The September Sale began in Doncaster this morning with jumps powerhouses Trevor Hemmings and Gigginstown House Stud the centre of attention.
Both operations are in the process of winding down their numbers for different reasons with Hemmings offering 56 lots and the famous maroon of the Irish putting 27 lots up for auction.
The term “strike while the iron is hot” is a phrase best used for Mengli Khan, who was one of the highlights on the catalogue. He has been a disappointment but won by 26 lengths in Ballinrobe when last seen and fetched an impressive £65,000.
The bargain of the sale was without doubt Dortmund Park who was picked up for a mere £1,500 by Bridgend-based trained Andrew Leyshon and he will have some fun with him.
You won’t pick up a bashed up Suzuki Swift for that kind of money and although the former Grade 1 winner has been in dire form for two years now, he is still only a seven-year-old and at that price it was definitely worth the punt.
On the face of it, paying £70,000 for Petit Mouchoir might seem like a lot of money but it looks like a shrewd piece of business if you delve into the figures in more detail.
Past performances are no guarantee of future success so there is always an element of risk involved. However, he has earned a whopping £118,858.65 in prize money on his last eight starts and is a very classy horse on his day so they should have no problem recouping the fee paid.
Dortmund Park – £1,500
Mengli Khan – £65,000
Duca De Thaix – £18,000
Sub Lieutenant – £50,000
Petit Mouchoir – £70,000
Minds Eye – £30,000
Cuneo – £7,000
Judgement Day – £5,000
Dommage Pour Toi – £68,000
Fierami – £11,500
Stoney Mountain bought by TMBloodstock for £140,000
High Moon – £32,000
Mystical Clouds – £28,000
Mount Mews – £16,000
Hill Sixteen – £46,000
Burtons Well – £6,000
Burbank – £62,000