'This week is massive for us' – Goffs UK kicks off yearling sales season

Predicting the strength of trade can be tricky at the best of times, and reading the mood on the sales ground becomes even more of a challenge when prospective purchasers and vendors are clad in face masks, as was the case at Goffs UK ahead of the Premier Yearling Sale, which kicks off in Doncaster on Tuesday at 10am.

Of course, these are far from the best of times, primarily on account of circumstances far beyond the confines of the racing and bloodstock world. Nonetheless, the track record of the Premier Sale is a cause for optimism about this year's renewal.

The famed South Yorkshire auction has a roll of honour that includes this year's stars A'Ali, Golden Horde, Method, Supremacy and The Lir Jet, while looking slightly further back into the past reveals that names such as Advertise, Harry Angel, Laurens and Limato graduated from the Doncaster sales ring.

View full Goffs UK Premier Sale catalogue

Although there is apprehension about buyers' appetite to invest in racehorses during a global health crisis and at a time when prize-money returns are painfully low, plenty of agents and trainers were busy inspecting the 423 catalogued lots on Monday.

Among them were Richard Hannon and his long-time sales ring ally Ross Doyle. Given the success that two generations of the Doyle-Hannon axis have enjoyed at the Doncaster sale, it is no wonder the pair are among those taking a business as usual approach this year.

To name but a few, the Doyles have sourced the likes of Barney Roy, Canford Cliffs, Estidhkaar, Lilbourne Lad, Olympic Glory, Tiggy Wiggy and Toormore, who all won major prizes for the Hannons having been picked up in Doncaster.

The roll of honour has grown this year thanks to the likes of dual sales race winner Happy Romance and Prix Robert Papin scorer Ventura Tormenta.

"We've consistently got a good horse - or two or three - out of this sale every year so this week is massive for us," said Hannon, who noted that buyers could be presented with a broader range of opportunities should the expected dip in prices materialise.

Ross Doyle and Richard Hannon cast their eyes over one of the lots at the 2018 Premier Yearling SaleCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

"It's going to be a difficult year for everybody but now just might be the time to get involved," he said. "It's a time of opportunity in terms of you're buying what you buy this year for potentially a lot less than you were last year.

"Prize-money will come back so I think we've seen the worst of that. We've just got to keep looking forward and to do that we've got to come here and do what we normally do."

He continued: "If I've got nothing in my shop window, I'll sell nothing. Our outfit has always been the same, we don't wait for orders, our owners wait to see what we come back from the sales with and we have to train the horses we choose."

Of the proactive approach to buying, Doyle added: "It gives owners an awful lot of confidence. There are some very nice horses here and, even in the good times, Doncaster yearlings tend to look good value at the end of the sales season.

"It's been a very lucky sale for both our families for an awful long time. It's continued like that even through to last year, when we found Happy Romance and Ventura Tormenta."

Hannon concluded: "We have to live with these horses every day for at least a year or two so we need to like them when we buy them. There are stars here every year, it's just about finding them now."

Happy Romance: the £25,000 buy lands the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sales Stakes at YorkCredit: Getty Images

Among the potential stars Doyle and Hannon have cast their expert eyes over are: a Kodiac filly out of a sibling to Equiano (195); a Starspangledbanner half-brother to Ventura Tormenta (313); a Cotai Glory half-sister to A'Ali (322); a Night Of Thunder colt out of a sister to Fleeting Spirit (346); the Siyouni filly out of a half-sister to Queen's Trust (361); and a brother to Yafta (423).

The Premier Sale has undergone something of an image enhancement in recent years, with prices mirroring a roll of honour that has grown in strength and depth. Last year's renewal saw a record top lot, Coolmore parting with £440,000 for the Kingman colt Admiral Nelson, while the average of £46,565 represented a 60 per cent increase on the £29,030 average returned in 2011.

Goffs UK's managing director Tim Kent said the sales house had been encouraged by the quality of the catalogue and the volume of footfall on the sales ground, but acknowledged that it was not the year for bullish market predictions.

He said: "In any normal year we'd be confident of very good trade. Our vendors have supported us really well and we're confident there are some cracking horses here so we're hopeful. But we don't know how much people have to spend so it would be hard to predict any record-breaking sales at this stage.

"The big thing for us is the clearance rate; we're here to sell horses and vendors are here to sell, so if we can facilitate that then we'll have a good sale.

"We've had a great year on the track already, nine two-year-old stakes winners is fantastic by any measure, so we're all excited about what's going to happen over the next couple of days, but also slightly nervous as we don't know quite how strong the buying bench is going to be."

Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale factfile

Where Goffs UK sales complex, Doncaster

When Two-day auction begins on Tuesday, with sessions starting at 10am

Last year's stats From 448 lots offered, 397 sold (89%) for turnover of £18,486,000 (down three per cent year-on-year); an average of £46,565 (up three per cent) and a median of £35,000 (no change)

Notable graduatesA'Ali (sold by Tally-Ho Stud, bought by Star Bloodstock for £35,000); Golden Horde (Highclere Stud, Clive Cox Racing for £65,000); Supremacy (Owenstown Stud, Clive Cox Racing for £65,000); The Lir Jet (Ballyhane Stud, Robson Aguiar for £8,000)

More Premier Sale news:

La Motteraye makes first appearance at Goffs UK with two smart colts

'She's going to be fast' – hopes high for A'Ali's sales-bound half-sister

Dark Angel full-brother to Yafta could light up Premier Sale