The final day of the relocated Goffs Sportsman’s Sale concluded with a daughter of Night Of Thunder topping the two days of trade when selling to Peter and Ross Doyle for £72,000 on Friday.

As the only lot on offer by Darley’s young sire, the filly had clearly attracted a lot of interest prior to heading into the ring but ultimately it was Ross Doyle who struck the final blow.

Offered by the Castlebridge Consignment, the filly if out of the placed Manduro mare Muzhil and is a half-sister to Monzoon and Just For Cynth. Muzhil is herself a half-sister to Group 2 winner Beautiful Romance while further back on in the page is multiple Group 1 scorer Mastercraftsman.

Early in Friday’s session Mags O’Toole went to £50,000 to secure a Dandy Man colt offered by Joe Foley’s Ballyhane Stud out of the winning Royal Applause mare, a half-sister to Del Mar Derby runner-up Royal Albert Hall.

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott was on the mark for a daughter of Pride Of Dubai when he parted with £46,000 for Lodge Park Stud’s offering, whose dam is half-sister to Group 2 scorer James Garfield.

In his end of sale statement, Goffs Chief Executive Henry Beeby said: “Moving the Sportsman’s Sale to our UK sales complex was not a straightforward decision but, on balance, was deemed the right one in the circumstances.

“Frankly all of us are in a quandary about what is the right thing to do at the moment especially as things can change from day to day. Indeed, it is worth bearing in mind that the Prime Minister announced new restrictions to help in the fight against Covid-19 on Tuesday, so we are constantly having to react and adapt at short notice.

“In that connection we are indebted to Doncaster Council with whom we have liaised closely in recent months as they have provided feedback and support as we have drawn up the detailed protocols required to conduct a sale in the current climate.

“We are also very thankful to our vendors who embraced the change of date and location with hardly a murmur and worked with us to stage a sale that has returned a trade of relative strength on both days.

“Indeed, those yearlings that appealed most drew the normal level of activity from a large group of buyers from the UK, Ireland and those European countries on the UK’s current green list.

“We also want to acknowledge our appreciation to all attendees over the last few days as we are very aware that the protocols in place, whilst very necessary, can be frustrating on occasions. However, they have been embraced with a level of acceptance and good humour which is helpful as we strive to do the right thing when no one really knows what that entails!

“Of course, the stats do not compare with previous renewals of the Sportsman’s Sale, but the key point is liquidity and the ability to trade. In that connection the last two days have delivered although comparing with 12 months ago is made even harder by the fluctuation of sterling in the intervening period, so we would suggest that the most revealing figure is the clearance rate.”