It seems a mere blink of an eye ago, but the inaugural Goffs London Sale took place in June 2014 in groundbreaking fashion. War Horse made an appearance, and was for a few brief moments ridden by Johnny Murtagh, while the first foal by Frankel to appear in any sale ring was, understandably, a show-stopper which made the national and television news.The auction has evolved over that time when it comes to the business of horse-trading but what has not changed is that its cocktail party feel offers, for those lucky invitees, the perfect warm-up for the highly sociable week that is Royal Ascot.The 19 lots on offer at this year's sale were bolstered on Friday by the addition of two wild cards, most notably Mohamed Al Shehhi's three-year-old colt Alparslan. The son of Dandy Man has won three of his five starts for Karl Burke, including an impressive display in the G3 Greenham Stakes before finishing a decent fifth in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.Federico Barberini is both bloodstock agent and racing manager to Al Shehhi, and he recalls the first time he set eyes on Alparslan, before buying him for €75,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.“The attraction was really just himself because he was the most gorgeous individual,” says Barberini. “He was a very obviously incredibly good-looking horse. Then he happened to be by Dandy Man, which obviously made him even more attractive to us, given the fact that we have been lucky with the sire. But to be honest, I would have loved to buy him whoever he would have been by.”Indeed, among other horses to have carried Al Shehhi's colours to success are the Dandy Man colt Arabie, who won the G2 Prix Robert Papin and G3 Prix du Bois, while recently the first-time-out winner Wateera has joined the successful throng. She too is by the late Ballyhane Stud sire and is trained by Burke.Of Alparslan, Barberini continues, “It's a cliche but I'd say Karl really liked him from day one. Last spring, the signals were good, and the horse ran probably even earlier than we thought he would. He was hugely impressive first time out. And being a Fairyhouse graduate, we thought the best route would have been going to the sales race.“Then we slightly threw him in at the deep end in the Dewhurst but the horse was working very well at home, so we didn't think we were too ambitious putting him in there. And he actually ran a great race in the Dewhurst but he probably didn't enjoy the track's undulations. But his form in the Dewhurst was backed up as a three-year-old. He reversed the form with Zavateri [in the Greenham], and he wasn't too far away from Distant Storm in the Dewhurst, and he wasn't too far away from Distant Storm in the Irish Guineas either.”Alparslan led early in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, continuing to make the running until well within the final furlong.“He ran a brilliant race,” says Barberini. “We rode him with confidence and he ran very well, possibly just paid the price for being up there. He was probably 50 yards away from finishing second – he really just faded in the last 50 yards.”At Royal Ascot, Alparslan has options over six furlongs in the G1 Commonwealth Cup and over seven in the G3 Jersey Stakes, and his trainer has already been looking further into the season at some potential overseas travel.Burke said on Friday, “The racing programme offers plenty of options for a colt of his profile. He holds entries in both the Jersey Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, and also in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat in Deauville on July 12.“Looking further ahead, the G1 Maurice de Gheest on August 9 and the £600,000 City of York Stakes on August 22 are good options as the season progresses.“Ultimately I see Alparslan as a serious candidate for the $10-million Golden Eagle at Randwick in late October.”Of the owner's decision to put the colt forward for the sale, Barberini explains, “There has been interest in the horse, unavoidably, after the Greenham and the Guineas, and it's worth a try. We have had a lot of fun with him. We're not selling because we are not happy, we're selling because it could make financial sense to sell. Sometimes you hate having to do that because of many more races you could win in the future, but it's a normal cycle in the business.“The owner, Mr Al Shehhi, is a fantastic supporter. Every year he loves buying his yearlings and trying to spin the wheel again.“With Alparslan, there's real potential there for stepping into Group 1 company. He's shown he's a Group 1 horse and he's not a finished article. The horse has plenty of scope even to be a four-year-old.”Catalogued as lot 24, and the final horse to be offered during proceedings at Kensington Palace Gardens on Monday evening, Alparslan will almost certainly be one of the sale's highlights. He joins a host of recent juvenile winners, including the well-bred Alfred Wallace, a son of Dubawi and Snow Lantern whose full-brother Besieged is also a recent winner. Fellow winning two-year-olds Dee's Funny Girl (Cotai Glory) and Green Sovereign (Lope Y Fernandez) get the sale underway as lots 1 and 2 respectively, and they too have Royal Ascot entries, while the three-year-old filly Green Sense (Starman), the winner of last year's G2 Prix Robert Papin for Joseph O'Brien, is catalogued as lot 9 with an entry for the G3 Jersey Stakes.The sale is due to commence at 5pm.The post ‘Real Potential’: Alparslan One Of The Star Attractions At The Goffs London Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.