Goffs Enters UK With Initiative At Kempton Park

Goffs, Ireland's historic bloodstock sales company, today announced its first-ever entry into the UK market with a ground-breaking initiative in association with Kempton Park racecourse.

The announcement was made at a reception at Home House, London, co-hosted by Goffs and Bernard McNamara, owner of the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, which is to sponsor the Goffs Million at The Curragh on September 19.

Goffs Bloodstock Sales Ltd. announced that it will hold a breeze-up sale for two year-olds at Kempton Park, the UK's newest all-weather racecourse, on March 9 2007, the only sale of this type in Europe.

In a breeze-up, horses run a timed trial before the sale to offer potential bidders an insight into their ability. The development, which will offer exciting opportunities to vendors and buyers, is Goffs' debut entry into bloodstock sales in the British market.

The breeze-up sale also adds another dimension to the successful Goffs Million initiative because it will include a special offering of two-year-olds which will have been bought at the Million Sale in September 2006 and which will hold an entry in the 2007 races. For purchasers who miss buying a yearling at the 2006 Goffs Million Sale, this offers a second chance to buy a two-year-old which is eligible for a ?1million prize just six months later.

There will be two races in 2007, one exclusively for colts and one solely for fillies, each worth ?1million to the winner.

The proximity of Kempton Park to London is expected to attract new buyers from the capital. Its use of the acclaimed Polytrack surface, increasingly used in the United States and other major racing nations, will offer overseas buyers the opportunity to view horses breezing at Kempton Park on the same surface.

The partnership between Goffs and Kempton Park racecourse brings together two innovative and pioneering organisations with a shared vision for excellence and the ambition to attract new patrons to racing and horse ownership.

Welcoming the initiative, Eimear Mulhern, Chairman of Goffs Bloodstock Sales Ltd, said: 'This exclusive agreement between Goffs and Kempton Park is another exciting development in the Goffs Million project. We feel Kempton Park is a racecourse which mirrors our ideals and vision for the future and we look forward to holding our first ever sale in the UK on March 9 2007.

'We are also very excited at the recently-announced sponsorship by the Shelbourne Hotel of the Goffs Million at The Curragh on September 19. This race day will officially be part of the Ryder Cup programme and will certainly ensure that Ireland, Goffs and the Shelbourne Hotel will be at the centre of the sporting world for that week. '

Julian Thick, Managing Director of Kempton Park racecourse, said: 'We approached Goffs as we admire their forward vision and continual pursuit of raising the bar in the bloodstock industry. We very much welcome this partnership and look forward to a long and successful association with Goffs.'

Bernard McNamara, Director of the Shelbourne Hotel, commented: 'We are excited at the prospect of the Shelbourne Hotel Goffs Million race this coming September. It represents a partnership between two strong brands synonymous with Ireland and has the capacity to establish itself as one of the great occasions in the Irish racing, social and business calendars.'

The staging of the inaugural Shelbourne Hotel Goffs Million race at The Curragh racecourse on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 will see Ireland's horse racing heritage sharing some of the international limelight during the country's greatest-ever sporting week. Officially part of The Ryder Cup programme, this thrilling race is now partnered with the fully restored and soon to be re-opened Shelbourne Hotel as part of a recently announced sponsorship agreement.

Owned by businessman Bernard McNamara, the Shelbourne Hotel will be managed by Marriott International under the Renaissance brand, and will open in Autumn 2006 after a multi-million euro restoration.