THE opening session of the Goffs UK Spring HIT & P2P Sale offered some positive results following concerns at the top end of the venue’s preceding store sale. Just one store passed the £100,000 mark on Monday, in comparison to five 12 months earlier, but seven reaching that mark on Wednesday was encouraging for the jumps market overall.

Wednesday’s session-topper provided Toby and Nicola Bulgin with their best result in the sales ring, as smart debut winner Poetisa brought £300,000 from Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins. It marked a fine return on the £42,000 paid for the Poet’s Word filly at the venue’s Spring Store Sale, having been pinhooked as a foal by Carrigeen Bloodstock and Anthony Cahill for €26,000 at the Goffs December NH Sale.

The half-sister to Grade 2-winning hurdler Queenohearts was sent off 20/1 for a Class 2 mares’ bumper at Cheltenham last month and defied those odds by a neck under Brian Hughes.

After Harold Kirk outbid Jerry McGrath, who was standing alongside Nicky Henderson, the agent commented: “I thought she was gorgeous. As an individual she’s got loads of quality and a great mind. Everybody wants a Cheltenham winner. Okay, it wasn’t at the festival, but she can do no more than what she’s done.

“I thought she’d make between £200,000 and £250,000, but there’s always going to be somebody else on a horse like this. If you’re up against Nicky Henderson, you’re going to have to be strong. I thought she was the standout here today. I hope she’s lucky now.”

The sale came at a pivotal moment for the Bulgins, who farmed cattle and sheep up until a year ago, before purchasing a farm on the edge of Lambourn gallops. A delighted Nicola Bulgin remarked: “It was a hell of a price today. We came close to selling one for three figures before, but nothing like this."

Exceeding expectations

"Nicky had been down to see her a few times and Willie had been on the phone to Toby about her, so we knew we were in the right place in the market. I have to say, the thrill of her winning still beats this, though.”

Looking back to last year, Nicola explained: “She was above budget, we weren’t really thinking of spending that sort of money, but when Toby sees a nice one he always goes for it.

“It was always the plan to race her in a bumper and then hopefully resell her. We were happy to wait with her, as she was a bit of a baby and took a while to come to hand, and it looked like she wanted better ground, so the timing of the race at Cheltenham worked in her favour.”

The couple failed to sell two at the preceding store sale, but it didn’t get in the way of reinvesting, Nicola revealed. “I’ve just told Toby off actually, as he also bought another on Monday. So, we now have eight three-year-olds at home, five of which he’ll have to break in when he gets home. The staff are already stretched and were asking who’ll be breaking them in, so I’ve told them he can. It’ll keep him busy!”

HORSES in training sales can prove just as unpredictable as those for unraced stock, with buyers looking beyond the bare form. A point-to-point bumper at Aintree five days ago was a perfect example, as the winner Rebel Tribesman sold to Tom Malone for £55,000, while the third horse, Low Kick, brought £170,000 from Mags O’Toole.

Trained and ridden by Jack Teal for Roger Marley, Low Kick had just two rivals behind him turning for home, but the joint-favourite stayed on strongly inside the final furlong to get within a length and three quarters of the prominently-ridden winner. Another notable detail was that Teal chose to ride the Montmartre gelding over unbeaten stablemate Lets Go Harry, despite Low Kick finishing third on his previous start.

Teal’s confidence remained high right up until the fall of the hammer, if his post-sale comments are anything to go by. “We chose the wrong track to give a young horse his first run,” the Yorkshire handler explained. “Garthorpe is a tricky track, very undulating, and it caught him out.

“It was probably jockey error when he ran third at Aintree the other night, I was a bit too cool on him, but we’ve always held him in very high regard. He’s so easy to do at home. He jumps, gallops, does it all for me.

“I was expecting good money for him and we weren’t afraid to bring him home even though he was third twice. We were mad keen on him.”

Highflyer Bloodstock bought Low Kick at the Arqana Autumn Sale as a yearling for €28,000, the same price he was retained at by Castledillon Stud at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.

THE third highest-priced lot on the day was another promising maiden whose price bettered a winning rival. Daylatedollarshort was an ironic name for the debut winner of a four-year-old maiden at Loughrea, given that Colin Bowe’s charge sold to Aiden and Olly Murphy for £34,000, compared to the £160,000 paid for runner-up Leader Crik.

Ian Ferguson combined with Willy and Nigel Twiston-Davies to secure the more expensive of the two, seeing promise in how Matty Flynn O’Connor’s bay battled back to be beaten a neck.

Willy Twiston-Davies, who recently joined his father on the licence, commented: “He’s a lovely big horse who should stay – just our type. He ran well in his point. He was green enough, but still showed plenty of ability. The winner was sold privately and obviously looked very good, so hopefully the race works out well.

“We’ve only got one Beaumec De Houelle at home, and he’s taken a bit of time to come to hand, but this horse was just a standout. To be honest with you, he’s such a lovely horse we thought he might go for a little more money.”

Beaumec De Houelle, a Grade 1-winning son of Martaline, has made a promising start at Haras de Montaigu, where his oldest crop are now five-year-olds. They include a Grade 2 winner and a listed winner, as well as four graded-placed horses.

Spending power

The father-and-son training partnership came close to matching that price a few lots later when securing Shotgun Rider for £155,000. Once again, their purchase’s attitude was crucial to their selection, according to the young trainer.

“I thought he was very willing in his point, he stuck his neck out and ground it out well,” he said. “I think a summer is going to do him the world of good. He could be a very smart animal.

“We’ve had one Diamond Boy in the yard before - that was Lord Of Cheshire and he was a good horse. Hopefully, like him, this one will jump a fence.”

Colin Bowe’s four-year-old made an impressive return on the £12,000 Cobajay Stables paid for him at the venue’s Spring Store Sale 12 months earlier. Big Ticket was another who experienced a dramatic increase in value, as Jonathan Fogarty’s impressive debut winner fetched £155,000, having been unsold at €24,000 as a store and cost €14,500 as a foal.

The Soldier Of Fortune gelding was the third and final purchase made by the Twiston-Davies team, this time bought with Ian Ferguson on behalf of Richard & Kate Tredwin.

The day ended with a healthy clearance rate of 83%. Though there is one more day to go, the average price of £34,029 and median of £26,000 are encouraging compared to the overall figures from 2024, which were £23,554 and £12,500 respectively.