DAVISON’S ROYAL ASCOT HOPE THUNDERBEAR SOLD ONLINE FOR £75,000
Jun 19, 2023 · ROYAL ASCOT ENTRY
Friday 16th June 2023 – A 50% share in Thunderbear, an entrant in the Royal Ascot Group 3 Jersey Stakes, has been sold online with ThoroughBid.
The bespoke online auction, held yesterday, saw the share of the three-year-old gelding by Kodi Bear sell for £75,000 to City Bloodstock.
The new owners will have the benefit of a full ownership experience with half the costs, the other 50% of the horse belonging to County Meath-based trainer Jack Davison.
Reflecting on his experience of and reasons for using ThoroughBid, which was a first for the handler, Davison said “The appealing thing [about ThoroughBid] was that I could offer 50%; the fact that ThoroughBid facilitated this was a big thing for me and that probably swung me towards them, rather than going to the Goffs London Sale, where I would have maybe have struggled to keep Thunderbear in my yard.
“I was quite in favour of doing it online, because that reduces strain on the horse [in comparison to a physical sale]. Everything is transparent, the timing was good, it took pressure off me, to a point, as opposed to an in-person sale, so I was happy to do it remotely.
“ThoroughBid are transparently run, professional and an ethical choice. This is something I’d like to do a lot more of with them in the future.”
Especially pleased by the promotion and marketing of the sale’s offering, Davison remarked: “I think the horse was very well promoted. I was surprised by how much they pushed him out there across the mainstream media. I was really impressed. ThoroughBid were responsible for getting the word out to the right people and they did an excellent job of that.”
As the online hammer went down on £75,000 to the winning bidders, Davison said he was “pleased with £75,000. I think it’s a fair price and, at that money, it’s makes a lot of sense for the new partner too. They’ve now got a significant share in a good, progressive horse who’s got plenty of big days ahead of him.”
When asked how Thunderbear was ahead of his run at Royal Ascot, Davison stated: “He’s bouncing at the moment! I think the horse will run very well in Ascot and he’ll give the new owner a lot of pleasure going forward. He is in great nick, but he’s only a baby and there’s plenty ahead of him.
“Thunderbear will do his final piece of work before Ascot at the Curragh today, then he’s ready to head off there on Wednesday. The rest is up to him! But I couldn’t be happier with him, he’s in great shape and looks fantastic.”
The Jersey Stakes takes place on Saturday 24th June at 3.05pm.
CEO of ThoroughBid, James Richardson, said: “Selling a 50% share in a Royal Ascot runner a week before the meeting has been a great success, not least going for £75,000.
“ThoroughBid has broken new ground with this sale; tailoring an online auction to fit the needs of a part-sale, and positioning on a specific date ahead of it’s intended run at Royal Ascot hopefully shows how flexible we can be. It’s a new and important string to our bow.
“Selling shares of good horses is something we will be striving to do more of in the future, as it can open so many doors for trainers and owners alike.
“We wish the very best of luck to all connections of Thunderbear at Royal Ascot and in the future.”