'Nothing ticked all the boxes until he came up' - Battleoverdoyen heading to Max Comley after ThoroughBid sale

Dual Grade 1 winner Battleoverdoyen is set for a new adventure after selling to young trainer Max Comley at ThoroughBid's Online October Sale on Thursday. 

Having landed top-level honours for Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown in the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle and Neville Hotels Novice Chase of 2019, the Doyen gelding finds himself Gloucestershire bound and in the care of the point-to-point handler, who has recently gained a licence to train under rules. 

The 11-year-old won a Galway Festival handicap chase on his penultimate start for Elliott and Pioneer Racing and is the type of Saturday horse the fledgling trainer is after. 

Comley said of the £13,000 recruit: "He's been bought for Caroline Mackness, who we've had some luck for but she's after a good horse she can have some fun with. I've been quietly looking for a horse for her for a while but nothing ticked all the boxes until he came up and I thought 'he's an older horse but one who might have a good day left in him'. 

"I liked the race he won back in August and I thought off his mark [130] he could run okay in something like the Foxhunters."

Max Comley: "We want to try and hit the ground running"

Comley has been a prolific operator on the British point scene, saddling the likes of Just Your Type, Wagner and Jay Bee Whiskey to a number of successes. Last season he saddled 22 winners at a smart strike-rate and finished third in the national point trainers' title, but he is now looking ahead to making a proper start in the National Hunt division.

He explained: "We've mainly trained point-to-pointers and this will be our first season under rules. I've just finished my modules at the Racing School to give us a licence this year, while we've been looking for a change of types of horses to ones we've bought in the past. We want to try and hit the ground running and have some decent horses to try and catapult us into the winner's enclosure. 

"Battleoverdoyen's that sort of horse, off his Irish form and if we place him well, he should be winning plenty of races over here in the twilight of his career."

As for the rest of Comley's team, it will now be largely made up of horses running under rules, although he won't abandon the side he cut his teeth in as a rider.

He added: "We'll probably have around 35-40 horses to go to war with this year, we will still have four or five pointers so we'll have a nice spread of horses. We're always looking and always trying to source new horses to fit the bill for this season."

The highest price achieved at a low-profile sale before final results were published was by the multiple winner Game Line, bought by Ross Williams for £18,000.

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