Three-time winner First Sight was the headline act of Tuesday’s Emirates Racing Authority Racing in Dubai Sale, staged at Meydan Racecourse.
The lightly raced four-year-old son of Dubawi, trained by Charlie Appleby to win at Kempton, Lingfield and Yarmouth, was snapped up for AED1million by owner Mohammed Khaleel Ahmed, who also purchased the 106-rated First Ruler (AED320,000) himself a Dubai Carnival winner last season.
UK handler Ian Williams was also extremely active, purchasing five lots in conjunction with bloodstock agent Jamie Piggott, with this season’s Carnival winner Dhahabi the most expensive at AED400,000.
Fellow UK trainer, Lucie Botti, successful at the Carnival with two-time scorer Royal Dubai, was also in action on the night, securing three-year-old Age Of Baroque with a final bid of AED150,000.
The boutique sale featured a sizeable consignment from Godolphin while also including a representation from both the Michael Costa and Simon and Ed Crisford stables.
Forty-seven lots were sold following some spirited bidding and Sam Shinsky, Head of Integrity & Regulation for the Emirates Racing Authority, was pleased with how the sale was supported, both locally and internationally.
“Generally, the Racing in Dubai Sale achieved everything that we expected in its new time slot,” said Shinsky.
“We saw a range of different owners and prospective buyers and it was nice to see support from international buyers like Lucie Botti and Ian Williams as well as our regular owners who have become used to purchasing horses that can go on to perform well throughout the UAE.
“It’s important to remember that this sale isn’t judged by the prices that the horses fetch, but instead it is a sale which sees horses retained in the UAE for future seasons while hopefully going on to provide the future racing stars in the UAE.
“I would also like to thank Marie Sullivan for her outstanding efforts in bringing high-class horses to the UAE. She has done an amazing job for the ERA and for racing in the UAE since the sale started in December 2015.”
