Conor Quirke

BURSARD, FRANCE -- Described by sales house Auctav as 'D-Day', the sale of some of the stock of Jean-Pierre Dubois ended up being a little more V-Day after a little over half of the 99 lots on offer were bought back by the legendary owner-breeder. The auction did however draw a bustling crowd to the Haras de Bois Roussel, where Helenium (lot 50), a Frankel half-sister to Calyx, stole the show when sold to Coolmara Stables for €600,000 through agent Conor Quirke. Offered in foal to Calyx's sire Kingman, the...

When Moyfinn Stud's Paul Giles sold a Galileo Gold (GB) colt [lot 318] for £68,000 during the second day of the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale, it was said to be the most money he'd ever received for a horse in his life. So, what was Giles thinking just a short time later when his three-parts brother to last week's G2 Gimcrack Stakes winner Cool Hoof Luke (GB) sold to Amanda Skiffington for £350,000, the third highest price in the sale's history? "That sort of money was what I dreamed of,...