Perfect Angel Tops Goffs Goodwood Sale

Goffs UK chairman Henry Beeby was upbeat at the close of the company's inaugural Goodwood Sale Aug. 1, which was headed by the group 2-placed mare Perfect Angel after being purchased by agency Sackville Donald for £400,000.

The sale-topper was one of six lots out of 13 on offer to have changed hands by the end of the auction.

"It was a very good start, and we've proved this is another venue where we can stage a very select, boutique sale in conjunction with a top-class meeting," said Beeby.

"The top price of £400,000 demonstrates there is the opportunity here to sell a very nice horse.

"We would like the clearance rate to improve, and it will improve, but as I said after the London Sale, the horses are not being bred or produced specifically for sale at an auction like this.

"Owners are prepared to sell if they get a good price, but they are happy to say if we don't get a premium price, we won't sell."

Perfect Angel is a 4-year-old daughter of Dark Angel who had failed to get in foal to Oasis Dream this year, and was offered in full training with Andrew Balding.

She had been the subject of a major pedigree update, with her sister Angel's Hideaway winning the group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot July 28, while another sibling, Where's Sue, is also a winner.

Perfect Angel has won one of her 12 starts and has posted second-placed finishes in the group 2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes and Bet365 Hackwood Stakes (G3).

Ed Sackville, who signed the docket, reported she would now join Richard Hughes.

"We'll try and build on her black type—she's a very nice broodmare prospect," he added.

Smart handicapper Curiosity will continue his racing career in Singapore, where he will train with Melbourne Cup-winning handler Lee Freedman, after Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock parted with £390,000 for the son of the late High Chaparral.

The gelding was offered from the stables of Hugo Palmer, for whom he has won two of his eight career starts.

He also finished second in his last two outings, in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot and valuable Bet365 Mile Handicap at Newmarket last month.

McStay said he had taken a shine to Curiosity after watching him at Palmer's Newmarket yard prior to him being offered at the sale.

"He's been wonderfully trained by my good friend Hugo, and his owners have had some fantastic days out with him, including at Royal Ascot," he said. "I've seen the horse trained regularly at Hugo's yard, and I've loved him.

"He's been bought by a new client, and I believe he is going to Singapore to be trained by the great Lee Freedman. I hope he's very lucky for his new owner."

Curiosity, who made €65,000 ($61,903) at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale in 2016, holds an entry for Friday's group 3 Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. McStay could not confirm whether the gelding would take his place in the field.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds left it late to add to their burgeoning racing portfolio with Sometimesadiamond, the last lot of the evening, going the way of the operation's adviser, Dermot Farrington, for £220,000.

The Jim Bolger-trained daughter of Vocalised won the listed Yeomanstown Stud Stakes at Naas last week, and plans are very much up in the air as to where she will be heading next, with Farrington not ruling out the filly staying at Bolger's yard.

"We have no plans," he said. "We'll assess the situation once we get hold of her. She's a black-type filly already, she had a clean vet, and she's very good-looking, so we'll see what happens. We were looking for something to go to the Southern Hemisphere, but nothing has really been decided. We'll make the decisions once we get her."

Bred by Bolger, the 3-year-old filly is out of the winning Galileo mare Something Graceful, who is herself out of grade 2 winner Que Puntual, making her a half sister to Australian group 3 winner Oceanographer.

Bloodstock agents Peter and Ross Doyle rarely leave a sale empty-handed, and Wednesday was no exception after they spent £175,000 on Flying Dragon, a placed son of first-season sire War Command who now looks set to head into training with Richard Hannon.

The 2-year-old colt finished second on debut at Chantilly last month for trainer Matthieu Palussiere and owners Con and Theresa Marnane, and Ross Doyle said he believed it was a smart performance in what he rated as a good race.

"He's been bought to go into training with Richard Hannon," Doyle said. "He ran well in what I think will be a nice maiden—he's a lovely, scopey horse."

The colt is out of the Kaldounevees mare Histoire de Jouer, a half sister to Smala, the dam of group 1 winner Chichicastenango and listed winner Smala Tica.

A lifetime breeding right in outstanding young sire Showcasing—on the mark with Molecomb Stakes second and third Life of Riley and Soldier's Call at Goodwood Wednesday—sold to China Horse Club for £190,000.

The other lot to change hands was a 50% share in the Gay Kelleway-trained Northumberland Vase winner Cosmelli, which was knocked down to Import Racing Sydney for £50,000.

Bidding at the sale went highest for Marie's Diamond, the recent winner of the Jebel Ali Racecourse & Stables Anglesey Stakes (G3) for Mark Johnston and Middleham Park Racing, but £675,000 was not enough for him to sell.

At the close of the sale, Goffs UK reported the six lots that sold generated total receipts of £1,425,000 at an average of £237,500, while the median was £205,000.