THE four-day November National Hunt Sale began on Sunday with a session of yearlings and foals, and only 52% of lots offered found buyers.

Top price on the day was €58,000, given by Jimmy Murphy's sons Eoghan and Brian for a colt foal by Jeu St Eloi. His dam Molly Childers was listed placed over fences.

Eoghan Murphy said: “A nice horse, the sire is doing well, he’s a very nice foal, and fair play to Jimmy Furlong for doing him; he did a fabulous job. He’s out of a blacktype mare and we hope to come back as a three-year-old. He cost more than I thought he would, but he’s a very nice horse. I thought he’d bring about €45,000.”

Among the day's other principal transactions were a Well Chosen filly foal who was bought by Alex Butler for €36,000. The filly is from the family of She's A Star, Sixshooter and Colcannon - all good horses trained by Noel Meade.

Crystal Ocean had his first bumper winner recently and one of his colt foals - related to Stage Star - made €30,000 on Sunday. Daniel Berney of Black Gate Stud in Wexford was the vendor and Mark Dwyer was the buyer.

The same vendor sold a colt foal by Order Of St George - another up-and-coming National Hunt stallion - for €28,000.

Peter Molony gave €25,000 for an Affinisea half-brother to Break My Soul, who was sold for £290,000 after winning his point-to-point and is now trained by Nicky Henderson.

The top-priced yearling was a Crystal Ocean colt who was Lot 1 and was consigned by the equine degree students at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise in Enniskillen. The colt made €20,000, a fine return for CAFRE which bought the dam Whatduhavtoget out of Dan Skelton's for €37,000. Her first two foals sold for an aggregate of €35,000 and her next foal is a Blue Bresil colt.

The sale continues on Monday when foals will be on offer.