Bargain buy proves well worth the wait

Owner John Elliot's patience has been rewarded with Wyfield Rose, the quirky mare he bought for £12,000 at Goffs Doncaster May Sales in 2014. After an appalling series of results over the ensuing months, the Alistair Whillans-trained seven-year-old won her fourth race in five starts with a 19-length success in a handicap hurdle at Hexham.

“It took us a wee while to get her started,” admits Elliot, who owns Wyfield Rose with his wife Liz. “I bought her two years ago and we probably didn't fully realise she wanted good ground and basically put her out to grass that first summer so we missed that,” adds the Langholm-based owner.

“Then that second summer she needed a wind operation and that still didn't seem to sort her out. We weren't sure what was wrong but she didn't seem to be eating too well – she was treated for ulcers and that seemed to do the trick.”