Minella Premier tops Goffs UK Spring HIT/PTP Sale at £300,000
Minella Premier led a four-horse six-figure finale at £300,000 as Goffs UK posted record turnover and an 89% clearance rate.
Minella Premier put a £300,000 stamp on the final session at Doncaster, but the bigger story was the market around him. The Goffs UK Spring HIT/PTP Sale closed with record turnover of £11,004,400, a sign that buyers were still willing to push hard for the right National Hunt horse.
The six-year-old son of Shantou was lot 620 and arrived with a profile that made him stand out. He had won a point-to-point at Ballindenisk for John Nallen and added bumper wins at Fontwell and Wetherby for Richard Hobson before coming to the ring. Tim Kent struck the winning bid by phone on behalf of AJ O’Neill and the family team, sending the horse toward Jackdaws Castle after the O’Neill operation had tracked him since his pointer days.
What made the session more important than one headline price was the depth around it. Four horses made six-figure prices on Thursday alone, following 17 horses that sold for £100,000 or more on Wednesday. Across the two days, Goffs catalogued 511 horses, offered 414 and sold 369, with an average of £29,823, a median of £17,000 and a clearance rate of 89%. Goffs said turnover was 24% higher than last year, the average rose 13% and the median climbed 5%.
That matters in a market that has often looked selective rather than expansive. The final-day strength suggested there was still liquidity for horses with the right page, form and physical appeal, especially among tried performers and point-to-point prospects that can move quickly into a trainer’s programme. Red One, a five-year-old Walk In The Park half-brother to Guard Your Dreams, held that line of demand too when Nicky Henderson retained him at £140,000.
The buying list showed the strength was not tied to one stable or one bidding team. David Pipe, Matt Butler, Katy Price Racing, Dan Astbury and DFR, Barry Murtagh and Sarah Humphrey all featured among the purchasers, underlining a market that drew support from multiple corners of the jumps trade. With Goffs describing the sale as the world’s largest National Hunt HIT/PTP auction, the record finish suggested the top end of the sector still has real pull. For owners, trainers and smaller sellers, that is the clearest signal yet that confidence has not disappeared from this part of the business.
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