Michael O'Leary cashed in to the tune of £110,000 today on his former Ryanair Chase winner Balko Des Flos.
The airline boss' Gigginstown House Stud sold the ten-year-old to RacehorseClub through the Goffs Online March Sale.
O'Leary continues to wind down his jump racing operation after announcing in May 2019 that he would no longer be buying national hunt horses.
And in Balko Des Flos he has sold the horse that finally broke his duck in the race his airline sponsors at the Cheltenham Festival. Ridden by Davy Russell, the gelding ran out a four and half length winner from Un De Sceaux in the 2018 edition of the race.
But, while continuing to be pitched in at the top level, the Henry de Bromhead-trained gelding has struggled to hit the same heights on the racetrack since.
Last time out he unseated his rider in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival - a race Gigginstown won for a third time with Tiger Roll.
Balko Des Flos holds a entry in next month's Aintree Grand National, and having amassed over €500,000 in prize money already in his career, the former Galway Plate winner will continue to be trained in Waterford by de Bromhead for his new owners.
O'Leary, along with his brother Eddie, have been busy selling many of their jump horses in recent years.
In December last year they sold star mare Apple's Jade for €530,000 to Bective Stud, owned by Noel and Valerie Moran, to headline the Meath-based couple's breeding operation.
