'Gordon thinks a lot of him' - high-flying Wingmen brings £250,000 at Cheltenham

It may have been Festival Trials Day out on the Prestbury Park turf but there was no dress rehearsal for buyers at the Tattersalls Cheltenham January Sale that was staged after racing on Saturday. Among those who seized the moment was Aidan ‘Mouse’ O’Ryan who, under instruction from Eddie O’Leary, went to £250,000 for the exciting Ballycrystal maiden winner Wingmen.

The smooth-walking son of Kayf Tara was trained by Gordon Elliott for that debut success and is set to return to Cullentra House Stables having been sourced on behalf of Bective Stud.

“He’s a very nice horse and Gordon thinks a lot of him,” said O’Leary. “He’s a big, raw horse who’ll only keep improving, he’ll be a better horse next year. He’s been bought for Noel Moran of Bective Stud.”

The five-year-old, who ran in the colours of the Crocodile Pockets Syndicate, created a big impression when romping to victory the previous weekend. He came 12 lengths clear of the runner-up, Backtonormal, with a further eight lengths back to Moorefields in third.

Bred by Grand National-winning breeder Cathal Ennis, Wingmen is out of Raise You Five, a three-time winner for Jonjo O’Neill and JP McManus. The page goes back to Christmas Hurdle scorer Dramatist and the high-class staying chasers Battlecry and Hey Big Spender.

Raise You Five, who cost the breeder €6,500 in 2015, is by Flemensfirth, meaning Wingmen is bred on the same cross as Identity Thief, a dual Grade 1 winner who was also bred by Ennis.

Wingmen was making his third visit to the public auction ring having previously cost Timmy Hillman of Castledillon Stud €47,000 as a foal before Mags O’Toole went to €88,000 at the 2021 Derby Sale.

This is not the first touch the Crocodile Pockets Syndicate have landed as the group also owned Ginto before the ill-fated Grade 1 hero was purchased by Bective Stud at €470,000.

A Magic result for Hickey

O’Ryan was back in business a short while later when he went to £185,000 for Michael Hickey’s Magic Dawn, who boasted an eye-catching pedigree as well as a promising performance record.

Bred by Hickey’s Sunnyhill Stud, the six-year-old daughter of Doyen was last seen winning a Punchestown mares bumper on her second of two starts. She is the second foal out of the unraced Gamut mare Magic Maze, which makes her a sister to Magic Daze who has won three and been placed in Grade 2 company for the Henry de Bromhead and Robcour axis.

“She has wonderful presence, a great walk and a magic temperament,” said a delighted Hickey. “I’ve not trained a winner for ten years! She needed her first run but she wasn’t beaten far and then four winners came out of that race. She won very well next time and I think she has a huge future.”

Magic Dawn had been to the sales as a store but was retained at just €11,000. Explaining the story of how he came to offer the mare at this stage of her career, Hickey said: “I breed rather than race, I stood Old Vic and bred Kicking King, so she was never going to be sold cheaply.

“The intention when Magic Daze won was to race Magic Dawn and if she won a little race before we covered her then all the better. But when we started to train her she showed that little bit extra. When she won a race she became quite valuable and you have to balance the books. I have the whole family at home and the dam is in foal to Blue Bresil so fingers crossed.”

This family has served Sunnyhill well as Magic Maze is out of a half-sister to the top-class Kicking King, a son of the stud’s former resident Old Vic whose six Grade 1 triumphs include the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

“I tried to buy her privately but he’s a hard man to deal with!” said O’Ryan with tongue firmly in cheek. “The family speaks for itself and hopefully we’ll aim her at something like the Aintree bumper. She’s been bought for KTDA Racing.”

Famous syndicate snaps up Sao Carlos

Sao Carlos looked like a young horse with a bright future when landing a Boxing Day bumper at Market Rasen for Olly Murphy in the silks of the trainer’s father, bloodstock agent Aiden Murphy. That run caught the attention of some well-known owners as the son of Blue Bresil was knocked down to John Hales’ wife Lisa at £190,000.

“He’ll probably run in the colours of John, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and John Diver, the same syndicate as Hermes Allen,” said Hales. “He’s got an amazing walk, great presence and he’s substantial so he looks like he’ll be a chaser for the future. We like Blue Bresil too, so we hope he’ll be lucky.”

The well-related five-year-old is the sixth foal out of Valleyofthedolls, a King’s Theatre sister to the Grade 2-placed Theatre Girl and a half-sister to fellow Grade 2 scorers Diamond Sal and Ring The Boss. The family had been in the news earlier in the week when a Nathaniel colt out of Theatre Girl’s daughter Petticoat Tails sold to Abbeylands Farm for £50,000 during the Goffs UK January Sale.

“We bought Hermes Allen through Aiden, as well as Noland and Al Ferof,” continued Hales. “He put the horse up to us and we trust his judgement. I actually backed him when he ran when I didn’t know he was going to the sales.

“Aiden rang me and told me he was going to the sales so I said ‘I’ve already seen him because I backed him!’. I thought that was a good run and Aiden thought he was a gallop short as he took a big blow up the straight. He’s a young horse so we’ll give him time.”

When asked about training plans Hales added: “I’m not sure as I was just asked to do the bidding!”

That Market Rasen performance saw Sao Carlos markedly improve his value as his previous visits to the sales yielded a price tag of £28,000 as a weanling, when signed for by Five Star Bloodstock, before M Kennedy went to €36,000 at the Land Rover Sale in 2021.

Doyle at the double

Another buyer to break into six-figure territory was Tessa Greatrex of Highflyer Bloodstock who went to £150,000 for Sanda Rena from Sean Doyle’s arm of the Monbeg Stables empire. The five-year-old daughter of Getaway debuted in a Borris House mares maiden in December and duly came home two lengths clear.

“She’s gorgeous, a great mover and we loved her performance,” said Greatrex. “She’s cracking and we’re delighted to get her. She’s going to go to Ben Pauling for the Megsons.”

That transaction yielded a tidy windfall for connections as the mare was last seen fetching just €13,500 from Paul Pierce and Gearoid Doyle at Tattersalls Ireland’s May Store Sale in 2021.

Sean Doyle also sold the last lot into the ring, Turtulla runner-up Westerninthepark, who went the way of Milton Harris and Avon Racing at £100,000. The son of Walk In The Park joined the Monbeg Stables fold at a cost of €30,000 at the Derby Sale.

Huet makes Speedy start

The session got off to a bright start when Donnchadh Doyle’s Speed Davis, just the fourth lot into the ring, brought £105,000 from French agent and former jockey Joffrey Huet. The son of Spider Flight scored by 11 lengths on debut at Boulta.

“He’s been bought for Donald McCain,” said Huet. “He’s a nice type who can hopefully get back to the races quickly. He’s a good mover and comes from a good family. Everything about him was likeable and I think we got him at the right price. This is the first time I’ve bought at Tattersalls. I usually buy in Deauville, as well as buying some privately.”

Although Speed Davis may be by the little-known Spider Flight, a son of Montjeu who spent the latter part of his star-crossed stallion career at Haras du Grand Chesnaie, his female pedigree will resonate much more clearly on this side of the Channel.

He is a sibling to five winners, most notably the Grade 2 scorer Violin Davis, while his dam is a half-sister to Klairon Davis, whose 20 wins are headlined by five Grade 1 triumphs, including the 1995 Arkle and 1996 Champion Chase.