Brilliant bumper success for £325,000 Aintree Sale top lot Malone Road

Malone Road, who topped the Goffs UK Aintree Sale at £325,000 in April after winning between the flags at Loughanmore, got his career under rules off to the perfect start when storming to success in a Down Royal bumper on Saturday.

The four-year-old son of Kalanisi was sent to auction at the Grand National meeting after winning a four-year-old geldings' maiden point for Stuart Crawford in March.

Prolific agent Tom Malone was the winning bidder, stretching to the significant sum on behalf of renowned Flat nursery Cheveley Park Stud.

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Malone Road, now trained by Gordon Elliott, made all the running in the Daily Mirror Pro/Am Irish National Hunt Race at Down Royal under Jamie Codd and showed a thrilling turn of foot to sprint clear a furlong from home.

Valdieu, a Noel Meade-trained son of Kilbarry Lodge Stud resident Diamond Boy who had placed efforts in bumpers already under his belt, was a never dangerous seven and a half-length second.

Malone Road was subsequently introduced at 16-1 for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham next March.

He could form part of a strong squadron for Boardsmill Stud resident Kalanisi for the season ahead, with Supreme Novices' Hurdle runner-up Kalashnikov looking an exciting prospect going novice chasing.

The stallion was also represented by Sassy Diva, a seven-length winner of a mares' maiden hurdle at Ayr on Saturday.

Kalanisi has a fine Cheltenham Festival record, having supplied the Triumph Hurdle and Champion Hurdle winner Katchit, and he already has a Champion Bumper scorer on his roll of honour in the shape of the ill-fated Fayonagh.

Jane Buchanan bred Malone Road out of Zaffarella, a four-time winner over hurdles for Lucinda Russell. The dam has produced two other winners – Ravenhill Road (a seven-year-old son of Exit To Nowhere) and Windsor Avenue (a six-year-old Winged Love gelding), both of whom were sold to owners Phil and Julie Martin after winning point-to-points for Crawford.

Zaffarella also has a two-year-old filly by Jet Away, a yearling filly by Califet and a colt foal by Court Cave. She visited Soldier Of Fortune this year.

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Thompsons take home £325,000 Malone Road at Aintree Sale