Point-to-Point Focus – Richard Botterill

Catch up on the latest point-to-point focus column, with guest columnist Richard Botterill (pictured) from Tattersalls, which appeared in the Racing Post on Friday, February 14.

The landscape of British point-to-pointing is ever evolving with the community latching onto the opportunities arising in the sales ring, writes Richard Botterill.

Currently vibrant, the market for point-to-pointers has historically been dominated by the Irish. The Irish pointing model is and always has been very commercial with handlers producing young horses to sell. Indeed, a lot of Jump racing’s superstars down the years cut their teeth between the flags. Best Mate and Denman were both graduates of the Irish pointing academy, and more recently the unbeaten Envoi Allen, who was sold for £400,000 at the 2018 Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale.

This demand for high-class young jumping prospects has filtered into point-to-points in Britain, where there has been an increase in trainers and owners specialising in the market. However, having sponsored Britain’s national point-to-point awards last season we were delighted to see new initiatives such as the veteran-horse and owner-trainer series. It is imperative that point-to-pointing retains its core value to the amateur element of the sport and facilitates the emerging demand for talented young stock in a suitable manner. This will allow increased investment into the sector without in any way compromising the sport in general – a task that British point-to-pointing seems well placed to achieve.

The last few years have seen record-breaking prices at Cheltenham for British point-to-pointers of up to £220,000 for Tom Lacey’s Interconnected, while at the 2019 February Sale Garry Clermont realised £150,000 for Fran Nimmo and Charlie Poste and has subsequently impressed in winning a bumper, maiden and novices’ hurdle for Jonjo O’Neill. Another taking recent winner from the same source was Presence Of Mind, who made all to win his bumper for Olly Murphy at Huntingdon and landed a novices’ hurdle at Catterick on New Year’s Day.

Champion point-to-point trainer Tom Ellis and his wife Gina have also tasted success in the sales ring. Sabbathical, who was runner-up in his maiden at Garthorpe in March, sold to Evan Williams for £32,000 at last year’s April Sale and recently won by 15 lengths for his new trainer. At the most recent January Sale the Ellises also sold Give Us A Swig for £50,000 to Andrew Brookes after he won his maiden in impressive style at Alnwick.

Give Us A Swig (blue, Gina Andrews) winning at Alnwick (Photo – Grace Beresford)

Cheltenham Sales offer the perfect platform to offer these young pointers at a proven venue trusted by vendors and purchasers alike. All horses are sold with pre-sale veterinary certificates, while videos of each horse’s races can be viewed on the touchscreens located around the site.

The ever expanding British industry is very important to Tattersalls going forward and our ongoing commitment to the British point-to-point industry has been further enhanced with the joint-sponsorship of the new four- and five-year-old maiden series, and by adopting the position of title sponsor of the national point-to-point awards for the next two years.

We now look forward to our February Sale at Cheltenham which takes place on the 21st of the month at 1.30pm.