Pricey point-to-point buys Ballyadam and Yousayitbest face off at Downpatrick

Ballyadam, the £330,000 top lot at the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale, will bid to open his account for Gordon Elliott when contesting the Molson Coors bumper at Downpatrick on Sunday.

The son of Fame And Glory has been the subject of plenty of hype having impressively landed a Portrush maiden point for Colin McKeever, though he could finish only third on his rules debut at Navan having been bought by Cheveley Park Stud.

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And he may not have things all his own way at Downpatrick either, as in opposition is Yousayitbest, a winner at Moig South for up-and-coming handler Cian Hughes.

The son of Doyen, who sold at the same sale as Ballyadam and went the way of Alex Elliott for £220,000, makes his debut for Henry de Bromhead in the Robcour silks.

Hughes's talents have already been well advertised by Chantry House, the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale top lot in 2018 who went on to finish third to Shishkin in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Coincidentally, Chantry House had been owned by Alex Elliott's father prior to his sale to JP McManus for £295,000.

Having signed for Yousayitbest, Elliott said: "Obviously I have a bit of a connection with Cian Hughes as my dad sold Chantry House through him last year.

"He's been on about this horse for a while and his performance at Moig South backed up everything Cian had told me. He jumped, travelled and ate up the bad ground. He's by a sire I rate very highly and I think the form will work out.

"I have a lot of faith in the horse. Cian is a straight shooter, he always said my old man's horse was very good and he looks like he could be, and he was very positive about this horse too."

Doyen strikes a pose at Sunnyhill StudCredit: Patrick McCann

Yousayitbest is by Sunnyhill Stud stalwart Doyen, meaning he shares his sire with the likes of Andy Dufresne, Battleoverdoyen, Kumbeshwar and Valdez.

Bred by Claire Martin, the five-year-old is out of Lady Hoover, an unraced Revoque sister to the decidedly useful Sraid Padraig. There are plenty of high-class National Hunt talents in Yousayitbest's pedigree, as the likes of Robinsfirth and the Grade 1 winners Strong Promise and Defy Logic appear further back in the family.

The form of Yousayitbest's Moig South win already has some substance to it as Gabynako, who he readily brushed aside in second, finished a staying-on third behind the promising Keskonrisk in a Fairyhouse bumper on rules debut.

Keskonrisk was later sold on to Henrietta Knight for £370,000 at the Goffs UK January Sale.

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