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18th June 2024
11:39am BST
A racehorse has been sold for a record of almost €10m at an auction at Kensington Palace Gardens but in a strange turn of events, was bought back and sold for €3million less.
The Goffs London Sale took place in a secluded area behind Kensington Palace on the eve of Royal Ascot.
The auction which is now in its 10th year, has previously paved the way for the sale of champions and record breakers. Last year Givemethebeatboys was sold for over €1m before coming runner-up less than 24 hours later in the Coventry Stakes on the opening day of Ascot.
This year, Filly - Sparkling Plenty, who had won the Prix de Diane (French Oaks) on Sunday by a head after a late charge to the line, was lot 11 in the catalogue. The daughter of Kingman, 2014 European Horse of the Year, went into the race as a relative outsider.
Bidders were straight in at €1m with the price rising quickly in €230,000 increments.
With ex-footballer Michael Owen and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis watching on, Sparkling Plenty was on track to break records.
As the price rose above the €6m mark, Sparkling Plenty looked set to become the most expensive horse sold at a public auction.
Football agent Kia Joorabchin made an offer of over €7m before Emmanuel de Seroux, a French bloodstock agent took the price to almost €10m.
Henry Beeby, Goffs long-serving Chief Executive, brought his gavel down but the final bid had come from Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois – the filly’s current owner.
Discussions took place between Joorabchin, De Seroux and a representative for Dubois.
Privately, they came to an agreement, Al-Shaqab Racing, owned by Qatari prince Sheikh Joaan Al-Thani had agreed a €5.9m deal to buy half of Sparkling Plenty.
Beeby was astonished by the turn of events saying: “I have been doing this for 39 years and I have never seen anything so complex. But it was the owner's prerogative and he was entitled to do that. I don't think we will ever forget what has happened here.”
Sparkling Plenty will now hope for a similar result to the French Oaks at the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood followed by the Prix de L’arc de Triomphe.
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