Sportsman's Sale Topped By Night Of Thunder Filly

A daughter of Night Of Thunder out of a sister to the multiple Group 2 winner Beautiful Romance topped the second and final day of Goffs Sportsman’s Sale, relocated to Doncaster this year.  The only yearling by the sire on offer, the filly (Lot 730 - pictured) was sold by The Castlebridge Consignment to Peter & Ross Bloodstock for £72,000.

Other highlights included Ballyhane’s Dandy Man colt (Lot 698), the first foal out of an own-sister to Group 2 performer Royal Albert Hall, that sold to Mags O’Toole for £50,000, while Alex Elliott secured a filly from Lodge Park Stud by Pride of Dubai out of a Listed placed sister to Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes winner and Group 1 placed James Garfield (Lot 834) for £46,000.

Click here to view the full results.

Commenting at the conclusion of the Sportsman’s Sale, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said:

“Moving the Sportsman’s Sale to our UK sales complex was not a straightforward decision but, on balance, was deemed the right one in the circumstances. Frankly all of us are in a quandary about what is the right thing to do at the moment especially as things can change from day to day. Indeed, it is worth bearing in mind that the British Prime Minister announced new restrictions to help in the fight against Covid-19 on Tuesday so we are constantly having to react and adapt at short notice. In that connection we are indebted to Doncaster Council with whom we have liaised closely in recent months as they have provided feedback and support as we have drawn up the detailed protocols required to conduct a sale in the current climate.

We are also very thankful to our vendors who embraced the change of date and location with hardly a murmur and worked with us to stage a sale that has returned a trade of relative strength on both days. Indeed, those yearlings that appealed most drew the normal level of activity from a large group of buyers from the UK, Ireland and those European countries on the UK’s current green list.

We also want to acknowledge our appreciation to all attendees over the last few days as we are very aware that the protocols in place, whilst very necessary, can be frustrating on occasions. However they have been embraced with a level of acceptance and good humour which is helpful as we strive to do the right thing when no one really knows what that entails!

Of course the stats do not compare with previous renewals of the Sportsman’s Sale but the key point is liquidity and the ability to trade. In that connection the last two days have delivered although comparing with 12 months ago is made even harder by the fluctuation of sterling in the intervening period so we would suggest that the most revealing figure is the clearance rate".
 
Comparative Figures
 

 
*Converted from Euro to Sterling using rate on day of sale