Buyers bidding big for Royal Ascot runners at Goffs Sale
In the gardens of a royal palace, Swiss billionaires, Qatari royals and the odd former footballer gathered on Monday night for a one-off chance to bag a racehorse ready to run at Royal Ascot the next day.
Over 7.5 million pounds ($10.2 million) changed hands as bidders vied to secure one of 28 thoroughbred horses, 18 of which are due to compete this week for a chance to win a portion of Royal Ascot's 10 million pound prize pot.
The Goffs London Sale, now in its 11th year, is an exclusive auction held in the grounds of Kensington Palace where anyone, providing they have a minimum 150,000 pound credit clearance, can bid for front-row access to one of the world's most prestigious sporting events.
"You could be standing in the grounds of Kensington Palace at six o'clock and by two o'clock the next day, you could be at the parade ring alongside the British Royal Family with your own runner and your own colours," Henry Beeby, chief executive at the 160-year-old Goffs auction house, told Reuters.
Top lot Ghostwriter, who holds an entry for the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday, went for 2 million pounds to football agent Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing while the second most expensive horse, Woodshauna, sold for 625,000 pounds to John Stewart of Resolute Racing — two of the biggest buyers in the sport.
Joorabchian, who is known to be a big spender after dropping over 24 million pounds at a single sale last year, said his son had picked out the horse and that it had a good chance in the Hardwicke Stakes, a prestigious Group 2 race held at Royal Ascot.
Danish entrepreneur and hotelier John Christensen said he bought Super Soldier for 390,000 pounds so his friends would have something to cheer on at the races on Tuesday.
Last year's sale turned over almost 8.5 million pounds ($11.54 million) though Beeby conceded that was an exceptional year. Most years the London sale raises 36 million pounds, he said.
Horses bought at the sale have some history of success at Ascot, though this is by no means guaranteed. The last time a graduate of the London ring won at Royal Ascot was in 2021 when Oxted won the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes while others, like Givemethebeatboys, sold in 2023, have been well-placed.
Jackpots
The most expensive horse ever sold there was the French mare, Sparkling Plenty, who had won a Group 1 in Chantilly just days before. She was sold outside the ring in 2024 for 5 million pounds, beating the previous top price of 1.3 million pounds.
The sale acts as an unofficial curtain raiser for Royal Ascot where trainers and top horses from around the world will compete over five days in races worth up to a million pounds.
Highlights include the marathon two-and-a-half-mile Gold Cup on Thursday as well as numerous top-grade races featuring some of the world's best racehorses.
Horseracing may contribute 4.1 billion pounds to the British economy annually, but it's often a game of risk and chance. While jackpots — like the 9,000-euro ($10,402) colt, Kodi Bear, who returned 500,000 euro when sold again around 9 months later — do happen, for most buyers, owning a racehorse is a luxury.
And it can go badly wrong. An American-bred horse, St James Square, was sold for $2.4 million in 2018 and never finished better than sixth in five starts.
"We're dealing in luxury items, nobody needs to have a racehorse," Beeby said.
Like all commodity markets, thoroughbred sales are not immune to global trade headwinds and tariffs.
And like many trading houses, Goffs is navigating trade tensions with the United States — Goffs' trade with the United States was around 10 million euro worth of horses last year — and the fallout from Brexit, which ended a tripartite agreement on the free trade of horses between Britain, France and Ireland.
"We are indelibly linked to the worldwide economy but by the same token, this is an extraordinarily resilient global business," he said. "We could do without [tariffs], we're hoping they're a distraction rather than a barrier." Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Swiss National Bank flags uncertainty due to trade, tensions in stability report
ZURICH: The Swiss National Bank said on Thursday the economic and financial outlook is highly uncertain, particularly due to trade and geopolitical tensions, though it noted profitability for Swiss banks improved in 2024, driven by UBS. 'Several risk factors could amplify the impact of potential negative shocks on global economic and financial conditions,' the SNB said in its 2025 Financial Stability Report. The risks include public debt having climbed to near historical peaks globally, and valuations in global residential real estate, global corporate bonds and the US stock market still appearing stretched. The SNB takes account of these risk factors when designing its stress tests, assuming highly unfavourable developments that are unlikely but possible, the report said. Swiss National Bank denies currency manipulation after being put on U.S. watch list Profitability for the Swiss banking sector improved year on year in 2024, powered by UBS, it noted. Capital ratios remained broadly stable, available capital buffers reflected significant loss-absorbing and lending capacity, and banks held substantial liquidity buffers, which contributed to their resilience, the report said.
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Dollar steady as Powell flags inflation risks; Mideast worries rise
SINGAPORE: The dollar held steady on Thursday, as investors weighed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's cautionary tone on inflation, while the looming threat of a broader conflict in the Middle East and possible U.S. involvement left sentiment frail. In a widely expected move, the Fed held rates steady, with policymakers signalling they still expect to cut rates by half a percentage point this year, although not all of them agreed on a need for rate cuts. Powell said goods price inflation will pick up over the course of the summer as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs work their way to consumers. 'Ultimately, the cost of the tariff has to be paid, and some of it will fall on the end consumer,' Powell told a press conference on Wednesday. 'We know that because that's what businesses say. That's what the data say from the past.' The comments from Powell, who again came under fire from Trump, underscore the challenge facing policymakers as they navigate uncertainties from tariffs and geopolitical risks, leaving markets anxious about the path of U.S. interest rates. Still, traders are pricing in at least two rate cuts this year though analysts are unsure of the starting point. 'The market is anticipating two 25 bp rate cuts this year, most probably September and December, but, we think the September FOMC will come too soon for the Fed to be comfortable cutting rates,' ING economists said. 'Effectively the Fed has acknowledged that the contemporaneous economy is doing reasonably well, with risks, and has batted the whole thing back to the macro data to come in the coming months,' the economists said in a report. Currency market reaction was muted, with the dollar firming slightly after the Fed's decision before stabilising against major currencies by Thursday morning in Asia. The euro was last at $1.14805, heading for 0.6% drop in the week, its biggest weekly decline since early May. The yen firmed slightly to 144.86 per dollar and the Swiss franc last fetched 0.81895 per dollar. Sterling was 0.18% lower at $1.3398 in early trading ahead of the policy decision from the Bank of England, where the central bank is expected to stand pat. The Swiss National Bank and Norges Bank are also expected to deliver their policy decisions later in the day. Dollar lower as ME conflict continues The dollar index , which measures the currency against six other units, was at 98.957 and set for a 0.8% gain for the week, its strongest weekly performance since late February. Investor focus remained on developments in the Middle East, where the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday. Concerns grew over potential U.S. involvement, as Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. The conflict has heightened fears of broader regional instability, compounded by the spillover effects of the Gaza war. That left the risk-sensitive Australia dollar 0.3% lower at $0.649, while the New Zealand dollar weakened 0.32% to $0.60105. U.S. markets are closed on Thursday for the federal Juneteenth holiday.
Business Recorder
8 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Dollar lower as ME conflict continues
NEW YORK: The US dollar traded mostly lower against the yen and edged higher against the Swiss franc on Wednesday as fighting between Israel and Iran spurred investors to scoop up safe havens, while a pending Federal Reserve rates decision restrained volatility. Israel has bombarded arch-enemy Iran over the past six days to halt its nuclear activity and has asserted the need for a change of government in the Islamic Republic. The US military is also bolstering its presence in the region, Reuters reported, stirring speculation about US intervention that investors fear could widen the conflict in an area with critical energy resources, supply chains and infrastructure. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read by a state television presenter on Wednesday that his country would not accept US President Donald Trump's call for an unconditional surrender. The dollar has resumed its role as a safe haven, having gained around 1% against both the Japanese yen and Swiss franc since last Thursday. On Wednesday, the US currency took a breather, edging fractionally lower against the yen and the franc and more noticeably so against the euro and the pound. 'A lot of the (dollar's) safe haven appeal has faded, and that's why the move has been relatively limited so far,' said Matt Weller, global head of market research at StoneX. 'I think traders are just coming around to that realization and looking ahead to what I expect to be a very dovish hold from the Federal Reserve this afternoon.' Against a basket of six other major currencies, the dollar is still down around 8% so far this year, as confidence in the US economy and the reliability of Trump's administration as a trading and diplomatic partner has faded. With the Fed's decision on interest rates just hours away and US markets closed on Thursday for the Juneteenth federal holiday, activity in currencies was muted. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.27% to 144.88 and was steady against the franc at 0.8169 francs. Traders expect the US central bank to leave borrowing costs unchanged and will parse what Chair Jerome Powell says about the outlook for growth and inflation. Uncertainty was already running high and recent data have begun to show the impact of Trump's erratic approach to trade and tariffs. The escalation of conflict in the Middle East, and the surge in crude oil prices to about $75 a barrel, have further complicated the picture for policymakers. 'I think everyone had expected they would shift dovish, but just given the CPI report and some of the underlying employment data recently, with the Iran situation kicking off and oil prices higher, we'll see how the Fed threads the needle,' said Brad Bechtel, global head of FX, at Jefferies. 'But I think most would expect they're going to be keeping their options open, remaining a little more cautious, which probably doesn't impact the dollar too much.' The dollar kept to weaker ranges even after data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell, but stayed elevated.
