Chaddesley trio among British quartet at Cheltenham

Four British point-to-pointers are going under the hammer this evening at the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale.

The quartet include a trio who finished one, two, three in a Tattersalls-sponsored maiden point-to-point for four-year-olds at Chaddesley Corbett earlier this month. It is the first time three horses from one British point-to-point have been accepted for a sale at Cheltenham.

The filly Just A Rose (Lot 31, pictured above), who is trained by Tom Ellis, won the race, beating Country Mile (Lot 39) from Fran Poste’s yard and the Christy Woods-trained Darcy’s Friend (Lot 40). Shirley Anderson-Jolag, who was at the course representing Tattersalls, says: “It was such a good race and, while we wouldn’t normally accept the third horse, all three deserve a place.”

Also joining the line-up of young pointers and bumper performers is four-year-old Kingston James (Lot 37), who was trained by Tim Dennis to win a maiden race at Great Trethew. Defence Witness (Lot 6) heads to the ring having won a Bonvilston point-to-point for Bradley Gibbs in the spring before being sold to licensed trainer Sandy Thomson, who last month saddled him to win a bumper at Catterick Bridge.

Ellis will be keeping a keen eye on this afternoon’s racing ahead of the sale, for his wife Gina Andrews is riding top hunter chaser Latenightpass in the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase (3.00). The partnership were second over course and distance last month, and could well go off favourites to win the £20,000 first prize. Latenightpass is owned and was bred by Ellis’s mother, Pippa, and is now trained by Dan Skelton.