GORDON Elliott, Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls took home the top five lots from the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale on Friday evening.

The after-racing session saw 15 lots sold for over £100,000, two lots over £300,000 and a top price of £335,000. The average price on the night was £104,485 - a record for this sale - as was the median price of £85,000.

An impressive winner of his debut maiden at Lingstown when posting an authoritative performance, Tumuch was widely anticipated to be a highly sought-after lot and the four-year-old by Buck’s Boum did not disappoint.

Bidding opened up at £100,000 and swept up through the ranks courtesy of bids from Robbie Power, Tom Malone and Gordon Elliott, who was standing with Mouse O'Ryan; it was the last-named who was successful at £335,000.

"He is a lovely horse, he is a well-made horse, who won well," said O'Ryan. "He was very eye-catching. We had seen him in January, and we were waiting for him to run.

"We are building up a big team of young horses and they are starting to come to fruition. We have bought a Gold Cup horse out of the point-to-point field – we have only had one, but we'd like another!"

Tumuch is out of the Maille Pistol dual-winning mare Pistol Girl, a half-sister to the dam of the Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed Sir Valentino. He was sold by Matthew Flynn O’Connor’s Ballycrystal Stables, a previous December Sale top consignor when selling subsequent Grade 1 winner Stay Away Fay for £305,000 in 2021.

O'Connor, who purchased Tumuch for £65,000 as a store horse at the Derby Sale, said: "It is great result, and he has gone to a good home with Gordon."

He added: "All his work had been very good, we had him in a couple of schooling hurdles and everything he had done was nice. It is great to see them back up when they get to the point-to-point. He was a bit raw when we bought him and he is still a big shell of a horse, I think there is loads of improvement in him."

Mullins purchase

The wildcard entry Port Joulain, a four-year-old gelding by Cokoriko and out of the dual-winning, 10-time-placed Mansonnien mare Apple’s Noa, a half-sister to the dam of the former Willie Mullins-trained 11-time Grade 1 winner Apple’s Jade, was bought by Harold Kirk for £300,000.

Port Joulain was purchased at the Derby Sale for €78,000 by handler Denis Murphy of Ballyboy Stables, who said: "It is a great result, a nice horse. He has gone to great hotel. He has a pedigree and he is a big fine horse, it is good when it works out.”

A delighted purchaser Harold Kirk said: "He is going to Willie’s; he was my pick of the sale. I love the sire, he gets the most winners in France. We have a very good horse by him who won in Navan last week called Indiana Dream. Apple's Jade is in the pedigree, and I love this horse as an individual. I think he has got loads of class.”

Nicholls pair

The four-year-old Belliano by Black Sam Bellamy was bought by Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls for £255,000. Gerry Hogan was underbidder.

The Boulta winner is out of the Prix de Flore winner Miliana (by Polar Falcon), the dam of five winners from eight runners and a half-sister to the Grade 1 Galway Hurdle-placed Mirpour and the Swinton Hurdle winner Mirjan.

Purchaser Tom Malone said: "It was a strong maiden, he got left out of his ground three out and then circumnavigated the whole field and quickened well. It takes a lot to do that at Boulta – to go that wide and quicken like that was impressive. He is a beautiful horse and we have had a bit of luck with Black Sam Bellamy.”

The horse was bought for just €25,000 at the Derby Sale by Terrence O'Brien, who said: "You dream about these things. He performed well on the day, and we got a bit excited then that the dream was alive. It is amazing, it just happens in the space of five minutes – before the race we were hopeful but not sure, and he has walked the walk.”

Nicholls is also set to train Just A Rose, who created a new record for a British point-to-point filly when selling for £170,000 to the trainer and Tom Malone.

A four year-old by Saint Des Saints, she is out of the Al Namix mare Daring Rose, runner-up in a French Grade 3.

Trained by Tom Ellis and Gina Andrews, Just A Rose won a Chaddesley Corbett four-year-old maiden point-to-point. She was bred by Sarah Fox and owned by Yeo Barton Bloodstock, with Ellis

It has been a great day for the team – Andrews won the Cross Country Chase earlier on the Dan Skelton-trained Latenightpass, owned and bred by her mum Mrs Pippa Ellis – the gelding putting himself firmly in the Grand National picture.

Andrews led up the filly herself, and Tom Ellis said: "She has done nothing different to any Irish horse. She has gone out and beat the geldings, they have to be taken seriously. People are getting a bit of faith behind British pointers. She has a great pedigree. I am thrilled to bits, and we have had a great day."

Fox said: "Tom and Gina have done a great job. This filly has a fantastic brain, I think she will go far. We have had her all this time, but it is great result – you can't keep them all and we have others in the family. We hope she will be our flagship now. We have had some success with another filly with Tom and Gina, and this filly has always been so beautiful."

Sale Statistics

Current year Previous year Change %

Catalogued 45 57 -21

Withdrawn 4 9 -56

Offered 41 48 -15

Unsold 8 10 -20

Sold 33 38 -13

Aggregate (gns) 3,448,000 3,433,000 0

Median (gns) 85,000 67,500 +26

Average (gns) 104,485 90,342 +16

% sold 80% 79% +1