By Adam Houghton
Gordon Elliott was the key player at last year's Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale when going to £420,000 to secure the joint top lots, Jalon D'Oudairies (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}) and Romeo Coolio (GB) (Kayf Tara {GB}), two names that will be familiar to National Hunt enthusiasts following the running of the G1 Champion Bumper back at the track on Wednesday.
Having shared top billing 12 months earlier, this time it was Romeo Coolio who got the better of the argument, two and a half lengths ahead of stablemate Jalon D'Oudairies, albeit both horses had to settle for a minor role as they completed a clean sweep of the podium places behind the Willie Mullins-trained winner, Jasmin De Vaux (Fr) (Tirwanako {Fr}).
Romeo Coolio and Jalon D'Oudairies both look capable of winning good races over obstacles when the time comes, promising to add to what is already an impressive roll of honour for the Cheltenham Festival Sale since its inception in 2016.
Previous graduates include Festival winners Telmesomethinggirl (Ire) (Stowaway {GB}) and Love Envoi (Ire) (Westerner {GB}), successful in the G2 Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle in 2021 and 2022, respectively, while Bravemansgame (Fr) (Brave Mansonnien {Fr}) filled the runner-up spot in last year's G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup after being bought for £370,000 at this sale in 2019.
Bravemansgame will be tasked with trying to go one place better in the latest edition of the Gold Cup on Friday and he won't be the only graduate from the Cheltenham Festival Sale in the line-up. He's joined by Elliott's multiple Grade 1 winner Gerri Colombe (Fr) (Saddler Maker {Ire}), who made £240,000 when up for auction in 2020.
Just shy of £20 million changed hands in the first seven years of this boutique event, raised through the sale of 133 horses. Another 27 horses (93%) were sold on Thursday evening, for a record total of £3,563,000 and an average of £131,963.
The top lot was the four-year-old filly Echoing Silence (Ire) (Doyen {Ire}) (lot 12), a half-sister to the Grade 2 winner Deafening Silence (Ire) (Alkaadhem {GB}) consigned by Sam Curling on behalf of owner Correna Bowe.
Echoing Silence won a mares' maiden on her point-to-point debut at Ballycahane and will now go into training with Henry de Bromhead having been bought by Peter Molony's Rathmore Stud for £410,000.
“I never imagined this could happen,” said an emotional Bowe, who is the niece of the prolific point-to-point trainer and consignor Colin Bowe. “I said to Mum a couple of months ago that if I was to ever own a horse and bring it to the Cheltenham Festival Sale that would be the dream–to do this on the very first time is absolutely amazing.”
Molony–who also went to £120,000 to secure The Big Westerner (Ire) (Westerner {GB}) (lot 10), a half-sister to the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle winner Stay Away Fay (Ire) (Shantou)–said, “I was there when she won at Ballycahane point-to-point as it is just 10 minutes away from home; The Big Westerner won on the same day.
“I had been told about her [Echoing Silence] about a month before she ran. She is just beautiful, just stunning, so we said that we will have to have a go.”
Molony added of The Big Westerner, “She is a lovely scopey mare and has been bought on spec. She will probably be turned away now.”
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