THIS afternoon’s card at Peppards Castle will host the first four-year-old auction maiden of the new season, just under seven years after the creation of this new category was first announced.

Confined to horses that were purchased at a recognised store sale for €25,000 or less, the races were unveiled as one of the key initiatives ahead of the 2019 spring point-to-point season, and a total of 37 races have now been staged, beginning with the inaugural auction race at Kirkistown in March 2019, which was won by Colin Bowe’s Heartbreak Kid.