'There’s been good profit all round' - Kent on the mark with pinhooking success

Plenty of familiar faces were selling in Doncaster during day one of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale on Tuesday, with major breeding or pinhooking operations such as Tally-Ho Stud, Trickledown and Whitsbury Manor all in action.

But few vendors will have been as pleased with their day’s work as 15-year-old Fraser Kent, who saw the Land Force filly he pinhooked for 7,500gns bring a tidy profit at £30,000.

And it was not just the price that is a testament to Kent’s eye for future talent, as his filly was sold to no less a judge than Con Marnane, the doyen of the breeze-up scene.

Kent certainly has the pedigree to thrive in the bloodstock business, as he is the son of Richard Kent of Mickley Stud in Shropshire.

Explaining how he came to pinhook the filly, whose page goes back to Grade 1 performers like Higher Power and Mucho Gusto, Fraser said: "I’d been doing research since the December Foal Sale catalogue came out and I really liked her when I saw her in the pre-parade ring. She looked sharp and racy and thankfully I got the thumbs up from Dad to buy her.

"I thought she was good value at that price and I’m really pleased with today’s result. I didn’t think she’d make that much but she showed herself off at the sales and she was really popular."

He added with a grin: "I also bought 20 calves last year for £200 and managed to sell them for £1,080 last week so there’s been good profit all round!"

Despite his relatively tender years, the Land Force filly was not Fraser’s first pinhooking foray, as he also bought the winning Castlehill Retreat for 4,000gns before the son of Casamento was resold to Ben Haslam for £16,000 around eight months later.

Fraser’s pinhooking success is not the only result that the Mickley team have had to toast lately, as the stud’s resident Massaat has been making a positive impression with his first runners. The Hungerford Stakes winner, who also finished runner-up in the Dewhurst and 2,000 Guineas, has been represented by six European winners at a strike rate of 29 per cent.

The Mickley team have been with Massaat's start to life at studCredit: Getty Images

The son of Teofilo also has his first black type performer courtesy of Pat Eddery Stakes third Mascapone, and Fraser said he would be reinvesting at least part of his pinhooking profit into a broodmare to send to Massaat.

"He’s going great," said Richard. "They’ve got lovely temperaments and we’ve had four Newmarket trainers down here this morning trying to buy one. Harry Eustace has a nice one [Docklands] who was second first time out and he belongs to an Australian syndicate OTI Racing, so there’s now two sold to Australia and two sold to America.

"Ordinary stallions are a struggle the whole time but it’s lovely that people are coming to buy these Massaats."

Fraser wasn’t the only young member of a racing dynasty in action in Doncaster on Tuesday, as Mickley Stud also sold a Massaat colt to Jack Nicholls, son of trainer Adrian and grandson of 'the sprint king' Dandy Nicholls.

Richard said: "It looks like the Nicholls name is safe for another generation as this lad is really following his pedigree. It’s lovely to see the kids getting into the game."

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