Goffs, Tattersalls Join Forces for Coordinated Schedule

Goffs and Tattersalls have collaborated on a revised schedule for the upcoming store sales that will enable vendors and buyers sufficient time to quarantine, as per Irish government requirements, between the Goffs UK Summer Sale and the major Irish National Hunt auctions.

A two-week gap has been introduced between the Goffs UK Summer Sale in Doncaster and the Goffs Land Rover Sale in Kildare, allowing Irish vendors to quarantine following the British store sale. Current Irish government directives state that those arriving into the country from overseas should restrict their movements for 14 days.

The announcement also ends a period of speculation that the postponed Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, which was originally slated to begin in Fairyhouse July 14, would be transferred to Newmarket.

The revised dates of the store sales are: Goffs UK Summer Sale, July 27-29; Goffs Land Rover Sale, Aug. 12-13; Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, Aug. 18-19; Tattersalls Ireland May Sale, Aug. 20; and the Tattersalls Ireland August National Hunt Sale, Aug. 27-28.

"The bloodstock community, like the rest of the world, is having to adapt and react quickly to an ever-evolving situation caused by this awful pandemic," Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony and Henry Beeby, Goffs group chief executive said in a joint statement. "However, we have come together to make these changes to assist the vendors who have entries in more than one Goffs and Tattersalls catalog, and need to attend several locations.

"The revised dates allow the Doncaster sale to be completed and be followed by an appropriate gap before sales take place in Ireland. Both companies are mindful of current government directives and have developed detailed protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of all attendees at each sales venue."

Tattersalls Ireland and Goffs will also facilitate a select number of entries from the Derby and Land Rover Sales at the Goffs UK Summer Sale in a joint supplementary catalog. This will be confined to stores consigned by British-based vendors and those with major logistical difficulties associated with the proximity of the flat yearling sales.

"We would like to emphasize that our joint decision to accommodate a limited number of extra store horses in the Goffs UK Summer Sale is in response to unique circumstances and taken in the best interests of as many of our mutual vendors as possible," Mahony and Beeby continued.

"So many of us are encountering situations that we have never faced before, but Tattersalls and Goffs are committed to working collaboratively in a determined effort to deliver the most vibrant market place we possibly can for each horse entrusted to us.

"This will include a jointly branded supplementary catalog for the Doncaster Summer Sale, some coordinated marketing and perhaps even a new face on the Doncaster rostrum on this occasion."

The companies are also liaising with Horse Racing Ireland in an effort to ensure the safe participation of overseas buyers at Irish sales within the parameters of current Irish government quarantine requirements.

"We recognize the concern surrounding the participation of overseas buyers and are working with HRI to deliver protocols to allow UK purchasers to attend future sales within Irish government directives," the sales house heads added.

"To that end we have developed detailed protocols, similar to those which apply at Irish race meetings, to guarantee a safe environment on Irish sales grounds which are well suited to social distancing. We will communicate any developments as soon as possible and in plenty of time for plans to be confirmed."