By Emma Berry
The action at Cheltenham on Thursday was brought to a close with an auction of 21 jumpers in training, bringing a cool £3 million in aggregate for the Tattersalls Ireland Festival Sale.
Trade was headed by the young mare Maire Banrigh (GB) (lot 25), a daughter of the late champion National Hunt sire King's Theatre (Ire), who brought the hammer down at £320,000. The impressive five-length winner of an Irish point-to-point on debut, the 5-year-old, who was sold by Richard Black's Ballinapark Stables, will join the string of long-time National Hunt owner John Hales, who also bought the following lot (26), another maiden point-to-point winner The Dellercheckout (Ire) (Getaway {Ger}), for £260,000.
Agent Ryan Mahon conducted the bidding on both horses while standing in the company of champion trainer Paul Nicholls and his former assistant Dan Skelton, now a successful trainer in his own right.
“I'm not yet sure which horse will go to which trainer but one will be trained by Paul Nicholls and one by Dan Skelton––they may have to flip a coin over lunch,” joked Mahon.
“Maire Banrigh was very impressive when she won and she's from a terrific family. I've heard only good things about her,” he added of the daughter of La Marianne (GB) (Supreme Leader {Ire}), a half-sister to the dual Listed-winning hurdler Banjaxed Girl (GB) (King's Theatre {Ire}).
“I was there the day The Dellercheckout won at Lismore. He's a lovely stamp of a horse and he really impressed me that day.”
At £310,000, Palmers Hill (Ire) (Gold Wells {GB}) (lot 18) was another of the leading lights of the evening and will race in the colours of JP McManus after being signed for by his son, Kieran. A debutant 20-length winner of a maiden point-to-point, the 4-year-old gelding was subsequently third to Flemenshill (Ire) (Flemensfirth), who sold for £480,000––a record price for a pointer––in the same arena in February.
Colin Tizzard will take charge of lot 16, Slate House (Ire) (Presenting {GB}), yet another facile pointing winner for Northern Irish trainer Iain Ferguson back in November.
“He's a machine, there are no two ways about it,” said agent Tom Malone, who was acting on Tizzard's behalf. “The two most impressive performances I've seen in point-to-points this season were by him and Finian's Oscar (Ire) and Finian's Oscar has already had the chance to go on and prove himself [by winning the G1 Tolworth Novices' Hurdle]. I hope this lad will get his chance, too.”
Boutique jumping sales of this nature have become increasingly popular and the catalogue of 28 horses, including wildcards, had been widely praised throughout the day. The racecourse whispers proved accurate and, after withdrawals, 21 of the 24 offered were sold at an average price of £142,857––a rise of 38% on the previous year––and median of £120,000, which was up by 32%. With such a high clearance rate in comparison to last year when 14 horses were sold, the turnover of £3 million more than doubled from the 2016 tally of £1,447,000.
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