A PIVOTAL two days at the end of a critical six-week period drew to a more than satisfactory conclusion on Thursday evening, following the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale which produced a good set of final figures, even if they couldn’t quite match those from 12 months ago.

For only the third time in the sale’s history the aggregate reached €17 million although this year’s figure finished 4% adrift of the near €17.9 million spent here last year.