Cheltenham sale-topper Global Citizen in Dovecote Hurdle romp

Prices paid for the pick of the point-to-point prospects at boutique National Hunt sales are often jaw-dropping but it is top-class Saturday horses and festival winners that so many owners want and plenty of those big-sellers do often go on to greater things for their new owners.

The much vaunted Samcro – bought for £335,000 at the Goffs UK Aintree Sale in 2016 – is a notable example of such extremity in both talent and price, but there is also Finian's Oscar (bought for £250,000 at Cheltenham), Getabird (€200,000, Punchestown), Minella Rocco (£260,000, Cheltenham) and On The Blind Side (£205,000, Cheltenham).

The latest star between the flags bought for big money and now translating his talent to racing under rules is Global Citizen, who topped last year's Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham April Sale at £275,000 when knocked down to Stroud Coleman Bloodstock.

Originally with Jonjo O'Neill but now trained by Ben Pauling for The Megsons, the six-year-old son of Alkaadhem was an impressive nine-length winner of the Grade 2 Sky Bet Dovecote Novices' Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday.

Scarlet Dragon, a son of Sir Percy who was Group 3-placed on the Flat, finished second on his jumps debut for Alan King.

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Pauling indicated after the race that Global Citizen will likely skip Cheltenham in favour of a crack at the Aintree Grand National meeting.

The big new thing of the novice hurdling division is the fourth jumps black-type winner for Alkaadhem, an 18-year-old son of Green Desert, after his brother A Hare Breath, who took a Listed handicap hurdle at Sandown in December, Moylisha Tim, who scored in a Grade 3 Cork novice hurdle, and The Organist, who struck in a Listed mares' novice hurdle at Doncaster.

Alkaadhem was a winner of the Group 2 Jebel Hatta and Group 3 Select Stakes from the famous family of Reprocolor that has also yielded in-demand British jumps sire Kayf Tara.

He stands at Willie and Jim Murphy's Ballycurragh Stud in County Carlow alongside Snow Sky, a Group 2-winning Nayef brother to last year's Prix Royal-Oak hero Ice Breeze.

Global Citizen was bred by Martin Byrne, a close associate of Ballycurragh Stud, and was trained by Willie Murphy to win a maiden point at Bellurgan Park last April, just 11 days before he topped trade at Cheltenham.

Global Citizen's dam, the placed Mandalus mare Lady Willmurt, has been a fine servant to Byrne as, besides himself and A Hare Breath, she has produced De Plotting Shed (by Beneficial), who has won a bumper and over hurdles and is a leading fancy for several handicap chases at Cheltenham, having finished second to classy opponents on his last two starts over fences.

Lady Willmurt has a three-year-old filly by Doyen and was covered again by Alkaadhem in 2016 and 2017.

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