Malinas the revelation among the sires of pricey pointers last term

There's gold in them thar hills for point-to-point trainers at the coming store sales at Goffs and Tattersalls Ireland. Although the median price in the premier parts of recent years' Land Rover and Derby fixtures came in at around €30,000 to €40,000, with that figure much lower in the non-select sessions, there were no fewer than 92 promising performers between the flags – and the odd several who raced under rules – who sold for six-figure sums at the boutique horses-in-training sales held during the 2017-18 jumps season.

Lest anyone should infer from those stats that there is easy money to be made, bear in mind those point-to-point handlers will have to do plenty of panning of their store purchases to separate the gold dust from the grit. For every horse who lights up Lingstown or Lismore and makes a fortune at Cheltenham or another major sale, there will be many more their trainer tested who were not up to scratch.

For those traders shopping at the store sales, physique will trump pedigree as getting an all-important victory into the lots on offer is the name of the game. Having to take on end-users in the ring – owners and trainers under rules who are perhaps more swayed by trendy sires – might also oblige buyers intending to resell to be less picky about the page.

As it turns out, the sires who accounted for the largest share of the 92 horses who sold for £100,000/€100,000 or more at the horses-in-training sales last season are names who are the height of fashion – suggesting point-to-point trainers do keep one eye on the pedigree knowing a familiar sire could draw extra bids from future buyers.

Four sires each supplied seven of those 92 six-figure form horses: the old-timers Flemensfirth, Oscar and Stowaway and the bright young thing Getaway.

Flemensfirth: newly crowned champion sire is a rich source of point-to-point talentCredit: Martin Stevens

The biggest seller for Beeches Stud stalwart Flemensfirth, recently crowned champion jumps sire in Britain and Ireland for the first time, was Know The Score at £380,000. He was a €55,000 Derby Sale purchase by Monbeg Stables, who sent him out to win at Ballinaboola.

There is no shortage of Flemensfirth stores on offer at Goffs and Tattersalls in the coming weeks, including a half-brother to Black Hercules at the former venue and half-brothers to Ballabriggs and Simonsig at the latter.

There is also plenty of choice of youngsters by Oscar, source of numerous superstars but so often the bridesmaid in the jumps sire championship.

SIRES WITH MOST SIX-FIGURE HORSES AT BOUTIQUE JUMPS SALES IN THE 2017-18 NH SEASON IN UK AND IRELAND

Sire - Number - Highest price (horse)
Oscar - 7 - £400,000 (Trevelyn's Corn)
Flemensfirth - 7 - £380,000 (Know The Score)
Getaway - 7 - £350,000 (Downtown Getaway)
Stowaway - 7 - £330,000 (Feel My Pulse)
Gold Well - 5 - £215,000 (Lock's Corner)
Malinas - 4 - €320,000 (Lecale's Article)
Jeremy - 4 - £210,000 (The Very Man)

Oscar's highest priced pointer of 2017-18, Trevelyn's Corn, was bought as a store by Colin Bowe for €45,000 and resold for £400,000 after scoring at Borris House.

The pick of his drafts at the sales this month on paper are the brothers to Lord Windermere and The Tullow Tank at Goffs and the half-brother to The New One at Tattersalls Ireland.

The late Stowaway was showcased by the sale of easy Lismore winner Feel My Pulse for £330,000 at the Cheltenham Festival, another one for the alchemists at Monbeg Stables who bought the gelding for €60,000.

His delegation at the store sales this month is comprised mainly of his final crop of three-year-olds. A filly closely related to Champagne Fever at Goffs and geldings out of the talented mares Shop DJ and Zuzka at Tattersalls Ireland could be the highlights.

The most expensive boutique sale horse of 2017-18 by Getaway, whose first crop yielded last season's dual Grade 2-winning hurdler Getabird, was actually a homebred for Peter Magnier and Mags Mullins – impressive Fairyhouse bumper winner Downtown Getaway at £350,000 – but another who commanded a huge price was Galway scorer Gallahers Cross at £260,000.

Gallahers Cross offers a salutary lesson that there are profits to be made from all sections of the store market, as he went unsold at just €5,000 at the 2015 Land Rover Sale.

Again, Getaway covers large books each year and there is a wide selection of his stores on offer this month. The most eye-catching pedigree of all comes up for sale at Goffs on Tuesday – a half-brother to four-time Group 1 winner and German champion sire Soldier Hollow.

Lecale's Article: son of Malinas found himself in demand at the Goffs Punchestown SaleCredit: Goffs

Gold Well supplied five of the six-figure jumps horses-in-training purchases from last term, but as he died in 2013 his final crop are four-year-olds and he has no stores for sale this month.

And it is a case of catch them while you can with the progeny of Jeremy, who had four form horses sold for £100,000/€100,000 or more in the past 12 months but who died in 2014. The 30-odd lots by the sire of Our Conor on offer at Kill and Fairyhouse this month are his final three-year-olds.

Glenview Stud resident Malinas is the revelation among the sires of six-figure form horses. Less heralded than most already mentioned in this article, he had a quartet of four-year-olds cross that price threshold, conceived when he stood at Yorton Farm in Britain.

They were headed by Lecale's Article, who went from €26,000 Derby Sale store to €320,000 Goffs Punchestown sale-topper after strolling to success at Largy in April.

What makes that feat all the more laudable is that only 94 foals by Malinas were born in 2014. Even fewer arrived the following year – 51 – and consequently there are only two three-year-olds by the sire up for auction this month, including a half-brother to the useful Champagne At Tara at Goffs this week.

But then then the likes of Dansant, Elusive Pimpernel and Racinger also proved to be unexpected suppliers of six-figure jumps horses in 2017-18, showing that no stream can go unsifted in the great store sale gold rush.

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