Frankie Dettori will be aboard a £1 million racehorse at Royal Ascot on Tuesday after one of his mounts changed hands at a dramatic auction on Monday night.
Dettori, who is riding at his final Royal Ascot before he retires, was already booked for unbeaten two-year-old Givemethebeatboys in the Coventry Stakes.
At the time the Jessica Harrington-trained juvenile was the winner of both starts, including the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes, having cost owners Con and Theresa Marnane €11,000 as a yearling.
But Marnane turned a huge profit on the colt when he was offered for sale at Monday’s Goffs London Sale where Con and Neil Sands of Bronsan Racing made the winning bid of £1.1million.
Givemethebeatboys was the top lot at the sale, which was held in Kensington Palace Gardens in London, of 11 horses sold for an aggregate £3,770,000.
Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said: “We are delighted for the Marnane family and wish new owners Bronsan Racing the very best of luck in the Coventry Stakes.
"The chance to offer the dream of a Royal Ascot runner is very special, and everyone at Goffs will be shouting as loud as anybody for Givemethebeatboys, or indeed any of the other Ascot runners from today’s sale, over the next few days.”
Dettori secured the mount on the horse after Harrington’s stable jockey Shane Foley broke his collarbone.
“He looks like a tough horse, and he beat some good ones of Aidan O’Brien’s last time, so hopefully that form is solid,” said Dettori in his World Pool blog. “
This race is always very hard to win, it’s super competitive, but I’m happy with what I’ve got.”
