TRADE took another step forward on day two of the Goffs Arkle Sale on Wednesday.

The two-day sale ended with a clearance rate of 83.5%, up from 81% last year. The median price of €45,000 was up 7% and the average price of €53,554 was up almost 11%.

Three lots made a six-figure sum on day two last year. That jumped to 12 this year. A total of 16 lots in 2024 sold for €100,000 or more, and this rose to 29 this time, including the two-year-old sale topper. In 2024 there were 49 lots sold for €75,000 or more and this jumped to 72 this year.

The Doyle brothers' Monbeg Stables were the top buyers, spending almost €1.3 million on 29 horses and taking shares in six more. Last year they spent €737,000 on 17 horses here.

Colin Bowe's Milestone Bloodstock also made a big increase in spending, shelling out €721,000 on 11 horses. A year ago Bowe bought just four horses outright here for a total of €191,000.

British agency Highflyer was involved in at least 34 purchases, including 13 for Jet Bloodstock, the new trading vehicle for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. These horses will be trained by Irish point-to-point handlers before being offered for sale.

But leading trainers such as Gordon Elliott, Willie Mullins, Gavin Cromwell and Dan Skelton will train some of the very top-priced lots, while the actual sale-topper, a two-year-old €230,000 Walk In The Park colt, was bought by Coolmore.

This was the first year two-year-olds were included in the Arkle Sale, part of an industry-wide initiative to encourage owners and trainers to mirror the French system and put National Hunt horses into training at an earlier age.

To that end Horse Racing Ireland has programmed a series of well-endowed three-year-old hurdles for unraced horses this autumn.

Top lot

Great uncertainty preceded the sale of a small selection of two-year-olds to the normal catalogue of three-year-old stores. No one was sure how the experiment would work. The answer is clear – it is here to stay.

Having cost Glenwood Stud’s Richard ‘Dick’ Frisby a tasty €110,000 as a foal, Lot 457 was a January-born two-year-old colt by Walk In The Park, a three-parts brother to Grade 1 hurdle and chase winner Stage Star (Fame And Glory), and a son of Sparky May (Midnight Legend), a Grade 2 hurdle winner.

The appearance of Coolmore’s Gerry Aherne at the ringside was a clear signal of intent, and he was on an open telephone line to the team back home. With few hesitations, he matched every bid cast against him, at the finish seeing off Joey Logan who was himself on the telephone taking instructions. Logan’s shake of the head when Aherne bid €230,000 brought their duel to an end.

Dick Frisby's son J.J. said: "We didn't need much persuading to come to the sale. He was the right horse - he had the pedigree, the looks, everything." He agreed that the decision not to geld him after purchasing him as a foal was the right one.

Gerry Aherne sees the sale of two-year-olds as the way forward, and a particular attraction for the Coolmore team was the fact that this lot was still a colt. Making stallions, after all, is what they do best. “He's a beautiful individual by the best jumps sire we’ve probably seen in my lifetime, with the pedigree to match,” he said. “He made a lot of sense for our job. I'm not really sure what the plan is, we just wanted to get him first. He's a colt so a lot of avenues are open.

“He's a possibility for France, a possibility for Ireland; everything’s on the table. We’ll get him home and make sure he’s okay first. I was amazed by his attitude as a two-year-old colt on the place. He was like a half-bred walking around, the quietest horse I’ve seen. He shows he’s got a good attitude and that means a lot to us. If he came up here and didn’t behave well, he mightn't suit our programme. The big job was to get him and we did that.”

Academy hurdles

Aherne said he and Coolmore Stud supported the initiative to have more races for three-year-old NH-bred horses. “I’ve been beating that drum for a while now, I think it’s massive," he said. "It’ll probably take a bit of time to get people into it and understand it, and for the race programme to pick up. Our greatest wish would be to race those three-year-olds we've had in France in Ireland instead. We’re not going to France for the love of France, with the greatest of respect to our French friends, We have to go there.

“We’ve got the likes of Luxembourg and Hurricane Lane and all those high-end horses coming through, and they're all going to be able to produce early three-year-olds. We have to be seen to help get it going and to be seen to support it. We have a different batch who’ll run in the Irish three-year-old races here in the autumn, and we’ll continue the French programme until the racing here catches up.

“We’re here to try and help everybody, and getting horses sold and racing earlier helps breeders and stallion men, and the people buying the foals as they don’t have to keep them for so long. If we can get the wheel turning, we’ll get there eventually.

“I was chatting to people and they didn't know what to expect, but you'll never know unless you start. From what I’ve seen the initial reaction is good, people were buying the two-year-olds from all over. We've got two-year-olds selling again at Fairyhouse in two weeks' time and maybe these sessions could be increased a little next year. It's a step in the right direction. I’m a big believer.”

Buyers of some of the other handful of two-year-olds on offer included Dan Skelton, Harry Derham and Jamie Snowden. Peter Molony of Rathmore Stud is a big advocate for the move to sell younger horses, and of the academy hurdle programme that comes into being this autumn in Ireland. He sold Lot 455, a son of No Risk At All, to Ryan Mahon and Dan Skelton for €82,000, while Evergreen Stud received €80,000 from the same buyers for Lot 450, a Poet’s Word half-brother to the unbeaten point-to-point and three-time bumper winner, Sober Glory (Mount Nelson).

BLOODSTOCK agent Tom Malone was active throughout the two days of Part 1 of the Goffs Arkle Sale, and he played his ace late when paying €200,00 for a son of Nathaniel from Mark Dwyer's Oak Farm Stables. The gelding is a half-brother to three winners, including Gold Cup runner-up Santini.

“He is a smart horse," Malone said. "I saw the boys buy him last year in Arqana [signed for by George Mullins for €65,000] and he’s a half-brother to Santini who was actually 17 hands, but this lad had the action of a monster. I’ve never seen anything quite like this lad. His action for four days has been the same. Most horses get tired after showing for four days, but this lad never missed a beat. He has a pedigree to die for, and he is a horse to die for.

“I love pedigrees that are alive and that mare [Tinagoodnight (Sleeping Car)] is getting good horses by every stallion she goes to; Milan, Shirocco, Midnight Legend. This horse is going to make it even better. I waited and waited and waited. We underbid a good few others, but I knew there was no point in overextending on one of them, because if I had ended up with one of them I might have been a lot softer on this one, and I wanted him.

“He looks a proper type for the [Defender] bumper next year. He looks the real deal. Thankfully I got him. There were plenty of good horses before him so I had to sit tight. I bought a few horses for Owen [Daley] who has Bud Fox (Walk In The Park) with Gavin. He won the first four-year-old maiden in Ireland this year for Derek O’Connor and then went to Punchestown and won a bumper at the Festival on his first track start. Owen is a real good guy and a new owner to the game; hopefully he will get a bit of luck now. He has some really nice stock to go to war with and they are with a great trainer in Gavin Cromwell.”

Elliott Gigginstown connection

Gordon Elliott also went to €200,000 for a Crystal Ocean gelding out of Whistle Dixie. If the dam's name sounds familiar it's because she was trained by Elliott for Gigginstown House Stud. A half-sister to Gold Cup winner Kicking King, she won two bumpers and a hurdle race before being sold to The Beeches Stud for €230,000. Sabrina Harty bought her Crystal Ocean foal for €70,000.

Elliott, who was standing beside Eddie O'Leary, said: “He is a lovely horse. We waited since yesterday, and all day for him, because he was the one we wanted. Just hopefully he'll be lucky now.

“We knew we were going to have to pull out for him. I've been lucky with the family and know it well; I trained the dam. I have a number of young horses by Crystal Ocean, and hope he will be good too.”

Sabrina Harty was consigning on behalf of investor Adrian McAndrew who, on Tuesday, sold a Walk In The Park gelding to Paul and Megan Nicholls for €155,000.

McAndrew said: “It's all thanks to the horse himself and the man who got him ready for the sale, T.J. Comerford. He did a fantastic job. From day one the horse was always a smasher, we loved him, but he was expensive. The sire is fashionable at the minute, his lots are selling well, and all the right people liked him and looked at him three, four or five times, so we knew we were going places with him.

“It was a privilege to bring two very nice horses to the sale. I do think this lad had something special about him, though. I'm not knocking the other horse, anyone would be happy to take him home, but this guy had the x factor. We knew he was going to go close to the top. Sabrina and I go back a long way, we do up our lists every year and cross-check them.

“We've pinhooked foals for the last few years and it's worked out this time but it’s a tough game. It's a real family moment as we have cattle on the farm at home, and my dad does a lot of work with the horses when I'm away, I have to thank him. The horses have gone, but we'll have the memories forever. I wish the owners luck, and look forward to following them."

Sabrina Harty, a Grade 1-winning trainer herself, added: “I think it was my dad [the late Buster Harty] who first talked Adrian into getting horses, and we’ve had some great days since. Adrian puts his money where his mouth is, fair play to him.

“I rarely get the chance to show that I can pick them. Frank Motherway said to me yesterday 'you've got a great eye' and I said it’s easy to pick them when you’ve got the money. Thankfully Adrian had the balls to put the money down. There are so many you want to buy, but if you don’t have the client for them what do you do?”

When quizzed on what she looks for when buying, she had two words, but thankfully expanded too. She said: “Perfect conformation. It’s a passion of mine. I used to show horses and I’ve been at the sales since I was in school. My whole family on both sides would be really hard critics. Conformation comes first, but when you've got the money you can get the better pedigrees too.”

Other key transactions at a glance:

Part 2 of the Arkle Sale takes place on Thursday, when there are 250 lots catalogued.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE RESULTS

Arkle Part 1 Comparative Figures

Offered Sold Turnover Average Median

2024 424 344 (81%) €16,602,500 €48,264 €42,000

2025 415 349 (84%) €18,752,000 (+13%) €53,731 (+11%) €45,000 (+7%)

Two-Year-Old Section

Offered Sold Turnover Average Median

2025 23 16 (70%) €838,500 €52,407 €39,000