EVERYTHING about this year’s Punchestown Festival of racing was very different to two years ago, and this was also the case with the annual Goffs Punchestown Sale.
After a day of top-class racing, this one-hour post-racing auction was always another scene of great excitement in a packed parade ring, and past editions of the sale have yielded an array of subsequent racing talent, no better example being the exceptional Honeysuckle.
This year was a very different renewal, held online and before Thursday’s racing. With a disrupted point-to-point programme and the current restrictions in place due to Covid-19, it was never likely that the 2019 totals would be reached. Then The Big Getaway topped the sale at €360,000, and eight lots sold for six-figure sums. The sale turned over €1,877,000 in business.
This year’s sale had 15 lots offered, just two less than the last time the sale was conducted, but on this occasion just five lots sold, compared to 13 two years ago. Only two buyers’ names appear on the records this time, the English entity Equos virtually signing for three lots, while agent Gerry Hogan purchased the other pair.
Henry Beeby
The Goffs supremo Henry Beeby acknowledged the effects the current disruption to normal trade had on the outcome to this year’s sale. He said: “Nobody is suggesting that today’s backdrop was ideal for a sale and we salute those participants who engaged with the concept.
Normally we would be selling to a packed winners’ enclosure at the iconic Punchestown Festival but that was obviously not possible this year.
“That said, our superb Goffs Online platform allowed us to comply with all Government directives and return a satisfactory trade in some instances.”
He then offered a potentially brighter picture for bloodstock sales at Kill, saying “As things stand, our next sale will be back to near normal in June and we look forward to welcoming vendors, purchasers and hopefully spectators to Kildare Paddocks for what is shaping up to be a superb Land Rover Sale as we are about to publish the best catalogue yet”.
Equos trio
A late entry, and the eventual sale topper, was the Kayf Tara four-year-old gelding Springwell Bay. Runner-up to Adamantly Chosen in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper on the opening day of this year’s racing festival at Punchestown, and nine lengths clear of the third, he was sold from Mag Mulllins’ Canterbrook Stud for €155,000 to Equos.
A half-brother to the Grade 2 hurdle runner-up Mint Condition, he is out of a winning half-sister to Dedigout, winner of a Grade 1 novice hurdle at Punchestown nine years ago. Springwell Bay was purchased at last year’s Goffs Land Rover Sale for just €26,000 from Redpender Stud.
The four-year-old Getaway gelding Anyharminasking won at Tipperary last weekend for Monbeg Stables’ Donnchadh Doyle. This €44,000 graduate of last year’s Land Rover Sale added significantly to his value when realising €145,000 to Equos. The first foal of a four-time winner, he is from the family of Scottish Grand National winner Moorcroft Boy and the Grade 1 winning chaser Lord Of The River.
Completing the Equos buying spree was Liz Doyle’s Itso Fury, a four-year-old son of Fame And Glory at €115,000. He was runner-up in the George Mernagh Tattersalls Ireland Sales Bumper at Fairyhouse to Dark Raven, again finishing well ahead of the remainder, He is a half-brother to a pair of bumper winners.
Top Dog
The more expensive of Gerry Hogan’s purchases was the well-named Top Dog, and the agent is well-acquainted with the four-year-old son of Leading Light. This was the third time he has signed for him, buying him as a foal for €20,000 and again as a store at last year’s Land Rover Sale for €40,000.
Runner-up for trainer Colm Murphy on his racecourse debut at Fairyhouse, he cost Hogan €130,000 this time.
That day he was caught on the line by Mary’s Pride, having looked all over a winner. He is likely to be trained in England and he is a son of Princess Leya, a Grade 2 winning Old Vic sibling to the great Altior.
Hogan’s other purchase was Michael Goff’s five-year-old Great Pretender gelding Great D’Ange. He was an easy winner at Tipperary at the weekend and is another to come from the Land Rover Sale. He had been placed previously and was winning his point-to-point at the third time of asking. He sold for €82,000.