New Records at the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale

A new record was created at today’s Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale when EDITH PELHAM was bought for £180,000 by trainer Fergal O’Brien – it is the best-ever price given for a British-trained point-to-point mare, and it is the first time a British-trained point-to-pointer has topped a Tattersalls Cheltenham sale. 

The sale also produced a record median of £80,000 and achieved a strong clearance rate of 86 per cent.

EDITH PELHAM, a five-year-old daughter of Blue Bresil and consigned by G&T Racing, won on debut at Sheriff Hutton in January for trainer Gina Andrews.

The mare’s sale meant that Team Ellis was breaking its own record, previously £175,000 achieved by Just A Rose at the 2023 Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale and held jointly with point-to-point trainer Bradley Gibbs.

Andrew’s husband Tom Ellis said: “We have always loved this mare, and we have given her the time. Last year none of mine were running that well and so we made a conscious decision to stop for that season, and we turned them all away, it was the best thing we could have done for these young horses.”

He added: “She won at Sheriff Hutton, it is a good, fair track and it is a good test of a horse.”

EDITH PELHAM was a £40,000 store horse purchase by Ellis and, when asked what stood out about her when she was bought as a three-year-old, he said: “We liked everything about her that people are liking today – she is a lovely model and is a great mover, there was really no genius in it. 

“She gone down very well today – she has been vetted four or five times and has vetted well. I was fairly confident we’d get a decent price, but I did not think we’d get that.”

Successful purchaser O’Brien, who was in the sale ring with the mare’s new owner Jane May, said: “We loved the way she ran, she is coming from a good producer, she has been very well schooled, very well looked after, and is by a good sire in Blue Bresil. We loved everything about her, and she vetted very clean.” 

“This is the first horse we will have with Fergal,” explained May, who added: “We have bred our own horses for a long time, but we are getting too old for that now so we thought we’d come and buy something nice! 

“We watched her race, she took her fences beautifully, she ran on well. We have been in the game for 67 years so we hope we have an idea now!”

O’Brien also went to £100,000 for the five-year-old debut-winning mare NO RISK TODAY (Lot 8) from Philip McBurney and Gerald Quinn’s Caherty Stables 

The four-year-old KANZLER (Lot 13), offered by Mick Goffs’ Moate Stables, was bought by Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins for £165,000, the sale a great return on the gelding’s yearling purchase of €4,000 when bought in France by JD Moore.

By the German sire Tai Chi, the gelding won his maiden on debut at Kirkistown at the beginning of February. 

Kirk said: “He is a beautiful horse with loads of quality. When he won his point-to-point he showed he’s got loads of speed. I could see him dropping back and being a very good 2m hurdler. 

“He jumped very well and he can definitely make a chaser long term as well. He’s got loads of quality and the sire’s a good sire in Germany. I know of him but this is the first I’ve bought. This horse is quality, has speed and looks to have a lot of class. He’s just the type of horse I like to buy.”

Two lots sold for £155,000 – Jerry McGrath and Ben Pauling Racing purchased the four-year-old Comea winner TAURUS BAY from Denis Murphy’s Ballyboy Stables, the first point-to-point runner and winner for the young exciting sire Poet’s Word, while AJ O’Neill, signing as O’Neill Racing and Stroud Coleman Bloodstock, spent the same amount on February’s Belharbour winner VANDERFLIER (Lot 10).

Pauling said: “Taurus Bay is a gorgeous individual, he has loads of size and scope. He is a shell of what he will be, next year you will see a big strong horse, but he has still taken his training this season well. It was a very good performance when he won, he looked green, but he picked up nicely. He has been bought for a client.”

Of the sire, he added: “Last year I bought two stores by Poet’s Word, and I like them.”

Of buying point-to-pointers and the success he has been enjoying with the graduates from the pointing ranks, headlined by his Grade 1-winning Tattersalls November Sale graduate Handstands, Pauling said: “We buy a lot of stores and a lot of form horses. We have had luck from the point-to-point ranks, but you still have to punch clever. We have got a good team buying and we are happy with how it is going.”

Of plans for Handstands, Pauling updated: “He is in incredible form, if Aintree were tomorrow we’d be fine. We have decided not to come here [for The Festival] and we are going to stick to that plan and go straight to Aintree.” 

VANDERFLIER, a five-year-old by Milan and sold by Sam Curling’s Skehanagh Stables, was one of two purchases at the sale for O’Neill and he said: “He is a lovely big horse, and is a very free-moving type. I liked the way the penny seemed to drop as he was coming up the straight when he won and he really galloped on and jumped the last lovely, and won well. I am a fan of the horse, he seems to be learning the job nicely. He has been bought on spec.”

It was the five-year-old gelding’s third turn around a sale ring having been purchased at the 2023 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale for €52,000 as a store horse by JJ Bowe and previously sold at the same company’s November NH Sale for €48,000 as a foal.

Tattersalls Cheltenham sales manager Shirley Anderson-Jolag said: “With the understandable cancellation of last weekend’s Irish point-to-points it meant that today sale was always going to have a reduced catalogue, but we are delighted that the sale has produced a new British record price for Edith Pelham, achieved a superb clearance rate of 86 per cent, and a record median of £80,000.

“The results have really set up for the industry-leading Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale on March 13 and we are taking entries now.

“However, our thoughts this week have very much been with Michael O’Sullivan’s family and friends, as well as with our marketing manager Richard Botterill, who is not in the best of health at present and was much missed by us all today.”