Aintree Sale record smashed as Jonjo O'Neill secures £440,000 pointer

The sale record was smashed at the fourth Goffs UK Aintree Sale on Thursday as Aidan Kennedy and Jonjo O'Neill splashed out £440,000 for Papa Tango Charly, winner of a hotly contested four-year-old maiden at Liscarroll in March.

Henry Beeby opened the bidding at £50,000, which quickly soared past the £300,000 milestone - a benchmark achieved at the three previous renewals of the sale - before Kennedy and O'Neill made their winning play from in front of the rostrum.

"We tried to buy him privately before he ran," said O'Neill.

"Walter Connors recommended him very highly and we've been following him all the way along, but they wouldn't let him go before today's auction."

O'Neill also revealed the son of No Risk At All would run in the colours of Martin Tedham, whose namesake Tedham is also trained by O'Neill and is the 5-1 favourite for the first race at Aintree on Friday.

Aidan Kennedy (centre) signs on the dotted line as Jonjo O'Neill watches onCredit: Sarah Farnsworth / Goffs UK

The French bred is the first winner out of the Mansonnien mare Chere Elenn and could have his new connections dreaming of a Grand National tilt further down the line with the 1996 runner-up Encore En Peu appearing under his third dam, the Listed-winning hurdler Creme Caramel.

Big Bresil, a son of Blue Bresil who chased Papa Tango Charly home in second, was signed for later in the session by Roger Brookhouse, who went to £170,000.

Big Bresil also has an attractive pedigree as he is out of Cutielilou, a full-sister to Cheltenian, whose name appears on the roll of honour of the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr.

Both Papa Tango Charly and Big Bresil were sent into the ring by leading consignors in the pointing sphere, with Papa Tango Charly offered by Colin Bowe's Milestone Stables and Big Bresil put on the market by Donnchadh Doyle of Monbeg Stables.

View Aintree Sale results and buyers

Colin Bowe also offered the Shirocco gelding It Sure Is and the Ballynoe maiden winner will be trained by Nicky Henderson after Anthony Bromley and David Minton of Highflyer Bloodstock went to £150,000 to secure the four-year-old.

"Nicky thought he was the nicest looking horse in the catalogue," explained Bromley. "We've enjoyed plenty of success with our previous purchases from Colin Bowe - The Glancing Queen, who won the final race today, being a case in point."

His pedigree screams class as a son of the Presenting mare Stay At Home Mum, a sister to the Bet365 Gold Cup winner Hennessy and half-sister to Hatton's Grace Hurdle-winning mare Voler La Vedette.

Presenting got on the Cheltenham Festival scoresheet twice as a broodmare sire this year, with his daughters responsible for Stayers' Hurdle hero Paisley Park and Foxhunter Chase winner Hazel Hill.

The second most expensive lot sold on Thursday was Adrimel, a son of the less-heralded sire Tirwanako offered by Josh Ryan, with newly established bloodstock agent Ed Bailey, stood alongside trainer Tom Lacey, making a winning play at £280,000.

One high-profile withdrawal in the run-up to the sale was John Halley-trained Blackhillsofdakota, a four-year-old Galileo colt who landed the Listed bumper at Limerick on Sunday.

Despite being withdrawn from the sale, the half-brother to Vanity Handicap winner Byrama is still due to take up his engagement in the Grade 2 bumper at Aintree on Friday.

Figures

For the first time at the Aintree Sale, a horse passed the £400,000 milestone.

Of the 28 lots on offer, 25 changed hands for total receipts of £3,198,000, up 32 per cent year-on-year, while the average and median also rose to £127,920 (up 11 per cent) and £105,000 (up five per cent) respectively.

At the close of trade, Goffs UK managing director Tony Williams said: "The Aintree Sale has firmly established itself as an elite boutique outlet for high-class pointers and form horses. The results this sale has been achieving on the track, headlined most recently by Topofthegame, and a vintage 2019 catalogue allowed us to attract the who's who of the National Hunt world and tonight's results reflect its ever-growing status.

"We are indebted to the Aintree executive for their enthusiastic partnership in this sale and to our vendors who sent us outstanding horses once again, which created an electric atmosphere in the ring. We now look forward to Saturday's Randox Health Grand National and to seeing the next generation of Aintree graduates excel at the highest level."

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