A three-year-old gelding by Golden Horn topped Monday's Goffs Doncaster Spring Store Sale when bought by Paul Nicholls and daughter Megan for £140,000. A half-brother to the G1 Champion Hurdle third Luccia (The Gurkha), lot 100 was offered on behalf of breeder Paul Sandy by Mill House Stud.
“We loved him, he was our pick of the sale,” said Megan Nicholls. “Dad thought that we needed to come here and try to find as similar a type as we could to Regent's Stroll, who obviously won the sales race.
“They're not easy to find, but this horse showed well every time we saw him. He's athletic and forward-going, just really nice, and he's from a top family and by a proven sire, so there's plenty of positives in the pedigree.”
Meanwhile, Highflyer Bloodstock's Anthony Bromley struck the winning bid of £120,000 for lot 121 from the Liss House draft, a three-year-old Kapgarde filly out of a Balko half-sister to Grade 1-placed hurdler Gumball (No Risk At All). She was bought on behalf of up-and-coming trainer Dan Horsford and owners Rupert and Jenny Martin.
Horsford, who was assistant to Alan King for 15 years before taking on the lease at Sharpridge near Marlborough, said, “The filly was our pick of the sale. She has a great temperament, she's a great mover and she has a great mind.
“She's very laid-back too, so she ticked all the boxes and was an obvious choice for us. I just hope she's lucky for Rupert. He's been a great supporter of mine, without him I wouldn't be doing this. We've been given a great opportunity and we want to make the best of it.”
Of the 187 lots offered, 145 (78%) sold for an aggregate sum of £4,082,000, representing a 16% increase on last year's sale. The average was up by 7% at £28,152 and the median by 5% at £21,000.
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