Point-to-Point handlers out in force at Arkle sale

 Image © Goffs

Point-to-Point handlers were out in force at the first domestic store sale of the season at Goffs recently, as they continued their restocking ahead of the 2026 four-year-old maiden season.

The combined efforts of the Doyle brothers led to the Monbeg Stables banner being credited with being the sale’s leading purchasers.

Brothers Sean, Donnchadh, Eamonn, and Cormac are all individual handlers in their own right, but together, they spent over €1.2 million to secure 29 horses for an average price of €44,241.

Chief among their purchases was lot 269, a British-bred son of No Risk At All consigned by Rathmore Stud.

Team Monbeg gave €140,000 to secure the chesnut, a first foal out of the Sir Percy-sired Mrs Lovett, who won six times under rules between France and Ireland.

Just a matter of weeks after securing his thirteenth champion handler crown, Colin Bowe’s Milestone Stables featured among the top three purchasers at the sales, as he signed for a total of 11 horses, in addition to a further six horses where the Milestone operation was listed as the joint purchaser.

Bowe was one of the handlers who enjoyed notable success with the first crop of Crystal Ocean in 2025, Cristal D’Estruval, his debut Lisronagh winner, having subsequently topped the Cheltenham Festival sale when sold for £400,000. 

Unsurprisingly, he reinvested in the offspring of the Beeches Stud resident, with four produce of Crystal Ocean featuring among his Arkle sale haul.

The Coolmeen Stables operation of Kilkenny handler Ellmarie Holden was the third point-to-point operation to feature among the sale’s top ten purchasers, having bought a total of seven horses for a total spend of €623,000.

Denis Murphy was one of the leading exponents of Arkle sale purchases throughout the spring 2025 campaign, with the Wexford handler winning no fewer than a quartet of four-year-old maiden races with his purchases from the 2024 edition.

Buoyed by those results, his Ballyboy Stables signed for six horses, the most expensive of which was a son of the champion point-to-point sire Walk In The Park, with lot 262 costing him €54,000.

“It’s after being quite a successful sale for me over the umpteen years, the horse’s are very easy to train, it’s good,” Murphy said.

“This is the strongest I have seen it since I have ever been here, and I’ve been coming here a while. The trade has been absolutely through the roof, but then the stock is improving, the pedigrees are improving, and that is what is bringing the trade up so high.”

Reflecting on the vibrancy of trade throughout Arkle Part 1, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said:

“The Arkle Sale makes the Goffs team especially proud as it is now the first choice for so many of the best three-year-olds offered each year which, in turn, drives all the leading buyers to the sale. That wasn’t always the case, so it makes the sale’s success all the sweeter as it has been hard won.

“The two days have returned a mighty trade of sustained demand especially at the top of the market with 28 six figure lots comparing very favourably with the 16 to pass that milestone last year so clearly demonstrating the quality of the catalogue and the hunger for the best. In addition, the average of €53,731 is a record for the sale whilst an 84% clearance rates underlines the depth of the market.

“As ever, we are indebted to our vendors as they have sent us another stellar selection of three-year-olds. Each year they get better as we take in a bigger share of the top horses following the sale’s extraordinary growth in recent times. Indeed, we have been blown away by the positive feedback from so many people commenting on why Arkle is now a “can’t miss”, “full of the best”, “beautiful group”, “unsurpassed” etc.

“Sales ring success has driven vendor support but equally key has been the racecourse performances of Arkle graduates whether at the major festivals or in the point-to-point field. This year has been another season of continuous success and that is, of course, the factor that drives all the top buyers to Kildare Paddocks as they search for their next star.”

Part two of the Arkle sale was dominated by point-to-point connections, with the top six purchasers within this section, Stuart Crawford, Matty Flynn O’Connor, Denis Murphy, Ian Power, the Monbeg Stables operation and Rob James, all point-to-point handlers.