'All three deserve a place' - British pointing breaks new ground with race 1-2-3 entered for Cheltenham sale

One week after former British point-to-pointer Deafening Silence won a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Sandown, there is a unique angle this evening at Cheltenham.

At Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale, the 1-2-3 from a British point-to-point will go under the hammer. Four-year-olds Just A Rose from Tom Ellis’s stable, Country Mile, who is trained by Fran Poste, and the Christy Woods-trained Darcy’s Friend have joined a catalogue of some 42 horses after finishing in that order in a recent maiden race at Chaddesley Corbett in Worcestershire.

The contest was sponsored by Tattersalls and run under the scrutinising eye of the company’s Shirley Anderson-Jolag, who says: “It was such a good race and, while we wouldn’t normally accept the third horse, all three deserve a place.

“That is the first time the first three from one British point-to-point have been accepted. The horse in third had good size and walked well, while the second showed a turn of foot and was coming back strongly at the winner.”

This matters. At a time when every horse and new owner is welcome in British point-to-pointing, the opportunity to trade a young horse has created an area of growth in the sport.

Traditional races for older horses and enthusiastic amateurs are the main fare at meetings, but races geared towards commercial horses have added a dimension that is proving popular, particularly among upcoming trainers and their clients. 

They buy unbroken three-year-olds with the aim of running them in a point-to-point, then trading them on, a modus operandi which took off in Ireland and is now being followed in Britain.

Dan Skelton: won a Grade 2 novice hurdle with ex-British pointer Deafening SilenceCredit: Debbie Burt

If the plan comes together, an auction is chosen to sell the horse, but since most sales at Cheltenham are held after racing, the catalogues are restricted in number.

Candidates tend to be four- or five-years-old and have to score on looks, pedigree and performance. Recent winners are likely to be considered, as is any horse who fulfils those three categories and offers promise to the assembled licensed trainers and their agents.

It is not uncommon for the first three in an Irish point-to-point to pass the test, but there are far more young point-to-pointers in Ireland.

Deafening Silence’s Sandown win, in which the placed horses were both ex-Irish pointers, has put him into the picture for Cheltenham’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. Two years ago this weekend, he won a point-to-point at Alnwick in Northumberland for Tom Ellis and was sold a month later at Cheltenham to Dan Skelton for £40,000.

That looks great value now, but Ellis will hope for more when his filly Just A Rose enters Cheltenham’s ring this evening. A few hours earlier, he will be trackside as his wife Gina Andrews rides his mother’s horse Latenightpass in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, while on Sunday he aims to be back at Alnwick, hoping unraced Occupied Territory can become his next four-year-old winner in a race sponsored by sales company Goffs. Country Mile’s trainer, Fran Poste, is hoping to do likewise with unraced five-year-old Mount Denali.

The British contingent of pointers at Cheltenham this evening is completed by Kingston James, who won a recent race in Cornwall.

Weekend preview

Robin Tate turns 86 on Tuesday, but still rides out with the five-horse string trained in Yorkshire by his daughter Fiona Needham.

Robin Tate: still riding out at 86

Twenty-one years ago, this family partnership teamed up to win Cheltenham’s Festival Hunters’ Chase with Last Option, who he trained and she rode. Now they have another possible candidate in seven-year-old mare Sine Nomine, whom he owns and she trains, and who is set to run at Alnwick on Sunday, although standing water earlier in the week means the course has to pass an inspection this afternoon.

Needham says of the mare, who won two hunter chases at Stratford last season under John Dawson: “She likes soft ground and is set to run, but will come on for it, which is why she is starting in a point-to-point. The plan is then to go hunter chasing.”

Of her work rider, she says: “Dad has his favourite rides – it’s a case of ‘I’m all right Jack’ while I’m grimly hanging on to a young horse’s neck strap.”

Sam Coward, sister of licensed trainer Jacqueline, last saddled a point-to-point runner in 2017, but could return with a winner in Ballydonagh Boy, who runs in the ladies’ open under Rosie Howarth. Sam says: “If the meeting is on, he’ll love the soft ground.”

Sunday

Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 3AE – first race 12.00. 6 races, 84 entries

More information at pointtopoint.co.uk and gopointing.com

Read these next:

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New trainer Hannah Roach out to add to impressive tally at Chaddesley Corbett 

Man of many talents Charlie Poste adds another string to his bow as chairman of owners' and riders' association 

Amateur ace Gina Andrews to break new ground on Latenightpass in cross-country at Cheltenham 

From helping Victoria Pendleton and Roger Varian to training 400 winners, Alan Hill reaches latest landmark in amazing journey 

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