Hard acts to follow after 2023 fireworks but Goffs Punchestown Sale contains some more crackers

Sales ring fireworks illuminated the night sky around Punchestown for the 2023 edition of the boutique Goffs Sale and, with many of the same protagonists in last year's blockbusting auction returning, there is anticipation of another blazing night in the ring after racing on Thursday.

Just over a year ago the Punchestown winner's enclosure was the scene for the sale of the two most expensive point-to-point horses to be sold at public auction in Ireland. Mags O'Toole, who would much later be revealed to have acted on behalf of Brian Acheson's Robcour operation, outbid Peter Molony for the four-year-old Muhtathir mare Qualimita at €500,000. 

Five lots later Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls went to €450,000 to secure Histrionic, a price that would have comfortably exceeded the sale's previous high mark of €370,000, which was set in 2022 by O'Toole and Robcour for that year's Goffs Land Rover (now Defender) Bumper winner Absolute Notions.

Colin Bowe's Milestone Stables consigned Qualimita, who had carried the silks of her breeder Walter Connors to a stunning 30-length success days prior to her record-breaking spin round the sales ring, and the Wexford handler's offering on Thursday bears some resemblance to Qualimita.

Like last year's sale-topper, Kabylia (Lot 15) is a four-year-old daughter of Muhtathir who made her debut in the week preceding her sale, in Kabylia's case she was runner-up to Swing Davis (5) at Loughanmore just last Sunday, for Connors.

Kabylia is a half-sister to a pair of French jumps winners in Ineffable, by Manduro, and Jetronic, a son of Reliable Man, and they are out of Bejeya, a winning Califet half-sister to the Grade 3 Prix Syntaj Mares' Chase winner Ecbatane.

Qualimita changed hands for a phenomenal €500,000 at the 2023 Goffs Punchestown Sale

Bowe's other offering is another four-year-old Muhtathir mare; Katira Du Mestivel, who fell at the final fence on her debut at Tattersalls on Sunday when in a battle for victory with Easy Love (21). An €85,000 purchase by Milestone Bloodstock from the Lakefield Farm draft at last June's Goffs Arkle Sale, Katira Du Mestivel is a half-sister to four winners over jumps in France and out of the unraced Royale Solitaire, an unraced Loup Solitaire granddaughter of the Listed Prix Wild Monarch winner Girl Vamp.

In any other year, Denis Murphy would have claimed the sale record when receiving €450,000 for his Tralee debut four-year-old winner Histrionic and Ballyboy Stables consigns two horses in this year's version including the aforementioned Swing Davis.

The four-year-old daughter of No Risk At All is a half-sister to French winner Lindy Hop Davis out of Tam Tam Davis. She is a Astarabad half-sister to Paul Nicholls' Grade 2 Warfield Mares' Hurdle winner Violin Davis and to Synthe Davis, the winning dam of the Willie Mullins-trained Uncle Phil. Winner of the Grade 3 Dan and Jane Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse in January, Uncle Phil is declared to run in the Listed handicap chase at Punchestown (4.15) on Thursday.

Swing Davis and Uncle Phil's second dam, Trumpet Davis, is a Rose Laurel full-sister to Klairon Davis, who was twice successful in what is now the Punchestown Champion Chase for Arthur Moore and the late Chris Jones sr. The distinctive gelding was also victorious in the Champion Chase, Arkle and Irish Arkle, and the Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle.

Last year's most expensive gelding at the Goffs Punchestown Sale, Histrionic, is by Walk In The Park and Murphy's other horse in this year's catalogue is also a son of the horse who is about to be crowned champion National Hunt sire for the first time.

Histrionic was bought by Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls for €450,000

Four-year-old Gaelic Rambler (22) has been second in both of his starts and, although foaled in Ireland and sold as a foal by his breeder Kieran Cotter for €22,000, hails from a top-class French jumping family.

His dam, Night Of Passion, was twice a winner over hurdles for Jeremy Scott and has produced Flames Of Passion, by Flemensfirth, who was second in a 2020 Ballyarthur four-year-old maiden on his only start for Murphy.

Night Of Passion is a Winged Love half-sister to the Listed Prix de Chambly and Prix Sagan Hurdle winner Auban. The Cadoudal mare is the dam of Grade 2 Prix Murat Chase and Grade 3 Prix Igre and Prix Troytown Chase winner Perfect Impulse, who was twice placed in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris for Arnaud Chaille-Chaille. 

Her Mansonnien daughter, the Listed Prix Finot Hurdle second Sacral Nirvana, is the dam of On The Go, who beat Perfect Impulse in the 2018 Grande Steeple.

Aubane is also the second dam of the Listed-winning hurdlers Listenmania and Spirit Sun.

At the 2018 auction, which has entered sales folklore as it was where Peter Molony purchased Honeysuckle, who would go on to claim multiple Grade 1s and the hearts of two nations, Patrick Turley enjoyed the biggest sales success of what was his fledgling career when selling Lecale's Article for €320,000. That was a then-record price for the sale, given by David Minton on behalf of Joe and Marie Donnelly, the horse be trained by Nicky Henderson.

Turley sourced Lecale's Article for €26,000 as a store and his Kingsfield Stud consigns the €40,000 store sale graduate Koktail Brut (6) on Thursday. Like Lecale's Article, the four-year-old was an impressive debut winner, in his case at Castletown-Geoghegan in mid-April.

Gevrey: his half-brother is Lot 6 in the Goffs Punchestown SaleCredit: Patrick McCann

By Cokoriko, he is a half-brother to Gevrey, who won this season's Munster National for Gordon Elliot and was runner-up to I Am Maximus in last year's Irish Grand National. Gevrey is one of five track winners produced so far by Skarina, who is a daughter of the Anshan sire Dark Moondancer and further down on the page is Grade 1 Jack de Bromhead Christmas Hurdle winner Irish Point, also trained by Gordon Elliott.

Second to State Man in the Champion Hurdle, he renews rivalry with his Cheltenham conqueror in the Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Hurdle on Friday (6.00).

The first lot in the ring on Thursday, Familiar Dreams (1) duly took the opportunity of enhancing her value by earning more black type in the Grade 3 Weatherbys General Stud Book Irish EBF Mares' Bumper at the track on Wednesday evening.

Trained by Anthony McCann, the five-year-old daughter of Postponed, who switched from Darley's Dalham Hall Stud to the Futter family's Yorton Stud this year, beat Mozzies Sister and a dozen others to make it four wins on the bounce.

The strength of Familiar Dreams' form had been reiterated at Punchestown on Tuesday, when Sixandahalf, who she defeated in a mares' bumper at Naas, won the four-year-old bumper by 11 lengths.

Bred by Meon Valley Stud out of the Nayef mare Familiarity, who was third in the Listed Pontefract Castle Stakes, she was picked up for just 4,000gns as a three-year-old by her trainer. Familiar Dreams descends from one of Meon Valley's great foundation mares; the Queen Elizabeth II and Coronation Stakes winner Milligram.

Familiarity is out of Millistar, a daughter of Milligram and a half-sister to Millennium Dash, second dam of the Group 1 winners Anapurna and Speedy Boarding.

Familiar Dreams is expected in the ring just after 8pm on Thursday, with the 22 horses available for viewing at Goffs' Kildare Paddocks from 9am-1pm and from 2pm at Punchestown.

The full catalogue is available to view here.

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