Staying in line for the sales bargains

Lydia Hislop reports on how Jack Berry, one of the shrewdest bloodstock buyers, keeps to a budget in the auction arena

At this week's Tattersalls Autumn Sales, mortals bid to become racehorse owners. Faced with the swelling prices of thoroughbred bloodstock, those with less readily expandable pockets may struggle to realise their ambitions.

Armed with less money than sense, Jack Berry has 116 boxes to fill, replete with satisfied owners, at his Moss Side Racing Stables.

"It's getting harder to find a bargain, but there's always one at every sale. I've been graced with a fair few in the past," Berry said. His life- enhancing purchases have included the Group-winning Paris House and Mind Games - for 5,000gns and 18,000gns respectively.

At Tattersalls October Sales earlier this month, Berry executed some well-rehearsed manoeuvres. Clients like the absent Jack Hanson were buying "blind", requiring Berry to purchase, for no more than 17,000gns, any horse which takes his eye.

Two of Berry's staunchest patrons, Chris and Antonia Deuters, were present to personally procure lot 416, a half-sister to their winning two-year- old, Antonia's Choice.

Loyal as far as realism allows to the bloodlines of his former charges, Berry insists on value for his guinea. He will bid for a horse being sold for less than he deems it worth, dropping out once the price balloons beyond that theoretical bench-mark. "I put myself in the hot seat by stocking up like this," Berry said. "But it's no use telling someone later: `I saw the perfect horse for you, sold to someone else'."

He pursues a strict modus operandi, relying more on inspiration than the encyclopaedic familial histories listed in the sales catalogue:

"I never look for a Derby winner. I want sharp, precocious two-year-olds and sprinters. No matter how good a horse might grow to be, if I don't think it will win as a juvenile, I won't buy it.

"Everyone here can spot a flaw at 10 paces, so what really counts is your inward feeling. If, when I see a horse, it says something to me, only then do I see whether its pedigree matches that feeling.

"They've got to be strong behind, with plenty of room up front to suggest a good heart and lungs. Small feet on a big horse will cause problems. They should be placid at this age, or they'll be bonkers at two."

Cupid's arrow pierces Berry in the form of lot 404: "A great walker, really covering the ground. If they walk well, they've got a chance of galloping well.

"A nice broad head, lovely short cannon bones - from the knee down to the fetlock joint - and although he's a bit open on the far knee, meaning that you could get your fingers between the bones there, that's probably immaturity."

A corroborative glance at the catalogue confirms that instinct and pedigree have harmonised. He ticks off the plus points: by the sprinter Ballad Rock, out of a Be My Native mare who is a half-sister to Balla Cove, winner of the 1989 Middle Park Stakes.

In the sales ring, the bidding for lot 399 - a chestnut son of Kris who also caught Berry's fancy - starts at 10,000gns. The trainer voices his value threshold: "15-16,000gns normally, but the market is bananas."

Burgeoning to 19,000gns within thirty seconds, lot 399 is finally knocked down for 31,000, without Berry motioning a bid.

Almost miraculously, the prophesised bargain then materialises. Lot 404 almost goes for a song, despite the fever pitch of interest he had generated outside. Berry eventually raises his hand, to the acknowledgement of the auctioneer - "That's 17,500 from a good judge" - before clinching matters at 18,500gns. He'll send the colt to Hanson, hoping he won't mind the 1,500gns excess.

The Deuters' choice, lot 416, swaggers in, her serene temperament tested by the rush of interest she creates. Berry and the Deuters remain studiedly aloof, turning talk to the game plan. Berry is to perform the actual bidding, in view of Antonia, who is to hold her blue pen vertically as long as they wish to continue.

Seated in the shadow of the pivotal pen, Berry explained: "There's an art to this. You don't want to always bid early and then drop out - you'll get a reputation as a time-waster.

"Equally, you don't keep hanging on as if you've got no limit, as people will push the price up, especially the vendors."

Again, Berry entered the fray as the auctioneer was kicking over the ashes: "Are you all done?" At 4:08pm, bidding had opened at 10,000gns; by 4:09pm the price board showed 38,000.

A duel rapidly developed between Berry and the mighty Cheveley Park Stud. At 68,000gns, Berry asked, unbelievingly: "Is the blue pen still up?" A starboard glance reveals the Deuters, now breaking into unexpected financial territory, mid-earnest discussion, and the blue pen - wobbly, but distinctly upright - in Antonia's hand.

Another bidding exchange - "Are you sure the pen is still up?" - and at 88,000gns Berry finally prevails. Champagne and congratulations transform the whole ordeal into scraps of an after-dinner tale chez Deuters: "How many `Just one mores' did we have?"

Berry briefly joins the celebrations before returning to work: there are fresh yearlings on show and a certain son of Puissance to evaluate. The lots keep on coming as day slides into chilly twilight: Berry grabs his coat.