Goffs Sale – a summer garden party where you can eat, drink and buy a filly

To celebrate the beginning of the racing season, the Goffs London Sale, in association with QIPCO, returned on Monday 18th June to the scenic grounds of Kensington Palace Gardens for a charming afternoon of music, canapés, sunshine and fine fillies.

Proudly running for 6 years in the capital, the glamorous Goffs London Sale has been hailed the ‘curtain raiser’ to the most iconic week in international racing – bringing the excitement of racehorse ownership to the heart of the city, providing prospective owners the unique opportunity to dive straight into the racing scene. The world-renowned Sale offers returning buyers and budding racing enthusiasts the chance to purchase impressive pedigree horses – to run in their colours – on the eve of Royal Ascot.

(Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Goffs)

A chic sale like no other, the annual by-invitation-only summer event presents guests with a tantalising thoroughbred auction held at a stylish summer garden party, and has become highly regarded as a firm favourite on the British summertime social calendar.

This year, the Goffs London Sale played host to an array of VIP guests, including racing celebrities, thoroughbred owners and trainers, as well as the ‘who’s who’ from the London social scene.

Daisy van Straubenzee, Jemima Cadbury, Alistair Guy and a flurry of the Made in Chelsea lot were spotted amongst the crowd at last Monday’s event, whilst others delighted in an exciting atmosphere of exhilarating bidding wars between high-profile buyers, set within the beautiful gardens of the historic Royal Palace.

Jemima Cadbury and David Tollemache (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Goffs)

I was delighted to attend with my good friend Julia – a fellow fine food and wine lover who jet sets the world with her head chef girlfriend Georgie Kid. We marvelled at the stylish crowd around us as we sipped ice cold rose courtesy of Chateau Léoube and devoured tempting canapés from Selfridges, which included soft scones topped with clotted cream and raspberries, zesty fish tacos and buttery cheese and slow cooked beef toasties – yes, they were as divine as they sound.

The gorgeous Julia and I frolicking by some foliage courtesy of Selfridges

Merging business with pleasure, well-heeled guests gathered in anticipation to view this year’s line-up of elite mares, foals and horses-in-training, for their opportunity to bid against one another in the pursuit of unrivalled bloodstock ownership.

Top buyers included trainer David Simcock, who purchased the top priced horse Mohican Heights for £520,000. Mohican Heights will run for his new owners at Royal Ascot in the Chesham Stakes on Friday.

Other lucky buyers included the Phoenix Ladies Syndicate, who bought the winning filly Forever In Dreams for £420,000; Forever in Dreams will also run at Royal Ascot on Friday in the Commonwealth Cup.

Charlotte Carrol and Alistair Guy (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Goffs)

Phoenix Ladies Syndicate is a ladies-only syndication aimed at increasing female participation in horse racing across the UAE and beyond. Another major buyer included Yulong Investments from China, with a number of additional racing enthusiasts travelling from as far as Australia, New Zealand, the USA, South America, South Africa, Japan, the Middle East and all across Europe to join the spectacular event.

Henry Beeby, CEO of Goffs commented: “We are delighted to be back at Kensington Palace Gardens for the sixth Goffs London Sale. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring the world of racing to an even wider audience including new investors, seasoned racehorse aficionados and even casual fans, on the very eve of Royal Ascot, the UK’s most anticipated racing event.”

Known worldwide as the leading European thoroughbred auction house, the prestigious Goffs London Sale is a quintessentially British celebration of equestrian life, located in one of capital’s most exclusive postcodes.

Luxury partners at this year’s elegant event included: One&Only Resorts; Ampito Group; IYC The International Yacht Company; Flight Serve and GBR International – all of whom invited VIP guests to learn more about their latest news, whilst rejoicing the start of the summer racing season.

 

For further information about the Goffs London Sale, please have a read here.

Mitra Msaad

Editor in Chief