Cheltenham Festival winner Love Envoi sells for £135,000 as broodmare career beckons

Cheltenham Festival winner Love Envoi was the first horse in the ring at the Goffs Aintree Sale on Thursday and duly got the auction off to a six-figure start, being knocked down for £135,000 to Peter Molony of Rathmore Stud.

The eight-year-old does not have that many miles on her racing clock, having had 14 runs in her three years of action, however she was selling here as a broodmare prospect with a non-racing agreement.

Molony said: "She has been bought for a new client who is building up a nice broodmare band in Limerick. He's a new breeder and he has a couple of nice mares already. I bought [Listed winner] Magic Daze for him last year [€50,000 Goffs December National Hunt Sale] and he's a really enthusiastic new breeder. 

"The plan for Love Envoi is to breed her now and we'll have a chat about what stallion she'll go to, we haven't discussed those plans yet."

The daughter of Westerner was bred by Ciaron O'Toole out of the King's Ride mare Love Divided, also dam of winners Timeless Beauty, by Yeats, and Belcanto (Bach).

She was a comfortable winner on her debut of a mares' bumper at Wexford for owner-trainer Sean Doyle, and a week and a half later was on the move to Britain after selling at the Tattersalls Cheltenham March Sale to Jerry McGrath for £38.000.

She has gone on to win seven times for the Harry Fry yard – becoming a stable star as she progressed through the ranks – and owners the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate.

A maiden hurdle success at Leicester was followed by victories at Warwick and Lingfield, before her sights were raised in the Grade 2 Jane Seymour Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Sandown.

The step up in grade did not thwart her as she justified odds-on favouritism there, and she followed up at the same level at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, winning the Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle. 

A first reverse occurred the following month at the Fairyhouse Easter meeting, though she ran well enough in Grade 1 company for the first time, finishing runner-up to Brandy Love.

Love Envoi resumed winning ways the following season, scoring twice at Sandown, prior to arguably the finest performance of her career as she went down by a length and a half to Honeysuckle in the Grade 1 Mares' Hurdle back at the Cheltenham Festival.

The effects of that might have been a factor in her finishing unplaced at Punchestown subsequently.

Love Envoi has twice finished runner-up this season, first in the rearranged Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown and then the Grade 2 International Hurdle at Cheltenham. She returned to Prestbury Park last month for her third consecutive appearance at the festival, finishing fifth behind Lossiemouth in the Mares' Hurdle.

Dave Crosse, Fehily's business partner in their successful syndicates, said: "She was one of the first horses we bought and she has been a superstar, taking owners on a dream journey in her first and second seasons. 

"That run at Cheltenham [second in the 2023 Grade 1 Mares' Hurdle] was mighty against a true champion in Honeysuckle.

"We'll have to spend the rest of our lives trying to replace her but she's going to a great new home and I'm sure we'll try to buy her progeny in the future."

Syndicate member Amanda Freeman-Brookes added: "It was an absolute dream come true. We bought her not knowing what we had and she took us on the ultimate journey,

"Standing here saying goodbye, we have mixed emotions. We've been involved with Noel and Crossy from one of their very early ones and loved the experience so we stayed in. She was the first mare we had."

Fehily, under his Hagg Hill Farm banner, went on to acquire three of the other 25 lots who went through the ring.

Recent Monksgrange winner Jackie Hobbs, offered via Paul Pierce’s Blackhall Stables, was snapped up for £130,000, Portrush runner-up Cobbler’s Boy was bought for £115,000 from Patrick Turley’s Kingsfield Stables, and Ballyragget second Queenofthejukebox, consigned by Garrett Murphy’s Cudgley Stables, purchased for £45,000.

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