Not just an ace amateur rider but also the face of the festival sale

Amateur jockey extraordinaire Jamie Codd will no doubt head to the Cheltenham Festival with a strong book of rides, looking for an eighth win at the meeting after Character Building, Junior, Fayonagh, The Package and Cause Of Causes three times.

The reason he is appearing on the bloodstock pages, though, is his second job as Irish representative for Tattersalls Cheltenham Sales, who will stage their festival auction on the eve of the Gold Cup.

In recent weeks Codd will have played his part in convincing owners and trainers of the most exciting point-to-pointers to turn down tempting private offers and take them to market instead. Not that much arm-twisting should be needed, as boutique jumps horses in training sales continue to thrive.

Among the horses who were sold at the festival and could return there to run next week are Minella Rocco, who topped the first renewal at £260,000, has won the National Hunt Chase and finished second in the Gold Cup and is a fancy for the Ultima Handicap Chase, and RSA Insurance Novices' Chase second favourite Santini, a £150,000 purchase two years ago.

With the world of jump racing converging on Prestbury Park, Codd will no doubt also be spreading the word for Tattersalls Ireland's summer store sales, for which he has been carrying out inspections in recent weeks.