THE 2022 Goffs UK sale calendar got underway at Doncaster on Tuesday, and the opening day of the January Sale saw positive trade for National Hunt weanlings.

The section devoted to the newly-turned yearlings, described in the catalogue as a foal session, saw the number of horses catalogued nearly double from last year to 154 entries, and it was a trio of well-bred fillies who stole the limelight.

The session, and indeed the overall sale, was topped by Molland Ridge Stud’s No Risk At All filly out of a Kalanisi half-sister to the listed chase winner and Grade 1-placed Amore Alato. She was purchased by Kieran and Conor Mariga’s Coolmara Stables for £56,000.

Throckmorton Court Stud’s Jack Hobbs filly was the subject of much pre-sale attention following the recent Grade 1 success of her half-brother Constitution Hill, and she drew bids from across the sale ring before being knocked down to the Skelton’s Alne Park Stud for £50,000. Dan Skelton’s wife Grace runs the stud.

Impeccably-bred

Another to feature was Overbury Stud’s impeccably-bred Getaway filly who is out of an own-sister to the Grade 1 winner Jezki and Grade 2 winner Jenari, and they are also siblings to Grade 1 winners Jered and Jetson. The filly sold to Liz Lucas’ Swanbridge Bloodstock for £43,000, the purchaser reinvesting the £35,000 she received earlier in the session for a son of Gentlewave out of a winning half-sister to Grade 1 winner J’y Vole.

Among the mares sold on the opening day was Presenting’s six-year-old maiden Lexi’s Choice, a half-sister to the graded winners The Game Changer and Johns Spirit. She sold from Scarlett Knipe’s Cobhall Court Stud to Kieran Lennon of Co Carlow’s Springhill Stud for £52,000, though she was for a client who lives in Waterford.

Another maiden was the seven-year-old Oscar mare Connie Wilde and she is a half-sister to a trio of graded chase winners. Alfie Sherrin, Kimberlite Candy and Hawkes Point. Sold by WH Bloodstock, she cost White Bloodstock £41,000. Hawthorn Villa Stud paid £37,000 online for Yorton Stud’s eight-time winning Ballingarry mare Chanelle D’Arc, carrying her first foal by Blue Bresil.

Point-to-pointers

The second day of the sale was a session of horses-in-training and point-to-pointers. Heading this was Criquette, offered by James Doyle’s Baltimore Stables. Runner-up on her debut, the five-year-old Crillon mare won her most recent point-to-point at Borris House in December and was knocked down to the bid of recently appointed Goffs UK bloodstock manager Jerry McGrath and Stewart Brackenbury for £52,000.

Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent commented at the sale’s conclusion: “It has been a very satisfactory start to the 2022 sale calendar. We had to cancel this sale last year and offer the foals as part of the Doncaster August Sale, so it’s great to be back. The number of NH foals catalogued for yesterday’s opening day was the highest in recent years, so we would like to extend a big thank you to the vendors who supported the sale and made yesterday in particular a success.

“We are all starting to see things return to normal which bodes well for our Aintree Sale which we were forced to cancel in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.”