Mahon's Way Tops Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale
The Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham November Sale kicked off the 2022-2023 Cheltenham Sales
season in fine form.
The session saw two horses make more than £300,00, 13 sell for £100,000 or more and a highly
impressive sales rate of 89 per cent. The sale’s turnover of £4,115,000 was just off last year’s record-
breaking renewal, whilst the median of £72,500 was the best recorded at this sale.
Mahon's Way appearance in the Cheltenham sale ring was a widely anticipated as a likely sales
topper and the gelding (Lot 8) did not disappoint, sold by Denis Hogan’s Bohoerna Stables to Alex
Elliott for £360,000.
By Walk In The Park, leading sire at this week’s Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale, Mahon’s Way
has run once and won once – the four-year-old taking a Lisronagh maiden in fine style last weekend.
A Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale €26,000 foal purchase and a €80,000 Tattersalls Ireland
Derby Sale graduate, Mahon’s Way is out of Allys Bubble (Luso). She is a half-sister to the talented
ten-time winner Champagne Fever, whose victories included the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
at the Cheltenham Festival.
Successful buyer Elliott said: “He’s been bought for Cheveley Park Stud to go to trainer Henry de
Bromhead. They very kindly gave us an order earlier this year after A Plus Tard won the Gold Cup. I
came here, it looked a great catalogue, so I thought there’d be some options.”
Of the individual, Elliott added; His physical, his pedigree and his performance at the weekend all
added up. I actually spoke to Norman Williamson, who pinhooked him as a foal, and he said he
couldn’t speak highly enough of him. It’s a great result for Denis and it’s great to have Cheveley Park
back in action in the ring.”
Consignor Denis Hogan recalled: “From day one we’ve loved him. I wouldn’t have bought him
without one of my friends Tadhg O'Shea, he’s based out in Dubai but he was with me at the sale.
“We failed [at the Derby Sale] on another horse from Williamson, but he told us he had another
worth us having a look at. He’s a great salesman and he’s a great judge of a horse – if he hadn’t told
me about him I wouldn’t have bought the horse. We went really over budget but thank God we did
because he’s paid us back.
He added: “I hope he goes on to win a Gold Cup because he’s definitely got the makings of a Grade 1
horse. He was good at the weekend but that’s only a fraction of what he can do, I think there’s a
load more to come. I’ve got to thank my team back in the yard because I could not do this without
them, they’re top class and they make my job very easy.”
Working Away (Lot 33), the sale’s most expensive filly, was bought by Gordon Elliott for £330,000,
sold by Denis Murphy's Ballyboy Stables.
A four-year-old daughter of Workforce and out of the Old Vic mare Grangemore, she won at
Tattersalls on October 30 on her career debut for Murphy.
The four-year-old filly's dam is an own-sister to the Grade 3 hurdles winner Grangeclare Lark and a
half-sister to Scarthy Lad (Magical Wonder), winner of the Tipperary Hurdle (G2) and third-placed in
the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle (G1).
“For me she was the standout of the sale,” said Elliott. “I was at the point-to-point the day she won
and she looked very good so, hopefully, she’s lucky now. We’re not sure who’ll own her yet but we’ll
get her home and get her sold. We’ll probably go for a bumper with her. There’s such a great
programme for mares nowadays.”
Murphy reflected: “I hope she’s very lucky for Gordon and they get lots of fun out of her. Her walk is
massive, she covers so much ground, she just finds everything simple.”
This sale has been a happy hunting ground before for Elliott – he purchased the subsequent Grade 1
winner Ballyadam here in 2020.
Tullyhill (Lot 22), winner of his maiden in October at Moira for trainer Colin McKeever and owner
Wilson Dennison, was purchased by Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins for £220,000.
“He’s from a proven source whom we buy a lot of horses off,” said Kirk. “Martaline is a top-class sire,
Wilson Dennison’s is a very good academy, and the horse came highly recommended by Colin
McKeever.
“Hopefully this horse can improve a lot. He’s a strong sort of Martaline and he moves well. We’ve
been lucky buying off this team before with horses like Yorkhill, Bellshill, Shaneshill, there’s a load of
them. He has been bought for an existing owner of Willie’s.”
By Martaline and out of the unraced Le Havre mare Ragtime, he is a grandson of Rouvraie (Anabaa),
a three-time winner in France and in the Grand Prix de la Ville de Nice Chase (G3).
It has been a very good day for Dennison – Hermes Allen, sold by Wilson Dennison and trainer
Caroline McCaldin at last year’s Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale to Aiden Murphy and Paul
Nicholls for £350,000, was today’s highly impressive 9 length winner of the Grade 2 Ballymore
Novices Hurdle. He is now an 8-1 chance for the Festival’s Grade 1 Ballymore Novices Hurdle.
After the sale, Matthew Prior, Tattersalls Head of Sales, said: “It is a fantastic start to this Autumn’s
Tattersalls Cheltenham Sales. The quality of the horses offered at these Cheltenham sales continue
to excel at the highest level and was advertised so well on the racecourse today with such an
impressive victory from Hermes Allen.
“It is wonderful to be back here at the home of jumps racing, courtesy of the Cheltenham executive
and the Jockey Club, and see once again sustained demand at all levels of the market.
“It was always going to be hard to match last year’s record-breaking renewal of this sale, but to
finish with a turnover over £4 million for a second year in succession, as well as a record-breaking
median, is a testament to the quality of horse on offer today.
“We now turn our attention to the Cheltenham December Sale, which has produced such luminaries
as the Grade 1 winners Shishkin, Sir Gerhard and Chantry House, with entries being taken now.