Quartet of British pointers at Tattersalls Cheltenham’s April Sale

Four horses who have emerged from Britain’s point-to-point circuit this season are set to go under the hammer at this afternoon’s Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale.

Natureofthegame, who won a GB Pointing Bonus Young Horse Maiden Series race at Edgcote on Sunday is first of the Brits (Lot 8). Trained and ridden by Cambridgeshire-based Dale Peters, and owned in partnership with Toby Hunt, five-year-old Natureofthegame (Pether’s Moon) is offered with a £25,000 bonus potential if victorious in a developmental hurdle or chase from a licensed yard in Britain within two years of his Edgcote victory. The bonus money is being guaranteed by the Horserace Betting Levy Board as a way of promoting young British point-to-pointers.

Warwickshire-based Fran and Charlie Poste are no strangers to Tattersalls sales, and in a busy week they have been in action at the company’s headquarters in Newmarket where they offered four horses at the Craven Sale of breeze-up two-year-olds. At a sale of highs and lows for vendors they sold on day two a Havana Grey filly for 220,000gns and a Starspanglebanner colt for 125,000gns, results which offset some less good results at the first session. The couple’s fortunes reflected trade for a number of vendors over both days in an international market not helped by disruption in the Middle East.

At today’s sale they offer the five-year-old Hillstar gelding Short Sell  (Lot 11) who won at Dalton Park in Yorkshire last month. His dam was a half-sister to the very useful hurdler Ch’Tibello.

Jack Teal has travelled Itsyourcall from his Yorkshire stable to Cheltenham. A five-year-old by Berkshire, Itsyourcall made a winning debut at the recent Sheriff Hutton meeting when thwarting the Postes’ Silver Salver by three-quarters of a length.

Itsyourcall (Jack Teal) leading on his way to victory at Sheriff Hutton (Tom Milburn)

In a sale dominated by four- and five-year-old point-to-pointers, mainly from Ireland, but with a smattering of bumper performers, the British contingent is completed by the five-year-old mare Espiritu Park.

Trained in Dorset by Harry Ryall and offered through his HNR Racing, the daughter of Walk In The Park heads to the ring off the back of a victory in a Jockey Club mares’ maiden race at Buckfastleigh last month when she beat six rivals. A half-sister to a winner under rules, Espiritu Park is a granddaughter of Spriit Leader, a high-class hurdling mare for Nicky Henderson’s stable.

Espiritu Park (Charlie Marshall) gallops to a Jockey Club Maiden Mares’ race win at Buckfastleigh (Tim Holt)

Full details of today’s sale and a live recording of the action can be viewed via the following link: https://secure.tattersalls.com/4DCGI/Sale/Live?site=CHE

Selling starts at 1pm.