AN exceptional couple of days by any standards saw records fall by the wayside at Kildare Paddocks this week with a tremendous renewal of Part 1 of the Goffs Land Rover Sale which yielded a remarkable set of results.

Virtually every key metric was bettered over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, as the sale played host to a level of trade that was like nothing that had gone before it.

It says much about the strength of the sale that the absence from the figures of Altior’s €300,000 half-brother, who was declared as a buyback on Wednesday morning, made no impact whatsoever.

This was reflected in a turnover which jumped from just under €16.5 million last year to over €20 million this time around. For the first time in the sale’s history the average broke through €50,000 to come in at €51,792 which was a 12% progression on last year.

The median progressed from €40,000 to €45,000, another new high for the sale, while the clearance rate was an impressive 90%.

These figures are testament to an especially strong level of trade and other measures confirm this. By way of example the number of six-figure transactions went from 22 to 41 in the space over 12 months while the number of lots to make at least €50,000 increased from 130 to 165.

Over the last nine months the strength of trade at the various boutique point-to-point sales boded well for the store market and that undoubtedly played its part in events this week. Furthermore, the sale benefitted from a huge input from English-based buyers who made their presence felt at all levels of the market over the two days.

Thus a strong catalogue was rewarded with exceptionally strong trade and there is every reason to believe that this will feed into the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale in 11 days’ time, while National Hunt breeders have cause to look towards November’s foal sales with optimism, giving how the pinhooking fraternity fared this week.

Going Stateside

This year’s sale saw a pair of €195,000 lots take centre-stage and the second of these represented a fascinating new development in the store market as a Blue Bresil filly was bought by American trainer Keri Brion to begin her career Stateside next spring.

In all Brion, who saddled a winner at Wexford last year, picked up half a dozen stores and all of them will head to America after being broken and brought through their formative stages by James Doyle. The plan is to have them ready for the spring season in America which gets underway in March.

The Blue Bresil filly was bought on behalf of owner Rod Moorehead and her sale represented a pinhooking coup of some magnitude for Johnny Collins who paid £16,500 for her as a yearling at the Goffs UK January Sale.

Since then her half-brother Gentlemansgame has amassed several Grade 1 placings, while her own-brother Madmansgame won a Navan bumper on his debut for Willie Mullins in February and her sire’s stock has soared ever higher.

Other purchases by Brion included a €130,000 son of Gentlewave offered by Michael Conaghan’s Evergreen Stud – the source of this year’s Land Rover Bumper winner Absolute Notion – and a €115,000 son of Buck’s Boum from Moanmore Stables.

Henrietta’s Risk

The opening day saw Henrietta Knight secure two progeny of the increasingly sought-after French sire No Risk At All who returned a Part 1 average of just over €80,000 after 13 of his 14 offspring offered found buyers.

Two of the sire’s progeny snapped up by Knight included a €195,000 gelding offered by Moanmore Stables and for whom who she outlasted Margaret O’Toole. He is out of the stakes-winning and Group 3-placed Tangaspeed who has already produced a pair of blacktype performers over jumps.

Another set to carry the colours of Brandy Love’s owner Mike Grech is a €125,000 daughter of No Risk At All whom Knight purchased from Peter Nolan. This filly is a close relation of several listed-winning hurdlers in France, while her dam is a half-sister to the Grand Prix de Paris hero Khalkevi.

Staying here

Among the highlights from day two was an impressive son of Saint Des Saints from Tally-Ho Stud, who was knocked down to Margaret O’Toole for €170,000. A €60,000 yearling and a half-brother to a multiple Grade 3 winner in France, this gelding was bought to stay in Ireland.

Just a couple of lots previously, leading point-to-point handler Denis Murphy splashed out €140,000 on a son of Crillon, who is best known as the sire of the dual Champion Hurdle winner Buveur D’Air.

Gerry Hogan was another to secure a son of No Risk At All when giving €160,000 for a gelding belonging to Altenbach Bloodstock and who had previously been bought for €60,000 as a yearling in France.

The No Risk At All was preceded into the ring by a Walk In The Park half-brother to the Grade 1 winner Riders Onthe Storm who cost Tom Cooper €115,000.