Monbeg Stables’ Hero Of Demacia set the Tattersalls November Sale alight when becoming the highest-priced horse ever sold in a Tattersalls Cheltenham sale ring, fetching £560,000 from Aidan O’Ryan, Gordon Elliott and KTDA Racing.
The highly-anticipated Hero Of Demacia topped proceedings at £560,000, with Aidan O’Ryan, Gordon Elliott and KTDA Racing outlasting bids from Tom Malone and Paul Byrne.
A striking five length debut winner at Quakerstown, the four-year-old son of No Risk At All is the first foal out of Mrs Lovett, a six-time winner who was placed multiple times at Grade 3 level.
“He’s a very special horse,” commented a delighted vendor, Donnchadh Doyle. “A lot of hard work and a lot of money goes into these and you have to get rewarded when you have the nice one. It’s a bit special to get something like that.”
After landing the winning bid, O’Ryan remarked:
“Donnchadh always obviously had a big opinion of him, Rob James loved him, everyone seemed to love him. He won well in Quakerstown and he handles good ground. Times are changing and I think you need those types of horses.”
“The jungle drums were banging around about eight to ten weeks ago,” added Dave Page of KTDA Racing.
“That’s a hat-trick for me. We bought Romeo [Coolio] here, top lot, we bought El Cairos at the Maxwell Dispersal, top lot, and that’s the third one we bought as a top lot.”
“That’s a hat-trick for me. We bought Romeo [Coolio] here, top lot, we bought El Cairos at the Maxwell Dispersal, top lot, and that’s the third one we bought as a top lot.”
“If you want to win on the track, you need to win in the ring.”
Gordon Elliott went to £325,000 for Jerry The Minion, another from Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg Stables draft.
The four-year-old son of Walk In The Park finished a promising third on debut at Quakerstown. Out of the multiple Stakes winning She Ranks Me and a half-brother to the American Stakes winning hurdler Baltimore Bucko, he was bought for €100,000 as a store at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.
“He looks a nice horse,” commented Elliott. “He’s a big, flashy horse who didn’t jump great on the day, but a horse to look forward to next year.”
A half-brother to Gerri Colombe, the five-time Grade 1 winner and star Tattersalls Cheltenham graduate, Minelas Colombe was bought by Aidan O’Ryan and Gordon Elliott for £270,000.
Sold by Derek O’Connor’s Fiddaun Farm, the four-year-old son of Cokoriko won on debut by a convincing three and a half lengths.
“We couldn’t leave without him,” said O’Ryan. “Gerri has been a star for us, and still is a star. We’ve just got to try and sell him now as there’s no owner for him at the moment. He’s a lovely horse and came well recommended by Derek.”
At the conclusion of the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale, Sales Manager Shirley Anderson-Jolag commented:
“Alongside the top-class racing on the track, the Cheltenham November Sale has established itself as an important fixture in the National Hunt calendar, and to have seen a record price set for Tattersalls Cheltenham for the second time this year is particularly special.
“An average in excess of £100,000 reflects the quality of horse presented by our vendors so I would like to thank them for their continued support as well as the time and effort they put into producing their horses so well.
“Equally, a huge thank you to all the purchasers and bidders, vital to the success of all our sales, as well as the Cheltenham Racecourse team.”
