Wildcard Entries Added To Goffs Punchestown Sale

Two wild card entries were added to the Goffs Punchestown Sale which will take place after racing on Thursday, Apr. 27.

The first wild card is Milo Lises (Fr) (Storm The Stars) (lot 22), a 4-year-old gelding consigned by Willie Mullins's Closutton Stables, who debuted as the runner-up in Tuesday's Goffs Defender Bumper.

Also in play is Williethebuilder (Ire) (Arcadio {Ger}) (lot 23), another 4-year-old gelding, who is consigned by D. Queally of Lisroe Farm and finished second in Tuesday's 4-year-old bumper.

All horses will be available to inspect at Goffs Thursday morning from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. before they move to Punchestown where they will be available for inspection throughout the afternoon.

The full catalogue and race footage for all 23 lots can be viewed on the Goffs website.

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New Name For Goffs National Hunt Sale Honours Champion Chaser

Goffs' flagship National Hunt Sale, formerly known as the Goffs Land Rover Sale, will now be known as the Goffs Arkle Sale in honour of history's greatest chaser, Arkle, who was sold at Goffs.

Goffs Arkle Sale this year will be held in partnership with Land Rover Defender, and the vendor of the horse that wins the renamed €100,000 Goffs Defender Bumper at the Punchestown Festival will also win an all-new Defender Hard Top.

“So many household names in National Hunt racing have gone under the hammer at Goffs during the past century, with Arkle the most famous of all,” Goffs Chief Executive Henry Beeby said. “He was sold at Goffs as a 3-year-old to trainer Tom Dreaper on behalf of his owner Anne, Duchess Of Westminster, and following a remarkable career that included three Cheltenham Gold Cups, he remains the yardstick by which all champions are measured.”

The Goffs Arkle Sale will take place from Jun. 13 through 15. Nominations are currently open on the Goffs website.

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Absolute Notions Tops The Goffs Punchestown Sale

Sporting a 90% clearances rate with 18 of the 20 lots through the ring finding new homes, the Goffs Punchestown Sale was topped by Absolute Notions (Ire) (Milan {GB}) (lot 21). Offered by Gordon Elliot's Cullentra House Stables, the 4-year-old bay gelding attracted a winning bid of €370,000 from Mags O'Toole. A winner of his only start, a National Hunt bumper at Punchestown on Tuesday, Absolute Notions is from the same family as Grade 1-winning hurdler Chief Dan George (Ire) (Lord Americo {Ire}), as well as G2 Martell Cup Chase victor MacGeorge (Ire) (Mandalus {Ire}).

Jenny Wyse (Ire) (Flemensfirth) (lot 14) drew the attention of Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls, and they duly shelled out €360,000 for the winning point-to-pointer. From the draft of Colin Bowe's Milestone Stables, the 4-year-old filly captured a point-to-point at Monksgrange on Apr. 24. Her unraced dam is a full-sister to Grade 3 winner Morning Run (Ire) (King's Theatre {Ire}), as well as a half-sister to the listed hurdler Morning Supreme (Ire) (Supreme Leader {GB}).

Rounding out the top three lots was The Gooner (Ire) (Flemensfirth) (lot 6). Consigned by Matthew Flynn O'Connor's Ballycrystal Stables, the 4-year-old gelding was knocked down to Jonjo O'Neill for €280,000. The Gooner won a three-mile point-to-point at Curraghmore earlier in April.

At the close of the sale, the 18 lots grossed €2,885,000. The average was €160,278 and the median was €135,000. An even dozen were sold for six figures.

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Punchestown To Receive Grant Aid For Racecourse Improvements

Capital development grant aid for two significant projects at Punchestown Racecourse were approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Thursday.

The HRI Track Works & Industry Facilities Scheme (2022-2023) will provide €1,194,000–40% of the cost of works–that will see the existing home straight at the track widened by 35 metres and, separately, an extension to the current track layout to create a new one-mile start for Flat races.

A new irrigation system at the racecourse is also to be installed and three new reservoirs with the capacity to store up to 90,000 litres of water are to be constructed. The works will be completed in two phases, with phase one, beginning in June, focusing on widening the track in the home straight with phase two being the track extension. A deadline for the delivery of the upgrading of the irrigation system has been set for Oct. 31, 2024.

Suzanne Eade, CEO of HRI, said, “Over the next two years HRI will invest significantly through the Capital Development Fund and specifically via the HRI Track Works & Industry Facilities Scheme. The proposed projects at Punchestown Racecourse will significantly aid both National Hunt racing and Flat racing at the venue. It will expand track capacity, ensure a high quality watering system with sufficient local water reserves and upgrade the ambulance roadways.”

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