A €175,000 son of Balko emerged to take centre stage at this year’s Goffs Land Rover Sale which concluded this evening with a sparkling set of results that gained ground in all key areas.
A slimmed down catalogue saw 100 fewer horses come under the hammer at this year’s sale but the aggregate for the two days came in at almost €12.3m which was a remarkable four point progression on 2016.
The €32,291 average grew by some 23%, while the €28,000 median represented an increase of 40 points. Furthermore, the overall clearance rate for the sale was an impressive 88%. All of this ensured that this was a record-breaking edition of the Land Rover.
Following a tremendous day’s trade on Tuesday that produced 10 six-figure transactions, there were further fireworks in store today as the aforementioned son of Balko carried all before him.
Traditionally the top lots at this sale are almost exclusively the preserve of those on offer during Part I but this Balko gelding eclipsed events of the previous day to achieve the third highest price in Land Rover history.
The gelding was consigned by Walter Connors’ Sluggara Farm and he enjoyed a major update to his pedigree at the Punchestown Festival when his brother, Vision Des Flos, made a winning debut in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper.
This added a notable new dimension to a family that also contains the likes of Salut Flo and Balko Des Flos. Ultimately it was leading agent Aiden Murphy who secured this prized offering when he brought the price to €175,000.
“He’s a standout horse, as good as anything that was here over the two days,” said Murphy. “He’s a wonderfully active and athletic type, he’s a brother to a very promising horse and he comes from a current and successful pedigree. I’ve bought him for a partnership of three existing owners with Philip Hobbs and that is who will train him.”
On the corresponding day last year just two lots made over €40,000 but that number swelled to 12 this time to provide further evidence of the overall strength of the sale.
Nothing else during Part II could threaten the six-figure barrier but Noel Meade did fork out €50,000 for a son of the Irish Derby winner Frozen Fire from Mount Brown Farm. This gelding boasted an intriguing update as his dam is a half-sister to this season’s brilliant French three-year-old Brametot who recently completed the rare Poule d’Essai des Poulains-Prix du Jockey Club double.
“I’ve bought him for a client who was looking for a horse that had some speed in his pedigree and he fitted the bill,” reported Meade. “I liked him when I saw him about a month ago and I’ve been very lucky with Martin Cullinane (Mount Brown Farm) in the past through the likes of Go Native and Road To Riches.”
Another €50,000 transaction came when Margaret O’Toole secured a Trans Island half-brother to the Grade 1-placed juvenile hurdler Runswick Royal. He will go into training with Conor O’Dwyer. Margaret O’Toole and Noel Meade then joined forces to give €50,000 for a son of the popular Mahler belonging to Gabriel Fahy.
Trainer Ian Ferguson made his presence felt when forking out €48,000 for a son of the stakes-winning Monsun horse Aizavoski, and a point-to-point career beckons for a son of Malinas who cost Alan Harte €47,000. Harte, who reported that the Malinas would join Denis Murphy, also spent €45,000 on a daughter of Walk In The Park who was the day’s highest priced filly.
Trevor Hemmings, acting through David Minton, struck much earlier in the day when giving €45,000 for a Getaway gelding and €44,000 for a son of the Italian Derby winner Kallisto.
Part II
YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGG AV Med
2017 248 220 181 3,653,500 20,185 36,000
2016 258 218 174 2,385,100 13,707 11,500
Entire Sale
YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGG AV Med
2017 508 434 380 12,270,500 32,291 28,000
2016 610 534 449 11,795,600 26,271 20,000
2015 550 505 437 11,722,500 26,285 20,000
READ THE IRISH FIELD FOR FULL REPORTS AND ANALYSIS ON THE IRISH BLOODSTOCK SALES