GIVEN the season he’s having, Gavin Cromwell shouldn’t be waiting long to find an owner for his latest purchase, which topped trade at the Goresbridge April Point-To-Point Sale on Wednesday.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer went to €77,000 for Endless Talking, who ran out a 12-length winner on debut at Stradbally 10 days prior. “He’s a racy horse who looks like he could go on and win a bumper, hopefully,” Cromwell noted.

“He came well-recommended. I bought him on spec, so finding an owner is the next job!” On how he found trade in general, he commented: “I underbid a couple of other horses, so trade seemed good to me, though I’m not sure what the clearance rate was like.”

Of the 30 lots offered, 17 found a buyer at a clearance rate of 57%. The average price was €30,058.

Donnchadh Doyle, who sold the top lot via his Monbeg Stables operation, also gave a positive report, saying: “It was a good sale, plenty of customers turned up and we were very happy with how it went.”

The price marked a successful return on the Affinisea gelding’s yearling price of €20,000, though not as impressive as the profit Donnchadh Doyle turned on Brook Bay, the highest-priced son of Affinisea at £380,000. On the Whytemount Stud sire, Doyle commented: “Affinisea has been very lucky for me; they’re lovely, smart horses and they look to have plenty of speed.”

Malone returns to the source

British-based agent Tom Malone underbid the top lot, but reversed roles with Cromwell for promising five-year-old Grey Lagoon. Trained by Paul O’Flynn for Thomas O’Flynn, the son of Sholokhov finished a promising third on debut at Quakerstown on Sunday.

On his €75,000 purchase’s appeal, Malone explained: “I know the winner is highly thought of. Derek O'Connor rode the winner, and he had Gavin Cromwell there today bidding strong on the horse I bought - he underbid it. So, he must have thought a bit about the winner and the way the third ran.

“I just loved the performance. Mickey O'Connor texted me and said he rode it for speed, but if he rode it for stamina, he may well have won. He said he’ll win a bumper, so everything was positive.”

Malone also came away with the highest-priced filly, Owning Flower, a debut winner at Ballycahane last month for David O’Brien and William Cuddihy. On his €65,000 buy, the agent said: “She’s out of a King’s Theatre mare and, albeit the pedigree doesn't look very strong on the page, the family must be tough and sound.

"Her brothers and sisters that are winners have run 26 times each, and the second dam has bred horses that have had 20 plus runs. I love seeing that pedigree - it means that someone can train them.”

“What I what I loved about this filly is she was broken last September and she was extremely green in the race, a 14-runner maiden. The second and the fifth have come out and won since, plus it was quicker than the four-year-old maiden on the day. Whether she's a very good filly or not remains to be seen, but I didn't want to leave her behind anyway.”

Malone’s spending was encouraged by his buys at the inaugural sale last year, he added. “Vroomoz Eile cost €12,500 and won her mares’ maiden hurdle for Jimmy Moffatt at Carlisle and I bought a horse called Epic West off the Doyles for €60,000. I had bought his brother for Paul [Nicholls] and he was a very good horse [Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 runner-up Complete Unknown], and Epic West looks like he's going to be a lovely staying chaser.

“So, there's a lovely angle for Goresbridge there and today was no different. There were some grand horses and they got well and truly rewarded today. There was a six-year-old maiden winner that made 50 grand - no one would have seen that happen, so you'd have to say it's been a success on Goresbridge’s behalf.

Curtis makes most of her trip

The six-year-old mentioned by Malone was bought by Rebecca Curtis on spec, the Welsh trainer buoyed by her return to the spotlight with Haiti Couleurs. On what appealed to her about Bernard Crowley’s Bandon winner, she explained: “I just really liked him as a model; he had a nice head, nice ears and a lovely walk.

“I watched his race and really liked the way he jumped and travelled. The fact that he’s a six-year-old might have made him a bit cheap, but I think he’s the sort you can crack on with. He was second first time out to a horse that went on to finish second in a bumper, and he couldn’t have won his own race any easier.”

Leo Doyle’s homebred is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed chaser Dime A Dozen. His sire, Quest For Peace, has had limited results, but his best horse is trained by Curtis. “We’ve got The Boola Boss and he travels and jumps really well,” Curtis continued. “I think sometimes when you go for a sire that’s not necessarily that fashionable, or a horse that’s another year older, it can make a horse really good value and it doesn’t mean they’re any lesser horses.

“At that sort of money, you’d struggle to buy nice stores for that now and this fella is ready to go next season. I bought him on spec but a few people are asking me to buy them horses now, so I know I’ll have someone to buy him. We’re desperate now to get another few horses into the yard for next season, so we’ll try and buy a few more over the next six weeks.”