THE first batch of thoroughbreds to be offered for sale on Goffs’ new online sales platform will come on the market next week.

GoffsGo was launched on Monday and is described by the sales company as an innovative service which allows clients to put horses on the market at a time of their choosing rather than wait for an established sale.

The commission rates are the same as for traditional ‘live’ auctions and vendors are guaranteed payment of sold lots within 35 days.

Speaking to The Irish Field on Friday, Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: “There will be a group of horses for sale on Monday and then hopefully a rolling list of horses going forward almost on a near-daily basis. The platform is always ready, there’s no waiting.”

Bidding time on GoffsGo will range from “around three days to five days”. Beeby explained: “It is at the vendor’s discretion. After five days the vendor can decide to relaunch again but if they want a quicker sale, say in two days, then the vendor can make that decision.”

The entry fee has been set at £49 (all sales will be handled in British pounds). Vendor will be charged 1.5% commission and buyers 6%.

Privacy settings

Interestingly vendors can choose to offer lots to the public or to selected parties. “It’s happened a couple of times before where the vendor doesn’t want a public auction. It may be more appropriate, for whatever reason, to offer a specific horse to a small group of people who we would invite to participate,” Beeby said.

He cited the recent instance where a high-profile buyer on the yearling sales circuit did not go through with his purchases.

In that case Goffs ended up re-offering the Orby Sale top lot privately to selected parties. The buyer and price were not disclosed. As the horses are not on-site, Goffs will require the vendor to supply a veterinary certificate.

Ruairi Breen (below), a sales executive with Goffs, has been charged with overseeing the new platform.

From Kilkenny, he joined Goffs last November having worked as a race-planned with trainer Jessica Harrington.

“It’s been very, very positively received,” he said yesterday. “I was in Newmarket this week and I got a lot of good feedback from trainers there. The phone has been busy and we have horses to go live on the website next week.”

He added: “I think the time is right to offer a service which is demand-driven. The vendor decides when they want to sell and the buyer has time to get clients lined up to make a purchase. It gives everyone the best opportunity.”

Asked how difficult it will be to put a horse for sale on the platform, Breen said: “We need your photos or videos of the horse, and the veterinary certificate. They’re the only two requirements for us to be able to put a horse live on GoffsGo. If it’s a horse out of training, we need a copy of their vaccinations. But all these things can be put into one email.”