Was at the yearling sale standing in the back, in the area behind the sales ring last night (where they now have spotters stationed so you can bid from outside) and noticed a certain someone standing literally ten feet away on my right. "That guy right next to me in the blue, " I said to the Head Chef. "That's the Sheikh of Dubai."
"Oh, you mean the guy with the blue shirt and the suit?"
No. It was the little guy in the blue pullover, the white cargo pants, and hiking boots. Sheikh Mo in the flesh, and in his own style. Shortly thereafter, he took off, and the entourage that followed in his wake must have numbered 20. All dressed better than he. The Sheikh was off to find his spot from where he bid on, and purchased, the sale topper, a $1.2 million colt by Street Cry out of Serenading, an A.P. Indy mare who was a Canadian champion. Prior to this colt, the high seller was a Tapit filly who I caught a passing glimpse of in the back getting ready to enter the sales ring; she was a blur even there.
Seems the sale didn't go so good, at least on this first night.
Average price of the 52 horses sold on Monday night was $261,346, a 20.7 percent decline compared to last year’s average of $326,694 on the first night, when 49 horses sold from a smaller catalog. Median fell from $285,000 to $200,000, a drop of 29.8 percent.
Twenty-six horses did not meet their reserves, for a buyback rate of 33 percent. Last year, buyback rate on the first night was 26 percent. Gross fell 16 percent, from $16,155,000 last year on Monday night to $13,590,000 this year. [DRF]
2 Comments:
I have a similarly blurry pic of the Sheikh from last year. Same outfit.
I think they've always had spotters in the back.
I've run into the Sheikh at the barns on the weekend before the sales twice, and he's always wearing something like the outfit you describe. Not exactly the outfit you'd expect to see on a billionaire leader of a nation.
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