This year, some horses swapped hands for some serious money. Here we round up the top lots at some of the biggest auctions…
Tattersalls December Mare Sale
Price: £6.3million
Double Group One winner Marsha (pictured above) became the highest-priced horse ever sold at a European auction when she was snapped up by Coolmore’s MV Magnier for a new partnership for an eye-watering six million guineas (£6.3million).
The four-year-old thoroughbred filly, who has won seven of her 18 starts notching up £650,114, attracted interest from bidders around the world.
Mr Magnier said: “She really is something special. Sir Mark [Prescott, the filly’s trainer] has done a great job with her, she was very fast and the lads were very keen to have her.”
Marsha will now go to stud and will be covered by champion sire Galileo.
Goresbridge Go For Gold
Price: €130,000 (£114,596)
The top lot at this popular Irish event horse sale was Gurtea Mattie Clover, a five-year-old full brother to Nicola Wilson’s four-star mount Annie Clover, purchased by Gerard Alan Kemp
By Newmarket Venture and out of a Clover Hill mare, the 16.3hh brown gelding was described in the catalogue as: “Very well related, this gelding has successfully competed at EI100 level.”
The Monart Select Elite Event Horse Sale
Price: €29,000 (£25,544)
FLS Piltown Bay was the top lot at this annual Irish horse sales. The five-year-old by Garrison Royale out of a Beneficial (thoroughbred National Hunt sire) mare, described in the catalogue as a “modern blood type event horse that has competed at unregistered shows and is showing great potential”, was purchased by Canadian event rider Katlyn Hewson-Slezak.
Karl and Katlyn Sezak said: “I am keeping hold of him and will produce him with the top levels in mind. I am very excited about my new boy’s future. He’s a really sweet horse.”
Brightwells Addington August Elite
Price: £39,000
In August the two joint top lots were sold for £39,000. The first was Creto, a seven-year-old dressage mare by Conteur. She had been competing at medium level in Holland and was purchased for a young British rider.
The second lot to achieve £39,000 was Gember Z, a three-year-old showjumping stallion who demonstrated an impressive jump. He is by Gemini CL, a thoroughbred stallion and clone of Olympic silver medallist Gem Twist, out of a mare by Berlin.
Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Festival Sale
Price: £320,000
A record price for a mare from the point-to-point field was set at this sale in March when Maire Banrigh, a 2012 bay mare by King’s Theatre and out of a Supreme Leader mare was knocked down for £320,000. The mare only made her racing debut four days before the sale, where she saw off competition from 12 other horses in the mares’ maiden at Lingstown (video below).
She was bought for £40,000 at Goffs UK’s Spring Sale 12 months previously by County Wexford-based point-to-point trainer Richard Black. He then sold the mare here to Ryan Mahon, a former jockey who is now working as a bloodstock agent, on behalf of leading racehorse owner John Hales. was bought for £40,000 at Goffs UK’s Spring Sale 12 months ago by County Wexford-based point-to-point trainer Richard Black.
On 6 December, this mare’s Racing Post form noted that her trainer is now Dan Skelton, so she is definitely one to look out for from his stable.
Equine Elite
Price: €210,000 (£184,998)
The top lot at this hugely popular dressage sale in The Netherlands in October was an 11-year-old chestnut Dutch warmblood gelding, appropriately called Bollinger. ‘Bubbles’, who is by Johnson out of an Aktion mare is trained to small tour level.
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