O’Leary takes a chance on Teal’s Kalypso

Leading Irish trainer Gordon Elliott will be handling another British point-to-pointer following yesterday’s Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale.

Kalypso’Chance (pictured above), a four-year-old who won a maiden race at Corbridge on Sunday, was knocked down to Eddie O’Leary, representing his brother Michael’s Gigginstown House Stud, for £85,000 on his way to a berth with Elliott. The price meant a profit for Yorkshire’s Roger Marley who bought the son of Masked Marvel for €34,000 as a two-year-old at a sale in France, then sent him to Jack Teal to be trained.

Teal, who also rode Kalypso’Chance at Corbridge, said: “I used to ride for Roger a bit, but we met out hunting and had plenty of craic doing that. It progressed from there. Roger sent this one to me when he became busy with yearlings and two-year-olds.”

Elliott and Gigginstown have had success with other former British point-to-pointers, including the former Tom Ellis-trained Touch Me Not who won at Tramore on Monday, and before that Eurobot who also started racing from Ellis’s yard.

On a relatively quiet day inside the sales ring other British pointers who changed hands included Larkhill flat race winner Swingingonthesteel who left the care of Heidi Stevens when bought for £34,000 by Highflyer Bloodstock, while the John Dawson-trained It’s A Diamond, who won a maiden race at Dalton Park, was sold for £20,000 to Gary Brown.

Dalton Park winner It’s A Diamond sold for £20,000 (Ce)

The Kelly Morgan-trained Damekap, who finished second to It’s A Diamond, was sold for £30,000 to Seamus Mullins, and Tom and Gina Ellis gained a sale of £75,000 when trading Garthorpe maiden race winner Mister Carson to Dan Skelton and Ryan Mahon.

Mister Carson was sold by G&T Racing to Dan Skelton for £75,000 (photo: Debbie Burt)

Mount Mason, who was second in the Exeter point-to-point bumper for Josh Newman’s stable, was knocked down to agent J D Moore for £55,000, but stablemate Cue Jump, who had finished second at Larkhill in a Jockey Club mares’ maiden race, and the Bradley Gibbs-trained Pluto’s Gate, who was second to Mister Carson at Garthorpe, were both led out unsold.

Of 37 lots on offer 28 found a buyer (76 per cent) at an average price of just under £60,000. Tattersalls Cheltenham’s next sale takes place on May 16.