Fabulous February for the second year in a row

Tattersalls Cheltenham 2019 sales season opened with fabulous results at the Cheltenham February Sale.

The joint second highest price for a point to pointer was recorded for the consecutive year of £410,000. The sale concluded with an increased median of £66,000 ( 2%), an exceptional average of £101,680 and an aggregate of £2,542,000. The clearance rate concluded on 71%.
 
The star of the show was Cormac Farrell's Sholokhov four-year-old Wide Receiver. The Sholokhov gelding impressed at Cragmore when taking the four-year-old maiden by eight-lengths and this was duly noted by his audience. Bidding was between agents Tom Malone and Harold Kirk and it was Malone, who was determined to land the winner, signing the docket along with trainer Gordon Elliott for £410,000 (Lot 36). Wide Receiver made a tidy profit for his connections; he was bought at the Derby Sale just eight months previous for €25,000.


 

Kirk however did not leave the sales arena empty handed. Earlier in the sale, he was successful in purchasing the next two highest priced lots. Entered as a wild card after his 15-length winning performance at Knockanard, Colin Bowe's Ferny Hollow, a four-year-old by Westerner was knocked down to Kirk and Irish Champion Trainer Willie Mullins for €300,000 (Lot 34). Kirk and Mullins also secured Donnchadh Doyle's Deploy The Getaway, a four-year-old Getaway who produced a 20-length victory at Tallow for £200,000 (Lot 17).


 
Trainer Evan Williams had to go to £200,000 to secure Lot 31, Pat Doyle's Fado Des Brosses, a Balko four-year-old who took the four-year-old Maiden at Belharbour by a wide margin of 15 lengths.
 
At the conclusion of the sale, Director of Horses in Training Sales Richard Pugh commented;
 
"It is a true testament to this sale that for the second year running it sells the joint second highest priced point to pointer on record. But these results don't come without the success on the track which has been evident by recent graduates. Just 12 months previous, the current Cheltenham Champion Bumper favourite Envoi Allen was purchased at this sale.

"We look forward to returning here in three weeks where we host the Cheltenham Festival Sale on Thursday 14 March and offering further future Champions."