Have Secret on Top at Doncaster at $113,276

The secret was out when Have Secret was offered at the Goffs UK October Sale in Doncaster Oct. 19 as the recent winner topped the market at £100,000 (US$113,276).

The 2-year-old son of Havana Gold  was cataloged as a winner, having opened his account at Haydock in August but doubled his tally a fortnight before coming under the hammer with a three and a quarter length romp at Nottingham.

Harry Fowler, standing down in the gangway, tried hard to land the progressive juvenile but had to give best to the colt's trainer Richard Fahey, standing on the balcony above, who struck the sale's sole six-figure bid to take Have Secret back to Musley Bank Stables.

The juvenile was offered following the passing of his previous owner, Lady Mimi Manton, who died in August at the age of 97.

"He's for an existing owner in the yard who's from the Middle East," said Fahey. "He's a horse we like a lot, so I'm delighted to get him back. It's a big shame he had to go to the sales, it would've been great for Lady Manton as she loved her racing. He'll be finished for the year now, but I think he'll go a fair way. He's a horse for the future."

Bred by Kildaragh Stud, Have Secret is the second foal out of Secret Existence , a winning daughter of Sakhee's Secret  who was also third in the listed Prix Melisande. He was making his second appearance at public auction in a little over 12 months having been signed for by Fahey and Robin O'Ryan at €60,000 ($70,172) at last year's Goffs Orby Yearling Sale.

The short, sharp session of selling saw 143 lots offered and 94 find a buyer for a clearance rate of 66%. Turnover was down 20% compared to last year's event, when 19 more lots sold. The average price was £8,636 ($9,782), down 4%, while the median was £4,500 ($5,097), a 10% dip. 

Bromley and Thurloe in Search of a New Buzz

Highflyer Bloodstock's Anthony Bromley and Thurloe Thoroughbreds combined at the 2019 edition of this sale to secure catalog cover star Buzz , who went on to win three races over hurdles, headed by the Coral Ascot Hurdle (G2), and the 2021 running of the Together For Racing International Cesarewitch Handicap Stakes.

They will be hoping to repeat the trick with this year's purchase having gone to £70,000 ($79,293) for Open Champion, who was offered by Roger Varian as Lot 76 on behalf of his owner-breeder Sheikh Obaid Al Maktoum.

The son of Postponed  won one of five starts for Varian and achieved a peak Racing Post Rating of 91 when sixth, beaten just two and three-quarter lengths, in a valuable Haydock handicap.

"I've bought him for the Thurloe Thoroughbred partnership, who we had luck with at this sale a couple of years ago when we bought Buzz," said Bromley, who wasn't in attendance at Doncaster so was bidding over the phone via Goffs UK's managing director Tim Kent.

"The horse was recommended by Roger Varian to (Thurloe's) James Stafford and myself and I'm based in Newmarket so I went and saw the horse on Monday.

"I had Tim Kent on the office phone and James and the mobile relaying the sale across. We hoped we'd get him a little bit cheaper but he was obviously the standout horse in the sale, and would've been at Newmarket too, but the owner only decided to sell after entries at Tattersalls had closed."

Bromley added: "He's a proper rated horse and we've bought him to be a dual-purpose prospect. For the moment he'll go for a month's break at Trinity Park Stud near Hungerford and James will have a think about who's going to train him, but it'll be a dual-purpose trainer."

Open Champion is the fifth foal and one of three winners out of Nargys , a daughter of Lawman  who won the Japan Racing Association Sceptre Stakes (G3) during her time on the track. Her other winners are the useful performers National Bank and Global Conqueror, both of whom are by Postponed's sire Dubawi .