Last season’s champion point-to-point horse High Stakes proved to be the big attraction at the Goffs UK Doncaster September Sale when he was snapped up for £85,000 – the top lot on of the sale which included the annual Gigginstown House Stud dispersal.
High Stakes was one of the stories of last season, a campaign which he began unraced before making an immediate impression winning an older maiden on his debut at Ballingarry on the opening day of the season.
Three further victories followed for the son of Scorpion as he climbed up through the ranks in winners company at Necarne, Damma House and Stradbally only meeting with one defeat – that coming at the hands of the similarly progressive subsequent dual open winner Mr Mantilla in a vintage winners’ event at Loughanmore.
Following the suspension of the pointing season, his connections the Walsh family elected to run him in a Wexford point-to-point bumper which he duly won by 18 lengths, a victory which did prevent him from return back between the flags when the pointing season did resume, however his four autumn victories were enough to win the champion pointer title.
At the end of bidding in what was the first time that the now seven-year-old has come on the market, it was Tessa Greatrex who was responsible for the winning bid and he is now set to go into training with her husband Warren at his new yard.
New top lot at the Doncaster September HIT Sale with John Walsh’s 4 time P2P winner High Stakes, Lot 61, selling to @TessaGreatrex for £85,000 pic.twitter.com/2XP2p9zSgR
— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) September 8, 2021
Elsewhere, the Milestone Stables draft of five horses saw four of them sell for a combined £52,500, which Carcaci Castle chief amongst them.
The Getaway gelding had finished fourth on his debut in a Kirkistown five-year-old geldings’ maiden before opening his account in a Bellewstown maiden hurdle last month, and he was sold to Bobby O’Ryan and Sandy Thompson for £22,000.
