THE sixth edition of the Goffs Punchestown Sale once again topped €1 million in turnover, in spite of having the smallest number of lots offered since the sale started. Only two of the 16 lots on offer failed to change hands and there was strong demand for the better lots.

While the sale could not match the excellent returns of the two previous years, the quality of lots on offer was affected by the introduction of the Goffs UK Aintree Sale where many of the lots that might have been earmarked for Punchestown were sent instead.

Overall, trade for the lots on offer was healthy and Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby was happy with the outcome.

Colin Bowe’s Milestone Stables consigned the best lot sold on a night when freezing temperatures in the parade ring failed to dampen the spirit of the buyers.

Getabird had a timely success at Largy last weekend when he won his maiden by four lengths on just his second outing. The four-year-old son of Getaway is from the family of Long Run and J’y Vole and the team of Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins won the battle to secure him at €200,000.

Mullins and Kirk struck again a few lots later when they paid €100,000 for Vent D’Automne who was runner-up at Fairyhouse on his debut last Sunday. A son of Denham Red, the sire of Un De Sceaux, the four-year-old was sold by Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg Stables. The horse that beat him at Fairyhouse, Brainstorm, was also sold on the night for €40,000 to Rebecca Curtis.

ELEGANT ESCAPE

The second lot offered on the night, and the first to sell, was Christopher Donnelly’s Elegant Escape and he was runner-up on his only start for Gordon Elliott behind Samcro who recently topped the Goffs UK Aintree Sale at £335,000. This son of Dubai Destination was sold to John Romans, an owner with Colin Tizzard who was at the sale, for €150,000.

Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg Stables sold four lots at the sale for a total of €320,000. Their second best price was €90,000 and this was given by Roger Brookhouse for the four-year-old Court Cave gelding My Story who landed a maiden at Dromahane on Sunday, winning by six lengths.

Doyle also sold the Loughrea winner Top Ville Ben, a four-year-old son of Beneficial, to Highflyer for €70,000, and the four-year-old Flemensfirth filly Tacenda for €60,000 to Anthony Honeyball. Tacenda unseated her rider when looking a likely winner at Inch in March.

Castlegrace Paddy was just pipped in a maiden at Largy last weekend by Kaiser Black but this run sufficiently impressed Gerry Hogan who paid €75,000 for the five-year-old Flemensfirth gelding. Aidan Fitzgerald’s Cobajay Stables sold the son of the smart dual-purpose mare Thunder Road.

Hogan was busy on the night and made three purchases. Together with trainer Paul Nolan he gave €65,000 for At Rainbow’s End, the best priced filly in the sale. Trained by Michael Winters, the five-year-old daughter of King’s Theatre was beaten half a length at Dromahane last weekend and she is a half-sister to the Grade 1 winning chaser An Cathaoir Mor.

Hogan’s buying spree was completed by his €62,000 purchase of Flemcara from Peter Fahey’s Rosefield Stables. The four-year-old Flemensfirth gelding is out of the six-time winner Cara Mara and will be trained by Emma Lavelle.