Guardian | Horse racing | Sheikh snaps up bargain

The high cost of rivalry in the horse racing world....

Guardian Unlimited Sport | Horse racing | Sheikh snaps up bargain: "Sheikh Mohammed's decision to boycott the offspring of the Coolmore Stud's stallions has cramped his style somewhat at the bloodstock sales over the last 12 months, but he found a lot to like at Tattersalls yesterday, as the auctioneers opened their important October sale.
Lot 17, to be precise. The son of Pivotal, a half-brother to both George Washington, this year's 2,000 Guineas winner had been marked down as a possible sale-topper from the moment the catalogue was published, and less than an hour after business got underway, he was knocked down to John Ferguson, Sheikh Mohammed's bloodstock advisor, for 1.2m guineas."

But, oh, the high returns from stud fees..are these the real riches of horse racing?

"Two years ago, George Washington was the most expensive yearling sold at auction in Europe, when he made 1.15m guineas at the same sale. He is likely to be a Coolmore stallion this time next year, repaying his purchase price many times...."