Flemenshill price at the pinnacle of solid pyramid

The Irish point-to-point world hit the wider racing headlines last week when Flemenshill, winner of the four-year-old maiden at Oldtown this month for Wilson Dennison and Colin McKeever, changed hands for £480,000 at Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Sale.

By any standard, it was a colossal price, and it means his career on the track is going to be closely followed from day one. In any market you will occasionally get a sensational result, but a more important issue is whether or not trade is strong at a general level. Thankfully for those involved in selling young Irish point-to-pointers the market is very solid. One recently published study by pointing enthusiast Rory O’Brien helps to explain the reason for this.

O’Brien looked at the results of all 74 Grade 1 jumps races run in Britain and Ireland during the 2015-16 season, with a view to finding out the ages at which these Grade 1 horses first competed. He discovered that 45 of the 74 winners appeared for the first time as four-year-olds. Of this group, the biggest segment, 17, made a first appearance in Irish points-to points.