Rob James chasing another big moment out of the saddle at Aintree

Rob James, whose 7lb claim was described by ITV Racing's Mick Fitzgerald as "like stealing" when the crack Irish point-to-point rider plundered last weekend's Scottish Grand National on Win My Wings, will be hoping for some above-board transactions at Thursday's Goffs UK Aintree Sale.

A former novice and multiple region champion between the flags, James has ridden more than 260 point-to-point winners and is the go-to man for most of the leading yards.

He has also begun to train a few horses of his own in Wexford and brings two of them, Classic Anthem and Ballybeg Boss, to the post-racing event in Liverpool.

Classic Anthem is a son of Affinisea, out of a daughter of the very smart Snitton Lane, who the jockey rode himself to score in fine style at Monksgrange late last month. He finished alone when his sole remaining rival, No Time To Wait, crashed out at the penultimate fence.

"I think he's very nice," said James. "Craig Casey, who rides out for me, and I were at the Derby Sale and bought half of him each [at a total cost of €36,000]. I really fancied him going to Monksgrange and he was going a few lengths clear of the other one going to the second-last."

James's other horse, Ballybeg Boss, scored the day after his victory at Ayr and also had to cope without his assistance in the saddle in getting off the mark at the second attempt at Castletown. The four-year-old son of Libertarian is from the family of fine chaser The Grey Monk.

"I got back all right [from Scotland] but I was at Dromahane, I had horses entered all over and you can't be everywhere," explained James.

"He's a grand horse, I bought him privately from Shane Roche, he was a bit wild and took a run but improved an awful lot from that."

Reflecting on the weekend highlight, having steered the Christian Williams-trained mare Win My Wings to an effortless seven-length win, James added: "It's a big occasion, a big thing. Even to get a ride in it would be unreal but to win is very special. I had a Cheltenham winner for Gordon [Elliott], it would be up there with that."

James would welcome a call should a trainer require his services for a quick National double but will probably have to concentrate on his new day job, which has been in development for the last couple of years. He sold Belharbour winner Out Of Office to Evan Williams for £160,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale.

"I think we'll probably be back point-to-pointing on Saturday," James conceded.

"I've only about ten or 12 riding out on my own. Hopefully it goes all right and when I'm finished riding I might go into it a small bit bigger. I'd be busy but we try to balance it out if we can. We're just trying not to get ahead of ourselves."

For all that the 32-strong Aintree Sale catalogue contains a typically weighty bunch of four- and five-year-old point-to-point winners and runners, all of their achievements are put in the shade by the presence of lot 1.

Put The Kettle On is being sold as a broodmare prospectCredit: Tim Goode (Getty Images)

Put The Kettle On, the only mare to have won the Queen Mother Champion Chase, is being put through the ring by trainer Henry de Bromhead as her owners, the One For Luck Racing Syndicate, do not want to enter the breeding game at this stage.

There are not too many with the means to purchase such a credentialed broodmare, and others to have been offered in recent years along similar lines, such as Apple’s Jade, Benie Des Dieux and La Bague Au Roi, have all made deep six-figure sums.

Put The Kettle On, also the 2020 Arkle winner, is a Stowaway mare bred by Butlersgrove Stud whose half-brother, Carningli, likewise claimed black type in bumpers.

This is the fifth renewal of a sale which made its debut in 2016. It can already claim five Grade 1 winners and two of them - Fiddlerontheroof and Samcro - are in the line-up for Saturday’s Randox Grand National.

Eight supplementary entries were added after taking in the action from the weekend. They include Sean Doyle’s Iorens, a winner on her debut at Rathcannon, Doyen Star, who won for Mark Scallan at the same track, and No Questions Asked, successful at Edgcote for the Tom Ellis stable.

Among other potential stars is another from the nursery of Ellmarie Holden, producer of the likes of Jonbon and Sir Gerhard. Her stable's costly store purchase Act Of Authority made a dream start on his debut at Lisronagh.

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