07 May 2010 Brightwells Report Strong Trade at Cheltenham Hunter Chase Meeting Sale
by Weatherbys Chase Staff
Brightwells' decision to change the date of their second May Sale to precede the evening's Cheltenham Hunter Chase Meeting produced a strong trade recording increases in turnover and clearance rate, with two individuals selling for six figure sums.
The top price of the day was offered by Eugene McDermott's Kennycourt Stud, the five-year-old Hernando gelding Nicene Creed had finished second on his debut run in a bumper at Punchestown Festival. The bidding was opened at £100,000 by Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock, but the battle to secure this exciting prospect was between Co. Kilkenny trainer Shark Hanlon and Aiden Murphy whose final bid of £175,000 secured the sale.
Grand National winning Trainer Jonjo O'Neill was the next to secure a six figure price when seeing off Ben De Haan and Shark Hanlon to buy the ultra impressive Beneficial five-year-old filly Fiddlededee a 15 lengths winner of her Maiden Point-to-Point at The Pigeons which she followed up with an effortless win of the p2p.ie Mares Point-to-Point Bumper at Tipperary a week before the sale.
End of season consignments from leading Trainers benefitted by staging the sale alongside the Hunter Chase Meeting with a large audience of the Point-to-Point fraternity in attendance. Alan King's Barbury Castle Stables offered the nine-year-old Nenuphar Collonges who was purchased for £40,000 by Dawn and Richard Prince for their son Philip to ride and looks a really exciting prospect for next season's Hunter Chases.
The dual winner Thyne For Deploy who won his second race over hurdles the previous Saturday at Hexham was purchased for £58,000 by Tom Malone Bloodstock after a strong duel with John Edwards.
Matt Mitchell head of Brightwells Bloodstock commented "The sale has exceeded our expectations. In some ways it was brave to move the sale to the race meeting, but in other ways it was a natural progression and a lot of horses were bought by the Point-to-Point fraternity. There were also many of the top National Hunt clients in attendance and there was a good variety of purchasers at all levels."
