'It proves you don't have to pay the top prices to be there on the biggest days' - Aintree Sale preview

The Grade 2 Nickel Coin Mares' Bumper at Aintree on Thursday could transpire to be the perfectly timed sponsorship opportunity for Goffs UK as the company may yet have another Graded success story out of its boutique point-to-point sale, which takes place in the winner's enclosure immediately after that concluding contest.

Dysart Enos has a leading chance for Fergal O'Brien and the five-year-old Malinas mare returns to Aintree a year on from her sale, as the winner of a Listed mares' bumper at Market Rasen and unbeaten in both starts for The Good Stock Syndicate and O'Brien, who purchased her for £95,000 from Harley Dunne. She had been runner-up on her debut in a Ballyragget four-year-old mares' maiden to Fancy Girl, who made £200,000 to Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins at the same sale.

"It's exciting to have Dysart Enos running in the Goffs UK bumper before the sale and it proves you don't have to pay the top prices to be there on the biggest days," said Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent.

The sale has proved its worth time and time again as the source of Grade 1 winners, including Samcro, Lisnagar Oscar and Fiddlerontheroof, but it is the mares who came under the hammer 12 months ago who have added lustre to its reputation this season.

Magical Zoe took a slightly more unorthodox route to the sale, making a winning debut in a Cork mares' bumper before her purchase for £145,000 by Alex Elliott from Barry Fitzgerald last year. Trained by Henry de Bromhead for Patrick and Scott Bryceland, she has since been successful in the Grade 3 Feathard Lady Mares Novice Hurdle and was a poignant runner-up in the Grade 2 Jack de Bromhead Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham. 

"There's been huge interest in the sale and we feel we've catalogued the best horses who have run over the last few weeks," said Kent. "The top level has been very strong since our sale at Sandown in December and there has been a lot of talk about this sale and the horses on offer. We're very pleased with the entries."

With mares leading the way this season, the eye is drawn to the six catalogued for Thursday's sale, which features a total of 28 young horses. 

Ian McCarthy's Milan mare Ballybough Aine (Lot 15) was the talk of Monksgrange when making up a lot of ground after the final fence to grab victory on the line last month. A debut winner, and a four-year-old, two attributes that are especially appealing, she is the first foal out of Last Eclipse, a Shirocco half-sister to Wholestone, who made a remarkable winning comeback in last season's Rendlesham Hurdle for Nigel Twiston-Davies, Isaac Souede and Simon Munir. 

Her second dam Last Theatre was Listed-placed on the Flat and is a King's Theatre half-sister to Listed winner Ballykett Nancy and to Fashionista, dam of Gold Cup hero Bobs Worth.

In that same Monksgrange maiden, Dromlac Jury may well have had something to say about Ballybough Aine's late flourish if she hadn't crumpled on landing after jumping the last. Denis Murphy's well-bred daughter of Jukebox Jury (20) had run a fine race on her debut until slithering to the ground and remains promising. 

She is out of a Lady Dromlac, a Beneficial half-sister to the Grade 1 Slaney Novice Hurdle and Drinmore Novice Chase winner Death Duty, and was bought by Murphy for €28,000 at last year's Goffs Land Rover Sale.

Sam Curling's best day on the track came at Cheltenham last month, courtesy of Angels Dawn in the Kim Muir, and his Skehanagh Stables consigns two mares - Pallas Athene (23), who won a Lisronagh five-year-old maiden on her debut and is from the family of Grand National hero Rhyme 'n' Reason, and Cobra Queen (16), a supplementary entry following her eyecatching success in a four-year-old maiden at Ballyknock. Both mares are by Milan.

Kent added: "We're very grateful to all our vendors who have supplied us with a top class selection of horses for the sale, which we're very much looking forward to after racing."

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