Relation to last year's €325,000 top lot heads Land Rover Sale entries

A close relation to last year's €325,000 top lot heads up the list of 525 stores catalogued for this year's Goffs Land Rover Sale, which takes place in Kill, County Kildare, on June 11-12.

The auction record was broken not once but three times last June, with the eventual top lot a son of Flemensfirth out of the Poliglote mare Keep Face, an unraced half-sister to Master Minded.

Paul Nicholls, who trained the Champion Chase hero, signed for the gelding, who had been pinhooked for €110,000 as a foal by Patrick McCann, who kept his purchase with his foal vendor Ballincurrig House Stud before re-offering him as a store.

McCann will be hoping lightning can strike twice when he offers another store with an almost like-for-like background and pedigree at this year's renewal.

The Flemensfirth gelding (lot 162) was bought by McCann from Ballincurrig House as a foal - this time for €55,000 - and will be offered by the same vendor again. And the similarities don't end there as the youngster is out of Hotline, another Poliglote half-sister to Master Minded.

View Goffs Land Rover Sale catalogue

Sandmason's only foal of 2016 out of Celtic Princess (356) also features in the catalogue and is consigned by the stallion's most ardent supporter in Paul Rothwell of Lacken Stud.

The 2001 Hardwicke Stakes winner enjoyed a huge upsurge in interest from mare owners following the on-track exploits of his Grade 1-winning sons Summerville Boy and Black Op, which saw his book go from zero in 2016, and just one a year later, to 217 last term.

"The gelding out of Celtic Princess is a nice sort of a horse," said Rothwell, who trained the mare to place in a Ballyragget maiden.

"We're covering a few mares again by Sandmason this spring but it wouldn't be as busy given that his two stars didn't perform this season. You're always going to be in trouble when you only have a couple of runners. It's just a pity he didn't get a good few mares from the start."

Other eye-catching lots include a Shantou brother (1) to the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle winner Airlie Beach, set to be the first lot through the ring, while Abbeyleix Stud will offer an Ocovango half-brother (132) to Bobs Worth on behalf of Joan Condron.

Bobs Worth is one of a select group to have won three different Group 1 races at the Cheltenham Festival with wins in the Albert Bartlett Spa Novices' Hurdle, RSA Chase and the Gold Cup.

Also catalogued on day one is a Shantou gelding (144), the first produce of Cheltenham Mares' Hurdle scorer Glens Melody, while Rathmore Stud's chestnut filly by Martaline (179) received a significant update to her pedigree when Burrows Saint scored in last month's Irish Grand National.

A Balko full-brother (198) to both Vision Des Flos and the 2017 sale-topper Umndeni and consigned by the Kyle Consignment will also come up for sale on day one.

Goffs Chief Executive Henry Beeby said: "To have nine individual winners at the top level is testament to the ever increasing quality of horse on offer at Land Rover Sale. This level of quality is thanks to the support of leading vendors who continue to send more of their best to Goffs.

"The Land Rover is an established Grade 1 sale and we have a proven Grade 1 selection team who have worked with vendors to compile a simply unmissable catalogue packed with top-class store horses for the 2019 renewal."

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