WITH all the news leading up to Royal Ascot of horses changing hands privately, you wondered if the likes of Amo and Wathnan had any money left to spend, but thankfully for Goffs, Kia Joorabchian and John Stewart had some firepower left over for Monday’s London Sale at Kensington Palace Gardens.
The football agent outbid the similarly-characterful US owner for the evening’s top lot, Ghostwriter, at £2 million. His current agent of choice, Alex Elliott, was standing nearby, but he’s off the hook if Ghostwriter doesn’t work out, though the agent’s not going anywhere anytime soon, judging by Joorabchian’s comments.
“To be honest, my son picked this horse out a little while ago and he said ‘We’ve got to buy this!’” Joorabchian explained. “Maxi isn’t here, but I’ve got my adopted son, Alex Elliott with me. Anyway, he didn’t want to buy it so he doesn’t have any pressure. This one’s on me.”
On whether the son of Invincible Spirit would remain with Clive Cox, Joorabchian was non-committal, while explaining that it is generally their intention to add to their own trainer’s yard.
At the time of writing, Ghostwriter’s entry in the Hardwicke Stakes remains in Clive Cox’s name, and he is currently a 13/2 chance for Saturday.
He previously carried the colours of Jeff Smith, whose Littleton Stud sourced the bay for 100,000gns from the McCalmont family’s Norelands Stud at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
Littleton Stud have enjoyed previous success buying foals from Norelands – they bought multiple Group 1 winner Alcohol Free from the farm’s Goffs November Foal Sale draft for €40,000.
More Amo
Amo Racing later combined with Nick Bell to purchase another Ascot contender, Tycoon, for £600,000. Trained by John and Thady Gosden for owner/breeder Bjorn Nielsen, the Kingman colt is rated 97 after finishing third, beaten seven and a half lengths, in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood.
The promising three-year-old was offered with entries in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes and the Golden Gate Stakes, and will line up in the latter at odds of 25/1, though Bell is more confident than the market on his chances.
“I’m very keen to run him in the Golden Gates on Saturday, and I think Kia is intending on leaving him with the Gosdens for that race at least,” he said after signing the docket.
Resolute bidder
John Stewart gained some compensation for underbidding the top lot when securing Francis-Henri Graffard’s Woodshauna, a Group 3 winner last month, for £625,000. Stewart’s Resolute Racing is already an owner at Graffard’s in-form stable, having bought into Goliath after his Group 1 win in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
On his latest recruit, Stewart said: “Francis said he would be in the sale and thought he was a good horse. I actually thought he might make a little more money, but he didn’t have a Royal Ascot entry so we might have got a bit of value.”
Oliver St Lawrence went to £500,000 for another dual stakes winner offered, Tropical Storm, but didn’t divulge who for and Andrew Balding’s colt remained in the Teme Valley Racing colours when finishing 17th in the King Charles III Stakes the following day.
Nowhere to go
Danish owners John Christensen and Alice Weiste, who race under the JC Organization banner, had expected to have two Royal Ascot runners, but when one of those didn’t work out, they decided to simply buy another.
They purchased Karl Burke’s promising juvenile Super Soldier for £325,000, and the colt finished 14th in the Coventry Stakes the following day.
Burke’s other offering, Ali Shuffle, was bought back at £500,000, a day after finishing second in the Group 3 Prix du Bois.
Rafale Design was another with a recent update, gaining his second consecutive Group 3 win 24 hours earlier, but the Yann Barberot-trained colt was retained by connections for £2 million.
At the end of trade, 19 of the 28 lots offered changed hands for an average price of £406,316. All lots offered by Irish trainers sold, the most expensive of which was the Michael O’Callaghan-trained Michael Scofield at £350,000.
BBA Ireland signed the docket for the American-bred three-year-old, having earlier given £300,000 for Sheila Lavery’s recently stakes-placed Kortez Bay. Michael O’Callaghan also sold promising two-year-old filly Fairy Oak to Sky Racing Club for £225,000. She was declared for Friday’s Albany Stakes.
Gavin Cromwell’s Curragh maiden winner Bonus Time will switch to the Paddy Twomey stable after the trainer secured the three-year-old filly on behalf of Bond Thoroughbreds for £320,000. Bred and sold by Noel O’Callaghan, the daughter of Too Darn Hot had an entry in Saturday’s Jersey Stakes.
Stablemate Snellen is expected to transfer to Ciaron Maher after finishing an excellent second in the Kensington Palace Handicap, according to Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman, who bought the Chesham Stakes winner on behalf of Australian owner Tim Porter for £200,000.
Joining her in Australia is Cromwell’s Fairyhouse maiden winner Mo Chroi, who was knocked down to a fan-wielding Gai Waterhouse, Adrien Bott and McKeever Bloodstock for £160,000.
The same combination went to £250,000 for Johnny Murtagh’s progressive three-year-old Fantazy Man, spurred on by Nick Nugent’s cry “Are you a fan?! Bid on!” Nugent’s call of “Stop looking pensive, just spend the money!” when bidding stalled on another lot proved less successful.