ALL of the action at Cheltenham on Thursday was not restricted to the racecourse. As the day’s sport on track came to an end, the parade ring was transformed into a pop-up sale ring, with 26 choice pointers attracting sales in excess of £3.35 million. All but three of the lots sold, and the final turnover was up 53% on the comparable day two years ago.
This was the second-best turnover ever achieved at the sale. The average of £145,783 was on a par with 2020, while the median showed a small increase. Three lots sold for over £300,000.
Kudasheva, a four-year-old filly by Pour Moi and out of the Hernando mare Daboya, sold for the evening’s top price of £370,000. In addition to being a winner on her only start, this half-sister to a pair of winners is out of a half-sister to the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Don Cossack. That son of Sholokhov won 17 times, and they included six Grade 1 successes over fences.
Kudasheva won her four-year-old mares’ maiden at Ballycahane at the beginning of March by a dozen lengths for her trainer and consignor, Pat Doyle of Suirview Stables. Afterwards her handler said: “I have never sold a mare for as much as that. She has a great pedigree, and has done things so well.
“She won the same race for me as Shattered Love [Grade 1 winner], and I’d put her in the same category. She was bred and owned by David Connors; she is very good.”
The sale topper was bought by trainer Henry de Bromhead, who said: “She is a gorgeous filly, she won really impressively. Pat Doyle highly recommended her and we are delighted to get her. She is for a client in the yard.”
Also heading to de Bromhead’s stables at Knockeen is the four-year-old Kapgarde filly Kap D’Attente. She was purchased by Honeysuckle’s finder Peter Molony for £160,000, and represented a nice success story for the husband and wife team behind G (Gina Andrews) & T (Tom Ellis) Racing.
They bought the filly for £30,000 at last year’s Goffs UK Spring Sale and trained her to win at the first time of asking in a point-to-point earlier this month.
For a short time Better Days Ahead, debut winner of the four-year-old maiden at Lisronagh at the end of February, held the lead. He sold for £350,000, bought by the Moran’s Bective Stud and trainer Gordon Elliott. The son of Milan is a full-brother to three winners and is out of the Topanoora mare Bonnie And Bright, a half-sister to the Grade 3 winner The Bishop Looney.
He was produced by Warren Ewing on behalf of himself and his partner in the gelding, his brother-in-law Barry Geraghty. The pair also savoured success on the track this week having bought and then sold the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Constitution Hill.
Smashing horse
Ewing said: “I am very happy with that. He is a smashing horse, and he has gone to a very good trainer and good owners, it will be nice to see him run in their colours. He is a beautiful horse, very balanced, he has a good head on him, and he is very straightforward horse. We were confident when he ran. It has been a great week; let’s hope we are here next year seeing this one come up the hill!”
Gordon Elliott said: “He is a nice horse, he won his point-to-point well. He is from a great consignor; let’s hope he is lucky.” Better Days Ahead was purchased at the Goffs Land Rover Sale for €47,000.
Elliott also bought Stellar Story, for £310,000. Produced by Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg Stables in association with Rob James, he is a Shantou full-brother to The Storyteller, whom Elliott trained to win 11 races, including two Grade 1 chases. “We were very lucky with the brother,” said the trainer. “This is a proper big chaser in the making; not sure who he is for yet.”
Stellar Story was a graduate of the Goffs Land Rover Sale where he cost €60,000. He made amends for unseating James at Kildorrery when winning at Castlelands earlier this week.
Denis Murphy paid €42,000 to acquire Peaky Boy at last year’s Goffs Land Rover Sale. Having won on his debut at Borris House, the four-year-old son of Kayf Tara and the listed bumper winner Joanne One sold to Ted Durcan for £240,000. The gelding will join Michael Scudamore.
O’Sullivan’s mare
On Sunday the Ross O’Sullivan-trained Alfie’s Princess obliged at the first time of asking in a mares’ maiden at Lingstown. The five-year-old daughter of Shirocco is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Glamorgan Duke, and out of a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Harbour Pilot.
She sold to Marcus Collie for £220,000, a major increase on her foal value of €8,000, and will now race for Walters Plant Hire and Jean and James Potter.
Fran Nimmo and Charlie Poste won a six-runner point-to-point with the four-year-old Soldier Of Fortune gelding Salt Rock, and he sold to Kim Bailey for £205,000. The gelding was sourced for £38,000 at Goffs UK last spring.
Matthew Prior, head of sales for Tattersalls Cheltenham, said: “Following the Cheltenham Festival Sale’s one-year hiatus, we were delighted to return to the home of National Hunt racing with our flagship sale, on what is the biggest week of jumps racing.
“The fierce competition that we have witnessed on the track was mirrored in the sale ring, with leading trainers and agents from both the UK and Ireland competing for the next generation of stars, as always produced to the highest standards by leading point-to-point trainers and handlers.”