Auction for ex-racers looking for new career

The first public auction of racehorses looking for a new career has been held at Brightwells Auctioneers.

Potential eventer

The event, run by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), saw 33 horses up for sale, 12 of which were sold for a total of £7,070.

The highest price paid was £1,100 for Barton Blount, who has gone to the eventer Jeanette Brakewell. The six-year-old was bought by Jill Sackett, who had been looking for a potential eventer since selling Primitive Pistol last year.

“I think this new RoR sales is a great idea,” Jeanette told H&C. “Eventing is a sport that keeps a horse occupied, which ex-racers need. Plus, both Jill and I like Thoroughbreds.

“Barton is a quality horse and also really sweet. Since he arrived I’ve been lungeing him to get him to relax over his back, and I’ll start riding in a few days.”

‘Really pleased’

Jeanette plans to event the horse for Jill, as long as he is willing and able.

“If he can only go to a certain level we’ll sell him on, but we will make sure he knows his job first,” she said.

Another Thoroughbred called Revupclover was sold for £950 to start a showing career with rider Rachel Roberts.

Di Arbuthnot chief executive of RoR said: “As it was the first time we have tried this we are really pleased with how the sale went, but in the future we need to do more with the auctioneers to ensure the buyers are there in greater force. Racing did its bit by providing horses for the sale which were suitable for the sport horse market.”

‘Excellent initiative’

The sale coincided with the launch of RoR’s online sales. Both initiatives are designed to help meet the demand for ex-racehorses in other disciplines. Every horse sold has a ‘non-racing agreement’ clause added to its passport.

According to Jenny Hall, British Horseracing Authoritychief veterinary officer, it is an “excellent initiative”.

“It’s about matching horses to opportunities,” she said. “However, it will take time for people to understand the opportunity – buying and selling at auction isn’t such an established mechanism outside of racing.”