THE opening day of the three-day Arqana Autumn Sale, dedicated to horses in training, set the tone for the week and made a major contribution to the overall sale takings which set a new record, coming in a sale or two short of €11 million, but surpassing it when the handful of private sales are added in. The average was also a new high for the sale.

With a large international presence, the top lots sold well, but there was never any doubt about the one which would head trade. The high-class Grade 1 winner Master Dino was sold to dissolve a partnership and the star of the La Motteraye Consignment was the subject of a bidding war in which Hervé Bunel (BHB Agency) came out on top at €420,000.