Day at the Sales ( Bloodstock, not shoes)

Last Tuesday I went with a friend to Doncaster Bloodstock Sales. Not that I was seeking another ex-racehorse. ( Though the bloodstock sales can be a good place to find one. I've bought several ex-racers this way over the years, including Miraed and Big H. I'll be mentioning more about bloodstock sales in later posts.) But on Tuesday we were really there just for an interesting jolly, and to check out the brand-spanking-new sales complex DBS have just built.

It was impressive - modern, hi-tech, light, airy and clean. ( Doubt it will stay clean for long, though, with horsey people around.) Not so sure about the carpet, however ( which, I was told, they'd only finished fitting the night before. Ahh - glad I'm not the only last-minuter.) This carpet was cream-coloured - just hope it will stand up to lots of washing !

And - shock! horror! - they've stopped selling in guineas ! All the bidding was in pounds. (Though some of the auctioneers kept forgetting, and saying 'guineas' anyway.) Now I know many people these days don't actually know what a 'guinea' is. ( One pound and one shilling, in old sterling currency. Historically the auctioneers took the shilling as their commission. Now DBS have replaced all that with a 6% buyer's premium - which I reckon works out a bit better for them !) But it's rather sad to see yet another tradition gone.

This particular sale, the Lincoln Handicap Sale, was specifically for younger racehorses, ready to enter training or to move up in their racing careers. ( And some beauties there were . ) So, although a few sold for low money ( £600-£800), most fetched healthy 4-figure sums. All the ones we specially liked sold well - (£12,000 - £38,000). Ok, so we've got good taste in horseflesh - pity our pockets will never match it!

Even so, anyone looking for a prospective retired racehorse to retrain as, say, a show-jumper, or eventer, or even a dressage horse, could have chosen from twenty or more in the £1000-£3000 bracket. That would be cheap for a sound young horse 'ready to go on'.

But of course, with ex-racehorses ( however lightly raced) it's never wise to assume those words 'sound' and 'ready' actually apply. In my experience they often don't - on one or both counts ! That's where the fun starts... and the expense. Oh, why do we do it...?