A TOP price of €130,000, which came in the shape of a Lope De Vega colt, and an improved set of final figures for the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale ensured that the week at Kildare Paddocks ended on a bright note on Thursday evening.

Last year the Sportsman’s Sale spanned two days and was unable to match the heights of previous years so there is no doubt that the auction benefited from a reduction in size this time around. The figures for the day showed gains on last year’s totals although they still lay some way off the returns of an excellent 2015 edition of the auction.