What price outstanding genetics? That question received an answer after racing at Punchestown on Thursday evening when Aurora Vega, a recent Grade 1 winner and the most successful daughter of the legendary Quevega, sold at the Goffs sale for €450,000. That was the only bid struck by Gerry Aherne, a key member of the Coolmore nominations and purchasing teams, whose decisive intervention secured Aurora Vega despite the best efforts of her trainer Willie Mullins to hold on to the bay mare. Harold Kirk, who buys so many of the champion trainer's stars, was bidding while Mullins was animatedly engaged in a conversation on his phone and Kirk brought the bidding to the €400,000 mark. However when Aherne countered their €440,000 offer, Kirk did not respond. As well as being out of the mighty Quevega, the seven-year-old by champion National Hunt sire Walk In The Park is also a full-sister to the star-crossed Facile Vega, a quadruple Grade 1 winner who twice returned in triumph to the winner's enclosure at the Punchestown festival, the very stage for his sister's sale. Future plans for Aurora Vega will be decided upon next week when Aherne and the team have a discussion over whether to cover her this year or keep her in training. "She's an exceptional mare, with an exceptional pedigree," said Aherne. "Mares like her don't come on the market, and we have a lot of young stallions. We can't send her to Walk In The Park, but we have plenty more. I think she'll go to stud straight away, but I'll talk to the team. We don't even know who owns her at the moment!" "She's going home and we'll meet next week, see if she is okay. We spoke to Willie about her and he said she was very good. She's won a Grade 1 - why risk her any more now? Her mother was a champion, her brother is a champion." Although Quevega's six successes in the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle are what she is remembered for, perhaps her greatest achievements were at Punchestown where she earned her Grade 1 victories in the Tipperkevin Hurdle, the feature event on the Thursday at the meeting so it was a fitting stage for her daughter's sale. Gerry Aherne signs for Aurora Vega at €450,000 Credit: Sophie Webber Photography Victorious in four successive years in the race for Willie Mullins and the Hammer and Trowel Syndicate of Ger O'Brien and Sean Deane, Quevega received her highest Racing Post Rating (RPR) for her final Punchestown triumph when she defeated a field that included Reve De Sivola, Fiveforthree and Holywell to achieve a RPR of 162. Aurora Vega was bred by O'Brien and Deane, who board Quevega at the Irish National Stud. She is one of three black-type performers from four runners and winners out of the Robin Des Champs mare. In addition to her Grade 1-winning offspring, Quevega is also the dam of Cameletta Vega, a Camelot three-parts sister to Aurora Vega and Facile Vega. The six-year-old was fourth in the Listed Coolmore EBF mares' bumper for her owner-breeders. Quevega's first foal, the Beat Hollow mare Princess Vega, won a Tramore maiden hurdle on debut at four, and was sold by O'Brien and Deane in foal to Walk In The Park at the 2024 Goffs February Sale for €150,000 to Gerry Hogan on behalf of Swanbridge Bloodstock. Aherne continued: "Fair dues to Ger O'Brien and the lads. They've three daughters of hers and I can understand why they are cashing in. We are delighted for them. We actually bought a Walk In The Park colt out of a sister of hers in Doncaster [the colt foal out of Princess Vega for £70,000 last November], and he is a beauty. Let's hope she is lucky." Quevega has an Australia five-year-old daughter and two and three-year-old sons by Walk In The Park. She is due to the dual champion National Hunt sire again this year. There was no time to dwell on the sale for Mullins and Kirk who were straight back into the thick of it; securing Wyoming Lane for €275,000 just two lots after Aurora Vega was sold. The four-year-old Doctor Dino gelding who won on debut at Dromahane just four days' before the sale and Kirk said a combination of factors made the gelding so desirable. "I love the stallion, Doctor Dino, who has been very good for us, very successful for us," he said. Mags O'Toole signed for the €350,000 Minella Machine Credit: Sophie Webber Photography "He is coming from a very good consignor in Walter Connors, who we have had huge success with. I loved him as a store at the Derby Sale, we very nearly bought him as a store. I thought he was one of the top horses at this sale and I knew he'd be popular." Wyoming Line was making his third appearance at public auction having first sold to Connors’ long-time collaborator Seamus Murphy as a foal at €47,000 before being retained by his vendor for €70,000 at last year’s Derby Sale. Mullins isn't often defeated, especially at Punchestown, but he and Kirk had to give way to the deeper pockets of Mags O'Toole and her clients for Minella Machine, who followed Wyoming Line into the sales ring. The four-year-old is from the first Irish-bred crop of Blue Bresil, who could have a stupendous Punchestown should Constitution Hill atone for his falls at Cheltenham and Aintree in Friday's Grade 1 Champion Hurdle. O'Toole was standing in the vicinity of Brian Acheson, who earlier in the evening had watched with delight as Teahupoo claimed the Grade 1 Stayers' Hurdle, and she staved off Kirk and Mullins at €350,000. She said: "I was very impressed with his point-to-point win. He's a lovely horse and comes from one of the best nurseries. He will be turned out of the summer and decisions will be made about where he goes into training then." Minella Machine was purchased by John Nallen at the Goffs Arkle Sale as Lucky Jack Bloodstock for €62,000 from Fiona Magee through Ballincurrig House Stud. He is a half-brother to Jubilee Alpha who won a Listed mares' hurdle at Cheltenham a fortnight ago for Paul Nicholls and was runner-up in last year's Grade 2 mares' bumper at Aintree. Teahupoo's trainer Gordon Elliott was also etched his name on the buyer's sheet, securing Coq Noir from Cormac Doyle for €200,000, seeing off Emmet Mullins who was taking instructions on the phone. David Crosse (left) and Noel Fehily bought six horses for €900,000 on Thursday night Credit: Sophie Webber Photography "He looked a nice horse and came well recommended by Cormac. He looks like a horse that won't take a lot of time and is for an existing owner in the yard," said Elliott. The four-year-old son of Cokoriko is the first winner out of Fleur De Sel De Re, an unraced Smadoun half-sister to Grade 3 winner Parc Monceau. He was offered having won at Ballysteen on debut last Thursday. Elliott also purchased Corecannon House's Ballyfad, a four-year-old gelding from the first Irish crop of Knockhouse Stud sire Tirwanako, for €175,000. Successful on debut at Fairyhouse last Sunday, he shares his sire with Jasmin De Veaux who followed up his Cheltenham Grade 1 success with victory in the three mile Grade 1 novice hurdle at Punchestown on Wednesday. Teaming up with Mouse O'Ryan, Elliott also acquired Maverick Mack privately for €40,000 from Denis Murphy to ensure that all 24 horses offered on Thursday evening were sold. The most prolific purchasers on the evening were former jockeys Noel Fehily and David Crosse, whose syndicate operation has grown enormously year-on-year. They enjoyed a terrific win in the bumper which brought Thursday's racing action to a close and they were busy restocking following the success of the Alan King-trained Baron Noir. Their six purchases, or 25 per cent of the horses offered, came to a total of €900,000 which was 22 per cent of the sale turnover. Colin Bowe's Order Of St George gelding Midtown Manhattan, who won at Ballysteen last Saturday, was the most expensive of the six at €205,000. Fehily said: "There are some lovely horses here and we got a couple to go home with. We had the winner in the bumper there [Baron Noir] and the second [El Cairos] came from this sale last year [€200,000 purchase by Jerry McGrath]. Hopefully one of these will be as good as him." They also bought a gelding and a filly by No Risk At All - four-year-old Risky Obsession and five-year-old Goulmichette - for €170,000 apiece, four-year-old Wings Of Eagles filly Frost Moon for €155,000, Millstatt Abbey, another member of the second crop of Order Of St George, again from Colin Bowe, but this time a filly at €100,000 and Ian Power's Maxios four-year-old gelding Double The Dance for the same price. Harold Kirk awaits instructions from the phone in Willie Mullins' hand as they try to hold on to Aurora Vega Credit: Sophie Webber Photography "We will get them back to my farm and see what we do with them, see who will train them and make plans from there. The market is strong and they are a great bunch of horses, and it deserves to be strong. It was great to get a winner today [Thursday] - we have had a great season and we have got to restock for next year," Fehily added. Ed Bailey and Harry Derham went to €180,000 for The Burren Man who had been runner-up to Wyoming Lane for Donnchadh Doyle at Dromahane on Sunday. Rob James was in the saddle for Fehily and Crosse's bumper winner and he quickly changed role from jockey to consignor with minutes to spare. James offered a pair of maiden winners including Princess Day, a striking first crop daughter of Success Days and the jockey was rewarded with combined sales of €360,000. He said: "It's been a great evening, unreal to be honest and it's after working out great. The two of them sold really well and we are delighted with the results, it shortens the journey home this evening." James sourced Princess Day at the Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale where she was the highest-priced filly at €37,000. "Princess Day's a beautiful mare and she's going to improve loads. She's gone to a good home so she has a bright future. I like Success Days' stock, I wouldn't mind having one or two more of them at home so we may go find a few at the store sales again." Princess Day won on debut at Fairyhouse just four days' ago, while James' other seller, Lazare De Star, a Masked Marvel four-year-old, who was runner-up at the same venue, was bought by Mags O'Toole for €190,000. Tom Malone was the buyer of Princess Day at €170,000 and he also purchased Master McGarry from Paurick O'Connor for €185,000, who will head into training with David Pipe. Stats and statement The 24 horses sold for an aggregate of €4,095,000 on Thursday evening which was an increase of 40 per cent on the 2024 figure. Thursday's average price of €170,625 was a five per cent increase year-on-year while the median grew by 16 per cent in the same period, from €140,000 to €162,500. Henry Beeby, Goffs group chief executive, expressed his delight at the end of the sale. Brian Acheson at the Goffs Punchestown Sale Credit: Sophie Webber Photography "Goffs Punchestown Sale was the first festival sale and delivers year after year, but never more so than 2025. We were delighted to return a stunning 100 per cent clearance rate with a top price of €450,000 for the impeccably bred Grade 1 winner Aurora Vega. "Once again, our vendors provided a highly desirable group of current high-class performers and have been duly rewarded. We thank them and wish every purchaser huge success at the same time. "We now look forward with enthusiasm to our Doncaster Spring Sale where there will surely be more of the same." More bloodstock news 'She was a bit of a queen' - Middleham Park Racing pay 155,000gns for a daughter of Calyx at Tattersalls Darley sire Victor Ludorum off the mark with Saint-Cloud winner Viva La Skids ‘She came from stardust’ - brilliant broodmare Matnie, dam of Brighterdaysahead and Caldwell Potter, dies at 18