald of SackvilleDonald acting for Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the owner of Leicester City football club. Their shopping basket comprised five horses with form and one broodmare. The sextet cost a bid more than £2 million, a larger part of the total turnover.