Cheltenham sale top lot Chantry House a smooth winner on rules debut

The festival has come too soon in the career for last year's £295,000 Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale top lot Chantry House, but the manner in which he scored on his rules debut on Sunday suggested he could make his mark at the meeting in future.

The five-year-old son of Yeats, now trained by Nicky Henderson for JP McManus, travelled smoothly throughout the bumper that concluded the card at Warwick and made little fuss of taking up the running and going clear, needing only to be gently pushed out by jockey Barry Geraghty to record a three-and-a-half-length victory.

Chantry House was bred by Evergreen Stud in County Limerick out of the Phardante mare The Last Bank, making him a half-brother to the Graded-placed chasers Linnel and On The Bank.

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It is a huge week for the operation's grandfather-grandson team of Michael and Micheál Conaghan, as they are also the breeders of Sun Racing Stayers' Hurdle favourite Paisley Park and other possible festival runners De Name Evades Me, Present Value and The Last Day – another half-brother to Chantry House.

Evergreen Stud originally sold Chantry House as a foal to John O'Brien for €12,500 at the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale.

The gelding reappeared as a three-year-old at the same company's August store sale, where he was bought for Eric Elliott, father of bloodstock agent Alex, for €26,000.

He was then trained by up-and-coming handler Cian Hughes to win a four-year-old maiden at Tattersalls Farm just five days before being resold in the Cheltenham sale-ring.

The transaction proved an emotional one, as it was the late Willie Codd who had selected Chantry House as a store for Elliott.

"This is the last horse William bought for me," said Elliott at Cheltenham in December. "When he died, Alexander rang me and told me this horse would take time but that he knew exactly the right man to train him.

"I'd never met Cian at this point but Alexander assured me he'd treat the horse like a Gold Cup winner. He's done exactly that and I really can't speak highly enough of him.

"I said to Cian that William had told me this was a serious horse, and the first thing Cian said to me was 'all owners say that', but it didn't take long before he rang me back to say 'you're right, he is a serious horse'."

Chantry House has a three-year-old half-brother by Ocovango and a two-year-old half-sister by Soldier Of Fortune.

Their dam, a half-sister to musical duo Foster and Allen's prolific winner Nancy Myles, was covered by Kingston Hill last year.

Chantry House is another feather in the cap for four-time Gold Cup victor and Coolmore National Hunt stallion Yeats, who has also supplied Grade 1 winners Augusta Kate, Capivari and Shattered Love.