First auction of ex-racehorses looking for new careers
The first sale of racehorses being sold for the riding horse market takes place in Malvern next week (20 May).
Brightwells Auctioneers in conjuction with Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is staging the auction at the Three Counties showground.
There will be 30 thoroughbreds under saddle going under the hammer, many from National Hunt trainers including Tom George, Venetia Williams and Anabel King Murphy.
Horses that have enjoyed successful careers after racing with private owners are also included in the catalogue. Among the lots is Milly (not pictured), a 16.1hh seven-year-old former point-to-pointer who has been second in a BE90 (RoR section). According to the vendors, Milly “has got the scope to go to novice or intermediate.”
The ex-racehorses range in age from three-year-old Reet Petite (not pictured), a 15hh mare who has raced on the flat, to Storey Coburn (not pictured), a 12-year-old gelding who hunted under a whipper-in last season.
Andrew Elliot, bloodstock manager and auctioneer at Brightwells said: “This being the first sale of its type, we really did not know how it would be received. However, the feedback from trainers has been very positive and we are greatly encouraged by how well it has been supported.”
He said he was “pleased with the quality of the horses entered” and has “no doubt that they will all have the potential to find a rewarding second career after racing.”
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Prices are expected to start at £400-£500 rising to £2,000 or more.
Di Arbuthnot, chief executive of RoR said: “There are now more than 10,000 horses registered on RoR’s database as active in a second career. This sale is intended as another step towards facilitating the transfer of horses from a training yard to a life after racing.”
The thoroughbreds will be sold from midday as “they stand”, but there will be veterinary surgeons on hand to give prospective purchases pre-sale advice.
Every horse sold will have a ‘non racing agreement’ clause added to its passport preventing the horse from returning to racing in the future.
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