Listen Dear winning at Limerick prior to the sale© Photo Healy Racing
The sale of the race mare Listen Dear at Goffs UK in Doncaster on Thursday 24th October is turning into a real mess for everyone involved.
The mare was sold the day after Horse Racing Ireland issued a statement whereby they were to cease taking entries or declarations for horses in the ownership of the Supreme Horse Racing Club pending the resolution of issues surrounding the ownership shareholdings of horses within the Club.
The nine-year-old mare went to the sale in the ownership of the suspended Supreme Horse Racing Club and was knocked down to Syndicates.Racing, a similarly-styled horse syndication group headed up by Jack Cantillon, for £38,000.
Listen Dear was consigned to the sale by trainer Willie Mullins on the instruction of Supreme Horse Racing Club administrator Jim Balfry.
Mullins said earlier this week: "The owners' representative rang me and said they wanted her sold. Because of everything that was going on I said make sure everyone knows and he told me they were and that the majority of owners wanted the mare sold."
It has subsequently transpired that a number of members of Supreme Horse Racing Club that owned shares in Listen Dear were unaware that the mare was to be sold and had not given their approval for the sale. This group of members claim to own in excess of 50% of the mare.
Syndicates.Racing purchased the mare at the Goffs UK sale with the intention of putting her back in training with Mullins for the remainder of this season before selling her for breeding next May.
Syndicates.Racing then set about selling it's own shares in the mare at €750 per 1% (to include all associated costs) and according to their website the interest has been strong and the shares are selling fast.
The Supreme Horse Racing Club's members that were never informed of the sale have now written to Goffs UK, HRI and Jack Cantillon of Syndicates.Racing to express their grave concerns over the circumstances surrounding the sale and that they consider it wasn't a legal sale of the horse. They are also seeking to take out an injunction to stop the horse changing ownership.
According to Willie Mullins the instruction to sell Listen Dear was given to him prior to the mare winning at Limerick on October 13th, but it remains unclear why Listen Dear was singled out from all the Supreme Horse Racing Club horses in training as the one to be sold.
