Walk In The Park (Ire) sired four of the six highest foals and the three top lots, as the Goffs December National Hunt Sale continued on Tuesday.
Ballincurrig House Stud consigned lot 294, a son of Appy Days (Ire) (King's Theatre {Ire}), and he caught the eyes of Gerry Aherne and Charles Shanahan for €90,000. His dam is out of G3 Nell Gwyn S. heroine A-To-Z (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}).
Said the colt's breeder Cathal Ennis, “I've had my fair share of setbacks and bred enough slow ones too. I'm not saying I'm successful at all, but if there's one thing I am very fussy about, rightly or wrongly, it's broodmare sires.
“I love mares by King's Theatre, Presenting, Saint Des Saints and so on. I set a lot of store by them. Look at Saddlers' Hall, who was disappointing as a sire, but his daughters were dynamite.”
Second on the list was Castlefarm Stud's son of Ard Abhainn (Ire) (lot 296), who sold for €80,000 to Kevin Ross Bloodstock and Killeen Glebe. His dam, a daughter of Jeremy, won a listed race over hurdles.
Rounding out the top trio was a bay colt (lot 226) from the draft of Thistletown Stud. Snapped up by Rathmore Stud for €80,000, he is out of the Shirocco (Ger) mare Valjan (GB), herself a half-sister to G1 Champion Hurdle winner Katchi (Ire) (Kalanisi {Ire}).
At the close of trade, 132 lots sold (58%) for a gross of €2,157,800. The average remained almost even with 2022's at €16,347, and the median rose €20% to €12,000.
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