Top British showjumper Ben Maher has an exciting new addition to his string in the form of a record-breaking youngster.
One of Ben’s top sponsors secured the top lot at Holger Hetzel’s 14th international sport horse sales in Germany on Wednesday (28 November).
Dacantos, a Dutch-bred five-year-old, sold for €950,000 (£846,465) — a record price for the sale.
The stallion, by Dallas VDL out of a Cantos mare, was champion stallion at his licensing in Vechta in 2015.
He has also been successful in young horse classes and was recently leased to the North Rhine-Westphalian State Stud in Warendorf for stallion duties.
He will now be brought on by the British number one, who was declared the overall winner of the 2018 Longines Global Champions Tour in September after winning his third grand prix of the season in Rome.
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The second highest price went to the eight-year-old She’s The One, who will be heading to the UK.
The mare (Emerald Van ́t Ruytershof) was bought by Old Lodge Stud in East Sussex for €500,000 (£445,790). The stud were also the buyers of the top-priced lot at the 2017 sale, spending €600,000 (£534,824) on Tiger.
Man In Motion, a seven-year-old gelding by Clarimo, sold to a German bidder for €320,000 (£285,306).
The total for the sale was €3,867,000 (£3,447,740).
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
