Spring Sales finish on a high

The DBS Spring Sales finished on a high with the ‘old buzz’ returning across all three days and the final day of NH Stores seeing increases across the board plus a top price of £100,000.

Abbeylands Farm consigned the highest priced store when selling a son of Kalanisi to Highflyer Bloodstock on behalf of Paul Nicholls for £100,000. The three year old was out of the Listed winning Erinante and the price soon rocketed towards the six figure mark but it was Mags O’Toole who was forced to play the role of underbidder.

Tim Vaughan and Tom Malone bought the second highest priced horse on day 3 when securing a half-brother to the Grade 1 winning Captain Conan for £85,000. He was consigned by Haras De Loges who also sold a son of Sageburg to Alex Elliott from McCalmont Bloodstock for £75,000.

The progeny of King’s Theatre are always in demand and a gelding offered by Church Farm Stables sold to David Dennis from Favourites Racing for £60,000 whilst Highflyer Bloodstock bought a racey son of Medicean from Mill House Stud for £50,000 on behalf of Chris and Jenny Powell. He will go in to training with Nicky Henderson with the hope of winning the DBS Spring Sales Bumper at Newbury in March 2014.

The same price was paid by Bobby O’Ryan for a son of Saint Des Saints from Trickledown Stud and by Philip Hobbs for a son of Kayf Tara offered by New Hall Stud.

Following the conclusion of the sale, DBS Managing Director Henry Beeby commented:

"The bloodstock business has always been cyclical by nature and history tells us that the pendulum continues to swing between various trends and themes. And so it has appeared that the trend has started to swing back towards the store horse following a time when the form horse has dominated. However we have seen both categories attract a huge crowd of buyers to Doncaster this week driven to this long established market leader by the enduring success of the sales’ graduates headed this year by none other than the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth.

"Days 1 and 2 focussed on the established horses and a virtual Who’s Who of NH racing descended upon Doncaster prompting a vibrant trade from start to finish on both days. Indeed trade remained consistently strong throughout and resulted in a very happy band of vendors and a satisfied group of buyers, both of whom have continued to support this sale as it delivers to both groups. As ever we are indebted to Million In Mind for their tremendous and on-going support as their annual draft remains one of the highlights of the DBS year. It was fitting that one of the two highest prices came from them as one of our most established and valued vendors whilst the other on day 1 came from a new DBS vendor clearly illustrating the appeal of the DBS service to so many.

"Today’s trade for the stores has been incredibly buoyant resulting in a much improved set of statistics headed by a 50% leap in median with a clearance rate of 84% which clearly shows the depth to the market and much deserved rewards for the breeders and vendors who have supported the sale. The successful vendor profile has been varied with high prices from drafts from England, Ireland and France further underlining the appeal of the DBS Spring Sales whilst the buyers on all three days have come from home and abroad which will see DBS graduates running and winning in the UK, Ireland, USA to name just three destinations.

"The DBS Spring Sales continues to be one our flagship catalogues and we have maintained the very high standards that have been in evidence for over 50 years. That ensures that our clients know that they will enjoy the very best service and value at a sale that focusses on quality at all levels of the market making this a truly unique success story."