Disguisedlimit, a five-year-old son of Mahler, fetched the top price on the one-day Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale bought by agent Tom Malone for £150,000.
Produced and sold by Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg Stables, the gelding won a competitive maiden at Curraghmore last weekend on his career debut.
A well-bred NH prospect, he is out of Blessingindiguise, a Luso half-sister to the Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth, and was purchased by Malone on behalf of an existing owner with Philip Hobbs and Johnson White.
From the sale ring Malone said: "He is a lovely big scopey chaser, Rob James won on him and rode him like a proper stayer. The horse came well recommended by Donnchadh Doyle. I have had luck with Mahlers and this horse has a bit of a pace – in every stage of his race he travelled well. He won and did his job well."
DISGUISEDLIMIT was originally purchased as a store horse by Monbeg Stables for €70,000 at the 2022 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.
Disguisedlimit (Lot 25): the impressive five-year-old debut winner was bought by Tom Malone for £150,000
ON THE BAYOU (Lot 13), a four-year-old son of Affinisea and an eight-length career debut winner at Castletown-Geoghegan on April 14, was sold by Sean Doyle’s Monbeg Stables to Kevin Ross for £140,000.
The four-year-old is out of the three-time-winning mare Inis Ceithleann (Desert Sun), who won on the Flat and over hurdles, and he was purchased as a three-year-old at the 2023 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale for €55,000.
Ross reported: "He is for trainer Harry Fry. I really like the individual, he won well and has been highly recommended by Pat Doyle and Sean Doyle. We have been lucky before with the sire for Harry and we were keen to get this horse.
"He is a nice quality type and I really liked the way he jumped the last, he jumped like a fresh horse. We had to push the boat out a little more than we had originally planned."
On The Bayou (Lot 13): Kevin Ross and trainer Harry Fry went to £140,000 for the Affinisea four-year-old
Ryan Mahon and Dan Skelton went to £105,000 in a private sale for the Denis Murphy-consigned FORTUNE DE MER (Lot 11), a four-year-old by Doyen placed second at Loughnamore last weekend having unseated his rider on his debut in March.
“He has been bought on spec,” said Mahon. “We really like the horse, he hit a lot of traffic in his race, but he stayed on and ran well in the end. We have done well with Doyen, and there are a lot of reasons to like this horse.”
Fortune De Mer (Lot 11): sold by Ballyboy Stables to Ryan Mahon and Dan Skelton for £105,000
The five-year-old RUCKER ROAD (Lot 9) was sold by Matty Flynn O’Connor’s Ballycrystal Stables to Hamish Macauley for £92,000, the agent buying on behalf of the US-based trainer Leslie Young, who has enjoyed plenty of recent success stateside with Tattersalls Cheltenham purchases.
"Leslie wanted to buy RUCKER ROAD after he finished third first time out and then was keen after he absolutely bolted up last weekend,” reported Macauley of the relation to the Grade 1 winner Countrywide Flame.
“Progeny by Malinas go very well in the US. This horse is a very good-moving sort and he will start off over hurdles – he should have enough pace and will go on fast ground. He will do either job out there and could end up timber racing.”
Bloodstock agent Jerry McGrath spent the same amount on GIANTSGRAVE (Lot 18), a Walk In The Park four-year-old out of Poppy Baloo (Oscar), an own-sister to the Grade 1 hurdle and chase winner Oscar Whisky.
The gelding from Sam Curling’s Skehanagh Stables finished second on his debut earlier this month at Dromahane.
The session produced a turnover of £1,679,000 for 28 horses sold, a median price of £44,000, with an average price to £59,964.
Tattersalls’ Associate Director Mathew Prior commented: “It has been a tricky spring and we, alongside our Irish and British point-to-point consignors, have been hostage to the vagaries of the wet weather, but as ever our vendors have produced fantastically talented horses who have been turned out to perfection.
“Entries are now being taken for the last point-to-point sale of this season at the home of jump racing, the Tattersalls Cheltenham May Sale, which takes place on May 16.”
