Codd has sale topper again at Brightwells

Profitable sales from a bigger catalogue, and the opportunity to buy some very smart prospects, summed up Brightwells' Cheltenham April Sale held yesterday.

A bright spring afternoon was reflected by a breezy atmosphere inside the ring, and while the figures could not match last year's stand-out event, turnover of £3,145,000 from trading 52 horses at an average of £62,412 indicates leading buyers were on the premises.

A total of 71 horses walked through the ring compared to 47 in 2014, but the catalogue size was similar to the edition held two years ago. Turnover was down 5%, the average by 27% and the median by 25% to £50,000, but nine horses changed hands for six-figure sums, headed by Irish point-to-point winner Born Survivor, a four-year-old who sold for £220,000.

David Minton, a doyen of the auction ring and member of the Highflyer Bloodstock agency, said: "It's been a very good sale with a solid bunch of horses. The number of horses offered was perfect, there was a good crowd and a busy market."

Brightwells' auctioneer Richard Botterill, said: "At horses-in-training sales you can never match one year to the next, and last year's event may prove to have been exceptional, but we are very happy with today's trade and the support of our vendors, for whom Cheltenham remains a priority.

"Trade was solid for a quality horse that had shown good form and there was real strength from the top to the middle of the market. We are very grateful to the vendors of Irish point-to-pointers who make sales here at Cheltenham so vibrant, but it was particularly encouraging to see several lovely British pointers and they made very good sums, too.

"Mares were also popular - the National Hunt committee of the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association has put a lot of effort into encouraging the racing of mares, and it is being reflected in the ring."

Rising young Warwickshire trainer Dan Skelton, the son of Olympic gold medal-winning showjumper Nick Skelton, was smiling broadly after the sale of top lot Born Survivor (Lot 40a).

The gelding, a son of champion sire King's Theatre, had won a maiden point-to-point for four-year-olds in good style at Ballymena in Ireland on Saturday, which was perfect timing for a ring appearance at Brightwells' Cheltenham arena.

Racehorse owner Richard Kelvin-Hughes duly bought the youngster with a bid of £220,000, creating an excellent pinhook for trainer Willie Codd of Lingstown Stables, who had bought Born Survivor last summer as an unbroken store for €36,000. Codd had topped the 2014 version of this sale when trading Alisier d'Irlande for £300,000.

Kelvin-Hughes, a keen breeder of jumpers, usually sends his racehorses to Nicky Henderson and Alan King, but he revealed Born Survivor had been bought for a new partnership involving his wife Lizzie and Beverley Widdowson, and would be joining Skelton.

A big thumbs-up from the trainer was doubtless matched by his jockey brother Harry, who will have the pleasure of riding the horse next season.

Dan Skelton said: "He's a lovely horse, with size and breeding, and he looked very good on video winning his race - he could be outstanding. Now it's my job to make sure I don't mess it up!"

Kelvin-Hughes said: "We just loved the scope of him and the way he moves - he's a proper horse for the future. We were alerted to him a few days ago and liked the way he won."

King's Theatre sired top lot Born Survivor, and the late Ballylinch Stud stallion was also responsible for Minella Aris (Lot 52), who finished second on the top-ten board with a valuation of £200,000.

Vendor John Nallen, who had brought his family to Cheltenham before joining the crowds heading to Sandown Park for today's farewell to legendary jockey A P McCoy, had paid €28,000 for the four-year-old as a foal. He saddled him to win at Dromahane two weeks ago on his second start.

Britain's multiple champion trainer Paul Nicholls will handle the next stage of Minella Aris's career after Richard Botterill's hammer came down in the direction of agent Tom Malone, who said: "He's a big, scopey sort, and I fell in love with him when I first saw him in Ireland. I tried to buy him privately, but the man [Nallen] wanted to bring him to the ring and it's paid off for him. He's 16.3 [hands] and only four, but he could develop into his pedigree."

Malone also purchased Red Hanrahan (Lot 34), a son of Yeats who he bought for £150,000, a healthy mark up on his €14,000 purchase price as a store last year. The four-year-old had fallen on debut in an Irish point, but made amends with victory at Durrow late last month.

A relative of high-class jumper Vic's Venturi, Red Hanrahan was trained in Count Meath by Virginia Considine, who owned him in partnership with Fiona Magee. This was by some way Considine's biggest sale.

There was good trade for a handful of British pointers who were on offer, headed by the £100,000 sale of North Hill Harvey (Lot 65a), who won a point-to-point on debut for owner Tom Lacey at Chaddesley Corbett in Worcestershire on Saturday.

A four-year-old son of Kayf Tara, he scored impressively, catching the eye of racehorse owner Richard Kelvin-Hughes who had earlier gained top lot Born Survivor. Like that horse, North Hill Harvey, who had been bought by vendor Tom Lacey for €44,000 as a store in June, will join trainer Dan Skelton.

Another legacy of Kayf Tara, the five-year-old mare Fortunata Fashions (Lot 75), will head to trainer Ben Case after being sold for £55,000 to agent Kevin Ross. Fortunata Fashions was bought privately when unbroken by trainer Francesca Nimmo and her boyfriend, jockey Charlie Poste. She won at Brocklesby Park in Lincolnshire last month, teeing up her ring appearance yesterday.

Breath Of Blighty (Lot 50) a recent winner at Barbury Castle in Wiltshire, made £50,000 when exiting Tom Lacey's care to join clients of Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock.

Northern Ireland trainer Brian Hamilton has shown his prowess with chasers and hurdlers, but he is now proving adept at pinhooking stores.

Yesterday he traded Lucky Pass (Lot 58) to Harold Kirk for £140,000, and Some Are Lucky (Lot 47a), who made £80,000 to a bid from agent Alex Elliott and trainer Tom George. The last-named horse had finished second to top lot Born Survivor on his racing debut last weekend.

Elliott said of Some Are Lucky: "He looks very similar to Holywell, the best son of Gold Well."

Lucky Pass had been bought privately tout of a field in France by Jeremy Maxwell, Hamilton's step-father. The vendor said: "We picked him up in October and it took a wee while to get him organised, but he came to himself at Christmas and has turned out to be a very good horse."

Kirk, who buys for Ireland's champion trainer Willie Mullins, also bought Inspired Poet (Lot 54), who scored impressively at Templemore earlier this month for Willie Slattery of Meadowview Stables. He had bought the gelding for €48,000 last year.

Kirk said of Inspired Poet: "That's the fourth horse we've bought from Willie Slattery - the first three were Cooldine, Quel Esprit and Faugheen, who all became Grade One winners."

By far the leading buyers in terms of quantity of horses secured were Highflyer Bloodstock, aka David Minton, Anthony Bromley and Tessa Greatrex.

They bought 19 horses, including the day's first six-figure horse, Stowaway Magic (Lot 24), who made £100,000 when leaving Denis Murphy's Ballyboy Stables bound for Nicky Henderson's yard.

Monbeg Charmer (Lot 56), who made £120,000, was another Highflyer gain, and will long be remembered by auctioneer Matthew Hall. A relative newcomer to the role of gavel master, Hall was making his debut on Cheltenham's rostrum, and this was his first six-figure sale.

Director and Head of Equine, Terry Court, said: "I'm delighted with the way Matthew operated today, and all our vendors seemed very pleased with his performance."

Brightwells next auction at Cheltenham takes place on Thursday, May 28.