IN the news pages last Saturday, we wrote about the great return on their €28,000 investment for former international Junior event rider Correna Bowe and her father J.J. following the £410,000 sale of their recent Ballycahane four-year-old mares’ maiden winner Echoing Silence.
You can view pre and post sale interviews with Correna on the Tattersalls Jockey Club Sales social media pages, where you will see the Doyen filly being shown for the sale by amateur jockey cum international event rider Toni Quail, who works alongside Correna at Sam Curling’s Co Tipperary yard.
Event rider Sarah Sproule missed travelling over to Cheltenham this year, as she had to keep things ship shape at Warren Ewing’s Bernice Stables in Templepatrick. She did, of course, follow the sale online of the yard’s Whinney Hill to Gordon Elliott (£140,000) and Rock Sensation to Hagg Hill Farm (£48,000). While it was disappointing for everyone connected with the horse that Constitution Hill didn’t line-up for the Champion Hurdle, Sarah was delighted with the performances of other yard graduates and, of course, with the first Festival win for Warren’s son Sam on Stellar Story in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle on Friday.
With the point-to-point season still in full swing, it’s a busy time for Sarah, but she hopes to be out eventing before too long with Ballyneety Cavalier Imp, while it will be good to see Toni back too with Wellan Summertime.
The Leopardstown bumper winner Glynn Brae was knocked down for £130,000 to Willy Twiston-Davies/Jamie and Annemarie Sheppard. The four-year-old Califet gelding was sold at the sale under the banner of Newlands Stables, base of the elsewhere mentioned Crawford brothers.