Buyers Sober as £110,000 prospect headlines at Tattersalls Cheltenham May Sale

One of the quietest Tattersalls Cheltenham sales of recent times still saw a familiar consignor at the top of the tree as Cormac Doyle's Sober Glory switched to the Gold Cup-winning colours of Brocade Racing for £110,000.

The syndicate which owned the magnificent chestnut Native River is fond of staying chasers and the four-year-old, who stretched away from his rivals on his only start, looks right in that bracket. 

His future trainers, Philip Hobbs and Johnson White, will know his family well as they had memorable days with Sober Glory's maternal uncle, the Challow Hurdle and Pertemps Final winner Fingal Bay.

"We like this sale, we sold Monkfish at it a few years back and always try to hold a nice one back, the timing is good," said Doyle.

"Mount Eaton Stud had him and sent him to me to train. He's always been very good, so we went down to Bartlemy very confident that day."

In charge of purchasing was agent Tom Malone, who looks after Native River in his retirement. 

He said: "He's a lovely animal and I've bought him on behalf of Brocade Racing to go to Philip Hobbs. He's by Mount Nelson, who unfortunately seems to be doing very well now and he's not around any more."

The auditorium, which adjoins a racecourse being stripped back to recover through the summer, felt even emptier than might have been expected and this was reflected in trade. Monkfish, the four-time Grade 1 winner who has mercifully resurfaced after a long period of absence, cost more than double Sober Glory and was not even the top lot six years ago.

Tom Malone was the session's leading buyerCredit: Debbie Burt

Figures dipped across the board, which feels ominous for the coming store sales. The average dropped 19 per cent to £47,346 from £58,181, with the median down 14 per cent to £43,000. Some 26 of 30 offered sold at a clearance rate of 87 per cent, compared with 97 per cent 12 months ago.

Malone was the session's biggest purchaser, with three netted for a total of £256,000. 

"I bought lot 5 [the Donnchadh Doyle-trained Tiptoptim], who is by Mount Nelson, on spec," he said. "He was very impressive and was probably value today, for a seven-length maiden winner to be 70 grand. 

"Then I bought lot 31 [Peter Flood's French Emperor for £76,000], who was third at Loughanmore, and I bought the winner of the race [Talk To The Man] privately; the form stands up to me. Nicky Martin is going to train him."

Donnchadh Doyle's American Jukebox is heading for the same home at Gordon Elliott's as his half-brother American Mike, a top bumper performer who has indicated potential over fences for Bective Stud. He too was some way cheaper than his sibling, making £100,000 as the only other horse to breach six figures.

American Jukebox is shown pre-sale; he was the second lot to make six figures on the dayCredit: Debbie Burt

"He's a fine horse, he's not for anyone in particular, we'll get him home first," said Elliott. 

"We have the half-brother and this horse is similar, a bit smaller maybe. He's a young horse, not even four yet, but we saw him earlier in the spring and liked him then."

Crawfords on the money

It tends to be those that make the most money which end up being the focus, but there was no more impressive example of trading than the feat achieved by Ross Crawford, one of the band of skilled brothers that make up the Newlands Farm operation, near Larne in County Antrim.

Last summer at Part 2 of the Tattersalls Ireland July Store Sale, he took a punt on a three-year-old by Wings Of Eagles and paid just €1,250. Marlacoo was then trained by Crawford's brother Stuart to land a bumper in striking fashion at Down Royal ten days ago and was picked up for £85,000 by Highflyer's Anthony Bromley for a prospective syndicate which hasn't disclosed a likely trainer.

"What we're trying to do is buy cheap, produce them well and, hopefully, turn a profit – to be fair, he was very cheap that day," said Ross Crawford.

"He probably was small. He's grown since I've had him, he was just raw and green and backward. I had a bit of luck, too."

Ross Crawford (right, with Anthony Bromley) had a fine pinhooking successCredit: Debbie Burt

Elaborating on his strategy, Crawford said: "I keep the catalogue in the pocket, pick the horse and then check the catalogue to see if I can afford to buy it. I'd have been prepared to pay a bit more on the day, but ultimately that's what we're trying to do – buy them as cheap as we can. 

"We spend probably 12 to 15 full days between the sales; it's just a product of a bit of work and graft to do that."

Crawford also explained why Marlacoo was sent for a bumper rather than a point-to-point.

"He lost a bit of time in the autumn because of a cold and his jumping was always a little bit behind," he said. "He jumps well but for those four-year-old point-to-points in the spring, they have to be on the money and he wasn't streetwise enough. 

"Even in his bumper he was probably still a bit green."

Ian Ferguson stepped in for the early £80,000 pacesetter, the Rob James-consigned Dawstown winner Moon Over America. He is a Sea Moon gelding out of a sister to Academy Sir Harry, who looked very smart in a brief career.

Ferguson said: "He's been bought for Nigel Twiston-Davies with Steve Wignall and the Options O Syndicate. They've had horses like [Champion Bumper and Betfair Hurdle winner] Ballyandy.

"They've had some good ones, we've been lucky, and hopefully he is too. He came well recommended by Rob and I just liked the look of him. Hopefully he'll make a nice chaser some day."

Closing statement

Matt Prior, Tattersalls’ associate director, said: “The May Sale has brought the 2023-24 Tattersalls Cheltenham sales year to a satisfactory conclusion.

Matt Prior: delighted with clearance rate over the course of the seasonCredit: Tattersalls

“As the industry-leading point-to-point venue, the season has performed well and with 195 horses sold from 238 offered over the seven sales, we are delighted with the strong 82 per cent clearance rate.

“In total, 58 horses have fetched £100,000 or more. We are delighted to have sold Echoing Silence at the market-leading Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale for £410,000 and she is the highest-priced point-to-pointer to be sold at public auction this season, and the only horse to have surpassed the £400,000 mark.

“Noticeably, the market has stepped back a level, but, positively, nice horses are being sold, as is evidenced by our strong clearance rate."

He continued: “On the track we have been well-represented with winners at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals, headlined by the impressive Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle winner Stellar Storu, and the Aintree Bowl Chase winner and Boodles Gold Cup runner-up Gerri Colombe. There has also been numerous maiden, novice hurdle and novice chase winners, giving plenty of strength in depth for the future.

“We congratulate all our consignors on another successful winter and spring point-to-point season, despite the considerable challenges posed by the wet spring. We wish everyone a good summer, successful restocking at the Tattersalls Ireland store sales, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to the home of jump racing for the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale.”

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