Lingstown winner Prince heading back to Ireland after sale-topping £320,000 capture by Mullins

Kindly Prince has always commanded attention and the attendant six-figure sums wherever he has been during his short life to date, and it was a similar story at Newbury on Saturday when Jonathan Fogarty's four-year-old son of Great Pretender topped the second edition of the Goffs Coral Gold Cup Sale.

The Lingstown maiden winner was knocked down to David Mullins at £320,000, the highest price achieved in the sale's existence.

Mullins was tight-lipped afterwards, confirming only that the full-brother to classy chaser In Love would be returning back across the Irish Sea to be trained.

The Grand National-winning jockey opened the bidding at £100,000 and, with the folding doors onto the terrace opened, the bidding area spilled out of the owners' and trainers' restaurant and over to the viewing area for the pre-parade ring.

Having opened the bidding from his seat at a dining table, Mullins proved resolute and, having indicated his assent at £300,000. looked to have secured Kindly Prince, only for a commotion to arise outside. A new bidder, hidden in the tweed and overcoat-clad throngs, had entered the fray at £310,000. However, they had no answer to Mullins when he countered at £320,000, the price at which Kindly Prince was secured.

Bought at auction in France as a two-year-old for €100,000, Kindly Prince was bought back by his vendors at €135,000 during a premier store sale in June last year, but the full-sibling to the Grade 3 Grand Prix de Pau Chase winner and Grade 1 Prix Maurice de Gillois Chase third In Love earned his highest price tag yet on Saturday.

He is also a half-brother to the Listed Prix de Marsan Hurdle, Prix Virelan Hurdle and Prix Durtain Hurdle third Just A Princess.

Their dam, the Listed Prix Finot Fillies' Hurdle fourth Belle Princesse, is a Nickname half-sister to the dam of the Grade 1 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure Chase winner Juntos Ganamos.

Quartz sparkles under Saturday night lights

The last of the winter light had left the Newbury sky by the time Real Quartz walked into the pre-parade ring, but the four-year-old Soldier Of Fortune gelding dazzled the spectators gathered on the terrace of the owners' and trainers' restaurant, sparkling under the floodlights.

David Mullins strains to hear instructions during the Goffs Coral Gold Cup SaleCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

Successful on his debut at Boulta just the previous Saturday for Sam Curling, the dark bay was expected to shine as one of the stars of the Goffs Coral Gold Cup Sale and the grandson of Yeats did just that, with Ryan Mahon seeing off all comers for the relation to the Grade 1 Hennessy Gold Cup and Punchestown Chase winner Joncol.

Mahon went to £190,000 for the full-brother to Alan De Banks, who made a winning start in a bumper at Newton Abbot in June and has been declared for a Ffos Las novice hurdle on Monday for the Bowens.

While that brother is one side of the Wales/England border, this one will remain in England at the Warwickshire yard of Dan Skelton.

"He's a very nice Soldier Of Fortune gelding who won very well on soft ground and has loads of size and scope about him," said Mahon. "We've bought him for an existing client of Dan's."

Offered for sale by Curling's Skehanagh Stables, he was a €45,000 store sale purchase by Curling last June and is inbred 3x3 to Sadler's Wells.

His dam, the unraced Miss Elderberry, is a Yeats half-sister to Joncol and closely related to the Grade B Handicap Chase-placed Fine Theatre, by King's Theatre, and to the Grade 2 novice hurdle runner-up Fine Article. She is also a half-sister to Another Cliche, dam of Classic Theatre.

Nicholls a Harzand fan

Con O'Keeffe and family will be delighted with the ringing endorsement of their sire Harzand by Paul Nicholls, who went to £165,000 for Suburban Legend, a four-year-old son of the Aga Khan's Derby and Irish Derby hero who now stands at Kilbarry Lodge Stud.

Jonathan Fogarty, vendor of the sale-topping Kindly PrinceCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

"I really like Harzand as a stallion," said Nicholls, who had earlier won the Coral Gold Cup with Kandoo Kid. "And I think he's going to be a very good jumps sire."

Nicholls and Tom Malone both concurred in their assessment of the gelding, who was bought on spec.

Nicholls continued: "We have nothing in the shop window but this horse will be front and centre. He's a lovely model. We'll take him home, give him time to adjust, go for a bumper in the spring and have a novice hurdling campaign next autumn."

Consigned by the winners factory that is Colin Bowe's Milestone Stables, Suburban Legend was successful in a Quakerstown maiden earlier this month. It was the second start, but first completed one, for the half-brother to the Listed Wild Flower and River Eden Stakes third Headline News. 

It's Gino for Snowden

A year ago Jamie Snowden was in the Newbury winner's enclosure after the Coral Gold Cup with Datsalrightgino, who relished the step up in trip to win the Berkshire track's storied race.

On Saturday evening, Snowden was among the buyers at the Goffs Coral Gold Cup Sale, purchasing a pretty filly who shares her sire with his star-crossed former stable leader. 

Malone was sitting with Snowden, doing the bidding for four-year-old Kernie D'Airy, but Snowden said after the dockets had been signed at £155,000 that the filly had been bought for a new venture in his Lambourn yard.

Jamie Snowden speaking with the Racing Post's Aisling Crowe after purchasing Kernie D'AiryCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

"We've set up a new racing club and we have three horses in training now," Snowden explained. "She's a lovely filly with lots of potential and the horse who was second to her at Durtal came out and won this morning."

That was four-year-old gelding Kelijoe, who was successful for Nicolas Paysan at Lignieres on Saturday morning, having been dropped back two furlongs in trip after his second to Kernie D'Airy.

That was timed to perfection for the filly, who was brought from France by Antonin Pelsy for this sale.

The daughter of It's Gino, sire of Saturday afternoon's Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle winner Sir Gino, is one of two winners from three runners produced by Purda D'Airy, a winning granddaughter of Cadoudal from the extended family of Virak, a Grade 2-winning chaser for Paul Nicholls.

Snowden added: "Obviously Sir Gino has been a really good sire for us and hopefully we can have another good one in her."

Kernie D'Airy prior to her sale for £155,000 at the Goffs Coral Gold Cup SaleCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

Gerry Hogan went to £100,000 for Jackpot Cauveliere, who won his five-year-old maiden on his debut at Lingstown just last Sunday. The son of Kamsin was consigned by Stuart Crawford and had cost €30,000 at the Goffs Arkle Sale in 2022.

He is the first winner out of Senanaque, a Pivotal half-sister to the Listed Prix Michel Houyvet second Mohicane and their dam, Suborneuse, by Diesis, was third in the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont.

Closing statistics

They were the five of the 16 point-to-pointers offered after racing at Newbury on Saturday to break six figures. A total of 14 future National Hunt stars were sold, giving a clearance rate of 88 per cent, and they generated turnover of £1,510,500, which was a decrease of 30 per cent year-on-year.

Saturday's average price was £107,893, down by nine per cent from 12 months ago, with the median at £90,000 representing a decline of 18 per cent from 2023's figure.

Tim Kent, managing director if Goffs UK, commented: “Following on from last year’s successful debut sale here at Newbury racecourse, there was a high level of anticipation coming into this year’s edition and the racecourse results ensured that we had a strong catalogue going into today’s sale. 

"Because of that, inspections were busy across both days of racing at the Coral Gold Cup festival, with many positive remarks about the improved facilities which included using the racecourse stables and moving the auction to Newbury’s Owners' Club. These changes helped the sale to enjoy a unique atmosphere and, other than a few on-site technical issues, the event was a success.

“Racecourse results are what drive any sale and the impressive victory of Ben Pauling’s The Jukebox Man in yesterday’s Grade 2 John Francome Novices’ Chase was a timely reminder of what can be bought at Goffs' point-to-point sales. This helped drive a clearance rate of 88 per cent and a sale-topping price of £320,000, which is a significant increase on last year. 

"We would like to thank our loyal vendors for their support today and also wish the buyers the best of luck with their new recruits. We look forward to following their progress in the hope of unearthing the next The Jukebox Man, Jonbon or Constitution Hill.”

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