Sarah Fanning has spent more than 25 years viewing the bloodstock business from almost every angle but doubtless there will be a better vista on the yearling sale beat than the well-respected consignor working alongside her recently retired husband Joe, who partnered almost 3,000 winners throughout his career in the saddle.Unlike Joe, whose 36-year career was defined by big numbers and mind-boggling tallies through his long and fruitful relationship with trainer Mark Johnston, Sarah has never chased throngs of horses in order to get her consignment off the ground. Instead, she has adopted a quality-over-quantity approach, which she hopes will stand her in good stead at the upcoming yearling sales. While much of the excitement this week will be geared around the August Yearling Sale at Arqana, which effectively launches the yearling sale season in Europe, Fanning will be busy putting the finishing touches on her Premier Yearling Sale draft for Goffs. That sale represents the scene of Fanning's greatest day as a consignor with a Havana Grey filly, who later became the stakes-placed Aegina, selling for £240,000 [to Mark McStay on behalf of Skara Glen Stables]. Fanning is readying a nine-strong draft for this year's Premier Yearling Sale and describes herself as happy with how her burgeoning outfit has taken shape in recent years. She explained, “We're very pleased with how things are going. We are selling nine horses in Donny and, for the first time ever, we have five for Book 2 at Tattersalls so that's exciting. I'm really chuffed about that because it can be hard selling the horses at the bottom end of the market at times. It seems as though we have some nice ones to look forward to this year, which is exciting. You learn so much from selling the lower grade horses and, in many ways, it's how you cut your teeth. However, in recent years, it has become hard sending an owner a bill when they've not managed to sell their horse. The bottom end of the market has become incredibly tricky so it's nice to have some better stock to look forward to this year.”She added, “We obviously did very well with the Knox family's Aegina (Havana Grey), which she is known as now, at the Premier Yearling Sale a couple of years ago. She was the highest-priced filly at the sale in 2024 and she has gone on to be a very good filly for Donnacha O'Brien. That was an amazing experience and to do it for smaller breeders, who had been in the game for years without experiencing anything like that, it was extra special. It was all quite emotional, really. So we've plenty of good memories at Donny and it has been a lucky place for us.”Joe's retirement at the age of 55 was met with an outpouring of goodwill across the industry. One of the most successful jockeys of the modern era had not ridden in a race since last November due to a prostate cancer diagnosis and made the decision to officially bow out following a successful surgery.Just six jockeys in Britain have ridden more winners than Joe managed throughout his career and, upon his retirement, he was labelled “a master of judging pace” by his old ally Johnston. “It's mad really,” Sarah reflected, “because we're both so busy and you just kind of go through your day-to-day life, don't you? You don't really think too much about these things. Even when Joe was poorly, he just wanted to get his treatment done and just get it over and done with and move on. But yeah, I guess the last few weeks it's been a bit quieter in the yard, so I've taken stock and every time I read the words that have been spoken about Joe, it moves me to tears to be honest. It's a bit surreal. It's incredible how highly he was viewed within the industry. It's all very humbling.”She added, “Joe is just so level. He never gets high and he never gets down. He's just a very, very level person whereas I would be more emotional. I'll never forget when I first got to know him, I was working at Darley and obviously we used to go into Mark Johnston's quite a lot to see some of the horses. Joe would often win on a lot of those horses earlier on in their career before being jocked off for some of the bigger races. That really riled me but Joe never let it upset him and saw the bigger picture. In reality, the way Joe is, it's probably how you need to be in this game; level.”It may not be the greatest surprise to learn that a man who mastered the art of front-running riding throughout his glittering career is often in a rush to get things done around the yard. This, according to Fanning, has led to the odd exchange between the pair since Joe's retirement. Nevertheless, Fanning, whose style would have been more Paul Carberry than Joe Fanning had she been a jockey, is looking forward to having her husband on deck going forward. Fanning said, “He came to the store sales in May – he was supposed to be there to help us but we didn't see him all day because he was too busy chatting to people! He can be front of house and bring the customers to the door going forward!”Fanning, who is rarely seen without a smile on her face at the sales, has built up a smart CV in her own right. As well as working at York racecourse, she graduated from the Godolphin Flying Start programme and enjoyed spells working with Darley and also as a barn manager with Johnston. But it is through her role as a pre-trainer and consignor where she has begun to flourish. She said, “I have been lucky to have done a lot of different things and have seen the industry from various different angles. I loved my time working at York racecourse after uni and that was a fantastic experience, seeing the racing administration side of it and dealing with sponsors and owners and all that kind of stuff. And then I was on the Flying Start, which was a great experience, before I joined Darley and worked for John Ferguson in the office. That was really good. I've seen it from a lot of different angles and it was a great experience as yard manager for Mark Johnson as well. I think I went there with the intention of becoming a trainer but realised pretty quickly that I didn't want to go down that road purely because it is just such a difficult profession.”Have you ever revisited that thought? “We've had a few point-to-pointers over the years but it's just so hard,” she replied. “We pre-train quite a few horses during the winter and we enjoy the breaking and pre-training side of things. I like to use my eventing background and give the horses a really good start. I think it's important for them to leave here with good temperaments and be nice to be around and nice to ride. It sets them up well for their careers in training.”She added, “And then with regards to the horses we consign, I like them to have really good top lines, but I don't like fat horses. I like people to be able to look at them and imagine how they're going to look as a racehorse when they're fit. I like them to be carrying plenty of condition and top line, but equally athletic enough to show themselves off. I did a lot of part-time and full-time working for Mark Dwyer and I think he's very good at feeding and his horses always look fantastic. That experience really stuck with me.”That breadth of experience has shaped a hands-on business built around quality rather than quantity. Fanning remains closely involved with every horse, from preparation to sale, and her ambition is clear; to build a boutique operation known for well-prepared horses and personal service.She concluded, “I'd like to be known for a boutique consignment of very nice horses. I admire the bigger consignors, but my ethos has been to offer a one-to-one service to our clients. I know how much effort goes into getting a yearling to the sale and I like to be on the job and know exactly what's going on with every horse at the sales. So it's not really my plan to be consigning huge numbers.”The post “He Can Be Front Of House!” – Fanning Looks Forward To Sale Season Alongside Husband Joe appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.