yearling sale overview of them do, yearlings are particularly good value in Britian. The changes among major yearling buyers were in all probability even more significant than changes in the terms of trade. For the first time in many years the yearling purchases of Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum were not supervised by John Ferguson. It took time for a new team to be put into place but from September onwards John Gosden, Anthony Stroud and David Loder were inspecting yearlings and making decisions on behalf of Godolphin. By the end of October, Godolphin had purchased 58 yearlings at the major sales and had spent the equivalent of nearly $32 million, some 20 per cent more than in 2016. The new Godolphin team not only spent more than in 2016, but they made very different buying decisions. Thirty-two of the 58 yearlings bought by Godolphin were by non-Darley sires and no fewer than nine were by stallions standing at Coolmore, including five by Galileo. Sheikh Mohammed had not bought a yearling by a Coolmore sire for more than 15 years. Godolphin did buy many yearlings by its own stallions – six by Iffraaj, five by Dubawi, three by Teofilo, among others – but The Dubawi colt ex Izzi Top: he made 2.6 million guineas, bought by Roger Varian
Major yearling buyers 2015 -2017
(by numbers bought and includes total spend $ by JdeM)
Major buyers in 2015
Buyer
Nos bought
Total spend
Shadwell 82 19.8m Darley 69 27.0m Al Shaqab 57 17.0m China Horse Club 20 12.4m MV Magnier 19 15.8m Mayfair Speculators 19 9.2m M Obaida 18 5.3m Combined 284 110m Average: 390,000 All other buyers 2,479 196m Average: 80,000
Major buyers in 2016
Buyer
Nos bought
Total spend
Shadwell 97 27.9m Darley 54 26.2m Al Shaqab 43 11.3m M Obaida 25 8.6m HKJC 20 4.9m Coolmore & partners 14 14.6m Combined 253 93.5m Average: 370,000 All other buyers 2,525 229m Average: 91,000
Major buyers in 2017
Buyer Sackville/Donald Shadwell Rabbah Godolphin HKJC Coolmore & partners R Varian K Radcliffe Combined All other buyers
Nos bought
Total spend
106 27.3m 87 25.4m 75 7.7m 58 31.7m 27 6.7m 26 18.7m 21 11.8m 4 4.5m 404 134m 2,314 224m
Average: 330,000 Average: 97,000
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