THE sale’s leading consignor was Timmy Hillman’s Castledillon Stud whose 15-strong draft realised just under €1.2 million and this included a pair of €170,000 lots who sold within the final hour of the sale.

The first of these was a Kapgarde gelding who was bought for €34,000 in France as a yearling and he was snapped up by Margaret O’Toole.

Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins then struck for the other Castledillon offering when securing a €170,000 son of Bleu Bresil who was rewarding the initial outlay of £55,000 which it cost to secure him as a yearling.

This gelding is from the family of the top-class Mullins inmate Ferny Hollow. Over the course of the sale Kirk and Mullins signed for eight lots and spent just over €760,000.

Meanwhile, Margaret O’Toole had the final word at this year’s sale as she went to €180,000 to secure the penultimate lot into the ring, a son of Walk In The Park out of a half-sister to City Island.

He was consigned by Peter Nolan and his sale meant that his sire’s average for the sale, from 25 lots sold, came in at a resounding €91,600.

Major pinhook

A Sholokhov gelding from Peter Vaughan’s Moanmore Stables yielded quite a turn for his connections as his value rose from €28,000 as a foal to €150,000 this week when he was bought by David Phelan.

This gelding is out of a half-sister to the Grand National third Vics Canvas.

Leading point-to-point handler Colin Bowe, whose Milestone Bloodstock secured 16 horses, forked out €135,000 for a son of Martaline out of a dual Grade 3-placed runner in France.