IN the world of equines, €1,200 would buy you very little. Incredibly, it was the purchase price of an unraced Lope De Vega (Shamardal) three-year-old called Vida Amorosa.

She was sold for that giveaway figure having realised €46,000 as a foal and 72,000gns as a yearling. At the time of her final sale ring appearance, she was a half-sister to three minor winners, and from a branch of a good family that had gone a little quiet. How that picture has changed.