From 4 a.m. on Saturday, travelers coming into the UK from France will be required to quarantine for 14 days. Horse people wanting to take in both this weekend’s Deauville meeting-featuring the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday–and next week’s York Ebor meeting, therefore, have some decisions to make, and Frankie Dettori has chosen the French route with mounts booked on John Gosden’s unbeaten G1 St James’s Palace S. winner Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the Marois and G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) in the G2 Prix Guillaume D’Ornano on Saturday.
Dettori, then, will miss the ride on Gosden’s G1 Prince of Wales’s S. winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Wednesday’s G1 Juddmonte International.
“Frankie will be riding in France–that is the intention, absolutely,” said Gosden. “It will mean he will miss York. These plans have been in place for a while–for Palace Pier since the St James’s Palace and for Mishriff since the Prix du Jockey Club. [Dettori] would prefer to ride this weekend. It is far from ideal to miss York, but these are strange times that we live in.”
Dettori said on Friday morning, “Obviously I only found out at 10 p.m. last night. This morning I spoke at length with John, and I decided to go to France. With Enable not running and Stradivarius not running at York, it made my decision a lot easier. Obviously Lord North is a good horse, and I’ll be missing him, but the prize money in France is unbelievable.
“I had to make a decision–they are two very good horses [Palace Pier and Mishriff], and I’ve decided to go to France instead. Of course I’m gutted to be missing York, but I can’t stop the government doing what they want to do.”
Gosden said he hopes James Doyle will be available to renew his association with Lord North. It was Doyle who was aboard the 4-year-old gelding for his 3 3/4-length win at Royal Ascot.
A statement from the British Horseracing Authority acknowledged that any horse people returning to the UK from France would need to quarantine or go the route of “elite athlete exemption,” which would still require a minimum of seven days on the sidelines.
“Any jockey, trainer or member of stable staff wishing to participate in a French fixture [after 4 a.m. on Saturday] will either have to self-isolate for 14 days on return, or elect to use the elite athlete exemption which requires undergoing two Covid-19 tests upon return to the UK. The first test should be taken as soon as is possible following return to the UK and a second test seven days on from return to the UK. Both test results will have to be negative and the participant would also have to satisfy any other requirements that the BHA’s medical department may impose as part of a risk assessment process, such as being interviewed and providing details of accommodation and other movements whilst overseas. The BHA reserves the right to prevent the participant from returning to a race fixture in Great Britain until the full 14-day self-isolation period is up should there be any concerns regarding potential transmission of the virus.
“The BHA has been assisting participants this week who have been considering riding in France in the near future, and will be publishing a full protocol for all participants considering travelling to countries without a travel corridor as soon as possible to assist in their planning.” (by : TDN)
Goffs Land Rover Sale Holds Steady
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The 2020 Goffs Land Rover Sale, following a protracted lead into this week’s revised dates, returned a satisfactory trade over the two days headlined by yesterday’s sale topping price of €185,000, which matched that of last year’s top lot, as well as a Part 1 clearance rate of 84%.
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Following the conclusion of the Land Rover Sale this evening, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said:
“The first sale in Ireland since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic certainly took a circuitous route to its conclusion. Two new dates, discussions around location, overseas buyers coming, then not, further complications around a local “lockdown” and more. We have never know anything like it and it’s fair to say the sale was approached with a certain amount of trepidation to say the least.
So to return a sale of vibrancy and depth has been little short of amazing. Of course the figures are not on a par with last year’s record breaker, but the Part 1 statistics are very close to those returned in 2017 which was celebrated at the time as breaking new ground, and the trade was more than satisfactory when one considers the backdrop with a clearance rate of 84% that is very respectable at any time, together with a top price that matched last year’s €185,000 high. Today was harder going but there was still keen interest from start to finish.
We want to take this opportunity to say a very heartfelt thank you to several people and groups. First and foremost to our vendors who entrusted us with a superb bunch of potential NH stars and then held their nerve for the last two months. We have always said we are nothing without the horses and that has never been truer but the positivity with which they approached a frightening two days was truly admirable.
Horse Racing Ireland and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have been a rock in the last few weeks, working with us, and giving advice, reassurance and help. We ultimately failed in our collective efforts to get clearance for a targeted number of overseas buyers to attend but the shifting sands of Covid-19 conspired against us when we thought we had the submission over the line; it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort and we are extremely grateful to Brian Kavanagh and all his colleagues.
We are also so thankful to each buyer. Those that were able to come worked with us by respecting the protocols in place, even though they were tiresome at times and there was a good humoured acceptance of face-masks, going the long way round, not standing too close and the rest. I confess we were devastated to have to withdraw the invitations to several major UK buyers on Thursday night as the worsening situation dictated that they could not attend without the requisite two weeks self-isolation despite a submission that was deemed to have merit. Again we were humbled by their understanding and subsequent proactivity to make it work by using local eyes, videos, phone bids and the new Goffs Online platform to ensure they fully participated, and made their “presence” felt as they chased the class and quality provided by our vendors.
Thanks is also due to Tattersalls for loaning us another of their star auctioneers. Like Ollie Fowlston at Doncaster last month, Simon Kerins slotted seamlessly into our team and conducted each sale with the skill and passion for which he is renowned. Of course, Simon started his auctioneering career with Goffs and we were delighted to welcome back the man who wielded the gavel for Europe’s most expensive horse ever. We wish Simon and his colleagues the very best of luck with the Derby Sale next week as there has never been a time when our interests have been more aligned than now.
This is not a time, or year, for broad statements about market share or comparisons with others. Indeed, our overwhelming feeling is of thanks to all the aforementioned, and others, who pulled together to get it done. Land Rover will be remembered for many things but perhaps the most enduring will be of a collective resilience to keep calm and carry on whatever happens”.
Land Rover Comparative Figures
2019 v 2020
Part 1
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Offered |
Sold |
Turnover (€) |
Average (€) |
Median (€) |
| 2019 |
267 |
242 (91%) |
11,709,500 |
48,386 |
45,000 |
| 2020 |
220 |
184 (84%) |
7,956,500 (-32%) |
42,098 (-12%) |
376000 (-20%) |
Part 2
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Offered |
Sold |
Turnover (€) |
Average (€) |
Median (€) |
| 2019 |
221 |
177 (80%) |
3,602,500 (+16%) |
20,353 (+15%) |
17,000 (+13%) |
| 2020 |
202 |
118 (58%) |
1,860,000 (-48%) |
15,763 (-22%) |
13,500 (-20% |
Part 1 and Part 2 Combined
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Offered |
Sold |
Turnover (€) |
Average (€) |
Median (€) |
| 2019 |
488 |
419 (86%) |
15,312,000 (+13%) |
36,544 (+6%) |
30,000 (+20%) |
| 2020 |
422 |
307 (73%) |
9,816,500 (-36%) |
31,976 (-12%) |
26,000 (-13%) |
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