Ben, the first coloured full thoroughbred born in Britain, will take a step closer to a racing career when he comes up for sale at the Doncaster bloodstock sales later this month.
The splashy youngster, whose registered name is Brave Tribute, will be among bloodstock offered on January 28.
"His sire, I Was Framed, is actually in the stallion parade on the same morning, just before the sales," says Shena Halliwell, of North Devon's West Down Stud, where Ben was born.
"We will be sorry to sell him, because he's such a lovely horse in every way," she says. "There is a lot of interest in him going to the sales."
I Was Framed was the first coloured thoroughbred to be registered with British
 Racey Remarque, the sire of I Was Framed.
I Was Framed's dam Dance Spot.
In 1993 the coloured thoroughbred Tri Chrome raced in the US.
King George III's coloured racehorse King of Trumps.
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thoroughbred registry Weatherby's.
The stallion went to the Republic of Ireland after covering eight mares in the UK. Four of the resulting foals were coloured, four were solid. He is now back in England, at Malpas Stud in Cheshire.
West Down Stud ended up with two coloured foals. A similarly colour half-brother, Lightning, was born two months after Ben.
On paper, Ben, who is a bay-coloured frame overo, has the most proven racing credentials of the pair.
He is out of Fascimile, whose offspring have all been winners, including Picot de Say, who won three races in the space of 17 days.
The bloodlines of I Was Framed are also impressive. His dam was Dance Spot, who won $US48,000 in stakes over a mile. Her dam, Dancebell, won more than $US200,000 during her race career.
Shena said she became fascinated at the prospect of breeding a coloured thoroughbred when she heard that I Was Framed was coming to Britain.
"The photograph I saw of him was amazing, but he was so much more impressive in the flesh."
Ben was born on February 26, 2007. "We couldn't believe our luck when he was a colt with such fantastic markings. He would stand out even if he was a solid colour," she says.
"The prospect of him being on the track this year is really exciting."
Coloured thoroughbreds, although rare, are not new. Overo thoroughbreds were documented to have occurred as early as the 1700s. An oil painting from 1790, which hangs in the Walker Art Gallery, in Liverpool, shows a coloured racehorse owned by King George III.
• Doncaster Sales is part of a scheme offering an Inward Buyers Initiative for overseas buyers. The scheme offers to subsidise travel costs of selected overseas purchasers from outside the British Isles and is subject to purchases of £5000 or more.
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