Elliott active at Cheltenham Sale Gordon Elliott added further strength to his already powerful Cullentra House yard with some big-money buys at yesterday's Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale held at the racecourse. Recruiting four-year-olds who had shown early ability in Irish point-to-points, Elliott brought the hammer down with a £330,000 offer for Ballyadam, £255,000 for Fiston Des Issards and £125,000 for the filly Queens Brook. Elliott, whose stable star Tiger Roll had a successful procedure earlier in the day to remove a bone chip from his knee, could not reveal the names of the clients he had acted for but said of Ballyadam, "He's been given a good rating and the video of his win was very impressive. He galloped right through to the line. He's an exciting prospect. I've bought him for an existing client in the yard." Ballyadam, whose half-brother Legal Eyes was a recent winner for Ben Pauling's Gloucestershire stable, won impressively at Portrush in County Antrim last month for local trainer Colin McKeever, who handled the horse for owner Wilson Dennison. It was a similar tale for the Colin Bowe-trained Fiston Des Issards, who scored at Loughanmore on his debut having been bought in May last year as an unbroken three-year-old for £28,000. Queens Brook was bought for €25,000 at the Tattersalls Derby Sale as an unbroken three-year-old by trainer Aidan Fitzgerald and his friend Enda McDonagh. The four-year-old filly is a half-sister to high-class staying chaser Shotgun Paddy, who was placed at the Cheltenham Festival in the National Hunt Chase. Tattersalls had moved the start of the sale forward to a start time of 1pm, after it had originally been scheduled to take place after the Countryside Day card which was called off following heavy rain. The sale is traditionally packed with racegoers who stay on to view the sales ring action, and it was standing room only despite the loss of the day's racing. An average price of nearly £100,000 was evidence of the popularity of young jumping horses, and turnover of just under £3m was achieved as 45 horses came on the market. Thirty-two found a buyer, or 71 per cent. Other notable purchases included Yousayitbest, a four-year-old Irish pointer who scored at Moig South two weeks ago for trainer Cian Hughes. Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott bought this one for an undisclosed Irish yard, while Gabynako, who finished second to Yousayitbest, was sold to Skybet Champion Hurdle winning trainer Gavin Cromwell for £130,000. Trainer Warren Ewing, a brother-in-law of jockey Barry Geraghty, also enjoyed a profitable sale when trading the filly Brave Way for £160,000. He had bought her for £10,000 18 months ago at a sale in Doncaster. Commenting on the transition from relatively cheap filly to a six-figure star, Ewing said: "She just needed to develop, but we bought a lovely-moving filly. From the time we got her home she just grew and grew." Brave Way won a point at Knockinroe by a length from Uptown Lady, and she too went on the market yesterday being sold for £150,000 to Gloucestershire trainer Jonjo O'Neill At the sale's conclusion, Matt Prior, Tattersalls' Head of Cheltenham Sales, revealed plans for a January Sale at Cheltenham but in a new location - the owners' and trainers' marquee on Festival Trials Day, Saturday, January 25. He added: "We now look forward to the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale which takes place on Friday, December 13."
