French stallion No Risk At All, best known as the sire of Allaho and Epatante, broke the stranglehold of Walk In The Park by siring the top lot at Goffs on Wednesday - and indeed the top lot of the sale so far - when selling for €120,000.

Day three ticked along pretty much in line with the week so far as the daily aggregate amounted to €2,139,600 with a clearance rate of 58%. The average and median of €17,683 and €12,000 both, more or less, continued on trend.

A packed ring suggested big bids were expected for the son of No Risk At All and the Galbertstown Stud-offered colt did not disappoint when selling to Charles Shanahan for €120,000.

The first foal out of Hidden Harmony, herself a daughter of the high-class Shirley Caspar, is from a family replete with talented staying chasers such as Thunder And Roses and Wrath Of Titans. A return to a sale ring in a few years' time is in store for him.

“He was the standout foal here today for us and he has been bought for Ciaran Conroy,” Shanahan said. “All the right people were on him and he has been bought to resell so hopefully he continues to go the right way.”

The foal was sold by Pa Doyle on behalf of breeder Sean Ronan. Doyle said: “This is one of the nicest foals I’ve ever prepped. When I came up here the other day, I knew we had a very nice horse. Everyone is well aware of what the sire is capable of and he’s out of a Kayf Tara mare, from a family that we’ve known for a long time.

"He’s a very smart horse and has gone to a very good home. I’m firmly of the opinion that there’s another big day in this horse, whether that be in a sales ring or on the track, but he’s definitely a racehorse. He did everything right for us here. The breeder Sean Ronan has been a big supporter of ours and we actually sold a Walk In The Park colt for €100,000 on his behalf at this sale last year. He deserves all of the success he is getting."

Tally-Ho pinhook

The Tally-Ho Stud team has done well with its select number of National Hunt pinhooks over the last few years and the O’Callaghans secured one of the top lots of the day when buying a Walk In The Park colt for €88,000.

Out of the Presenting mare Forever Present, the colt was consigned by the Motherways' Yellowford & Drumlin on behalf of Sally Aston of Goldford Stud and her client Martin Lightbody. The relation to triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate was bought for resale.

“He is a very nice horse, a really good model and I liked him," Tony O'Callaghan said. "He will come back to Tally-Ho for the next couple of years and be offered for resale as a store. He has a good pedigree and the stallion is doing well."

Sally Aston lost her husband Richard earlier this year and was understandably emotional afterwards. “We are absolutely delighted and for him to make that price is just unbelievable, it’s exceeded our expectations," she said. "He’s owned by a long-standing owner of ours, Martin Lightbody, who keeps a few fillies to race and likes to sell the odd colt. Martin has been with us from the very beginning, so it makes it all the more poignant.

"He’s been sold to a very good farm, so we’re delighted. When you breed a lot of foals, it’s always important that they go to good homes, so we couldn’t have asked for him to go to a better place. The mare has been living at Conor Cashman’s because she foaled and then when my husband Richard became very ill, we sent her over here and they’ve done such a wonderful job with both the mare and this foal.

"This foal is a beauty and his dam is a lovely mare. There’s a lot of Presenting in her and in this foal too, so as the hammer dropped, I immediately booked the mare straight back in to Walk In The Park. She isn’t in foal this year, so we’ll aim to get a nice early cover into her next year.”

Insatiable demand

The insatiable demand for Walk In The Park foals continued when another noted pinhooker, Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud, went to €82,000 for his son out of the listed winning hurdler Getaway Gorgeous. Joe Rogers, who also bred the mare and leased her to the Whitegrass Racing Syndicate during her racing career with Willie Mullins, offered the foal through his Ballintry Stud. After signing the docket successful buyer Jimmy Murphy said: “He is a good foal out of a very good racemare with a lovely pedigree so we will hope for the best.”

A filly by French stallion Nirvana Du Berlais will be making her way back to France after selling to Nicky Bertran de Balanda for €75,000. The Clonmult Farm-consigned foal is out of Kadika who has bred two winners from three runners so far.

James Sheehan of Clonmult Farm also had the distinction of selling a half-sister to the brilliant Shishkin to Nelius O’Keeffe for €62,000. This filly is by the all-conquering Blue Bresil and, in addition to producing one of the stars of the last five years, the filly’s dam Labarynth is also a half-sister to the Grade 1 winning hurdler Voler La Vedette.

A big-walking son of Crystal Ocean from Galbertstown Stables made €52,000 when selling to Kieran Shields. The colt is out of Gold Moon, who is a full-sister to Paddy Power Chase winner Noble Endeavour, but the mare’s younger half-brother Ballyburn could well add further weight to the pedigree in the coming years.

The first foal into the ring on Wednesday, a colt by Golden Horn, proved another of the more sought-after lots of the day when selling to Mick and Ciara Carty’s KCS Bloodstock for €46,000.

Offered by Stephen Kemble, he is out of the dual winner Definitelyanoscar, from the family of Shawiya.

The Cartys sold a certain Altior as a store in this ring a number of years ago and this foal could take a similar sales route.

The final day of the Goffs December Sale takes place on Thursday when foals and breeding stock come under the hammer.