Inside the horse auctions where the super-rich buy Ascot racers for millions

Then we get to lot 11, and it becomes apparent this thoroughbred is in a class of its own. In seconds, the bidding jumps from £500,000 to £2m. The casual chatter among the socialites and business tycoons dies down, and the heat seems to intensify, as the price tag quickly passes the £6m mark. 

A glamorous woman in floral trousers is winning this particular bidding war – not that an onlooker would know it. 

With one immaculately manicured hand, she barely lifts a finger to signal she wants to bid enough money to buy a flat down the road. With the other, she clutches a bright orange phone to her ear, from which a mysterious buyer orders her to push the price tag further towards £8m.

For the first time all day the garden is silent, save for the auctioneer’s hypnotic rapid-fire chanting and the occasional hollering of bid spotters from raised platforms among the crowd. 

“I have to ask you to hurry now, we’ve all got dinners,” chides the auctioneer, as the remaining bidders drop off.

After eight minutes of bidding, the gavel falls and the enigmatic agent secures lot number 11, a horse named Sparkling Plenty, for a cool £8.1m. The filly is today’s big ticket item – she won the Prix de Diane, the French Oaks, in Chantilly a day earlier and is a full sister to the Jersey Stakes winner Noble Truth.

She isn’t here, but large screens behind the auctioneer describe the thoroughbred as a “filly of the highest order and a leading contender for the Gr. 1 Prix de Diane”.

Even so, staff from Goffs auction house, peppered throughout the crowd, are visibly dumbfounded at how much money has just been spent. Goffs makes 1.5pc commission on each sale made today. In the end 13 of the 23 horses up for auction were sold.

Unlike a typical auction house, punters don’t get to see what they’re buying up close. Instead, serious buyers send their own vets to inspect horses ahead of time. As a rare treat, one horse is brought out and displayed to the crowd – ultimately selling for £625,000.