From Little Owl to Moscow Flyer to Honeysuckle - celebrating half a century of Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale greats

Five decades of sustained success have ensured the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale's place in the store sale calendar is enshrined.

Right from the beginning the sale made an impact, with the first year producing a Cheltenham Festival winner, and there has been no let up since. The Grade 1 heroes and heroines have kept coming, through half a century of trading that has witnessed an unprecedented shift in the landscape of not just jump racing but Ireland's economy and society.

No matter the circumstances, whether the bleak 1980s or the Celtic Tiger era, buyers have flocked in their droves to the Derby Sale. During the dark days of Irish economic depression the best went for export, with the situation reversed during Ireland's boom.