THE sales of Chantry House and Dundrum Wood for £295,000 and £270,000 respectively brought the curtain down on the sales year at Tattersalls Cheltenham with a flourish.

Fourteen of the 43 lots sold for £100,000 or more, compared with 12 a year previously, and while the clearance rate fell marginally by 5%, the average rose by almost the same percentage, while the median grew by an impressive 30%.

Michael Hyde was listed as the purchaser of Chantry House, a four-year-old son of Yeats who won in the hands of Jamie Codd at Tattersalls Farm on his way to being sold.

Owner Eric Elliott, father of bloodstock agent Alex, revealed that the gelding was the last horse purchased for him by the late Willie Codd. Elliott sent him to Cian Hughes who conditioned him to win at the second time of asking, having unseated his rider first time up.

Chantry House is a half-brother to three racecourse winners, out of a half-sister to Nancy Myles, and he will now carry the colours of leading owner JP McManus.

Hyde had to see off a determined challenge from Matt Coleman to secure the sale topper, while Tom Malone was also in the fray for a long way.

Four lots earlier Camas Park Stud’s Dundrum Wood, a four-year-old son of Flemensfirth from the family of Gold Cup winner Jodami, sold to the father and son team of Aiden and Olly Murphy for £270,000, leaving the Hydes with a substantial profit on their investment of €34,000 in him as a yearling.

The gelding won for handler Sam Curling at Rathcannon having been placed on his debut. The value of three lengths was shown when the Murphys paid just £47,500 for the runner-up at Rathcannon, Notre Pari, in a private transaction.

Following Dundrum Wood into the ring was Truckers Pass and this four-year-old son of Kalanisi was beaten a head at Ballindenisk on his first outing, having lost up to 20 lengths at the second last when he dived out. Tom Malone was impressed with Batt O’Connell’s charge and paid £175,000 to secure him for Paul Nicholls.

This was £105,000 more than the winner of that maiden, Rookie Trainer, made earlier on the night.

In another case where the runner-up made more than the winner, the gap was far less.

Killer Clown, a son of Getaway, beat the Jeremy four-year-old Carry On The Magic to win on both gelding’s debut at Corbeagh House. While Gerry Hogan secured the Colin Bowe-trained winner for £135,000, Tom Malone was stretched to £160,000 for the Jonathan Fogarty handled runner-up, and the latter is again destined for the Paul Nicholls yard.

Malone was busy on the night and teamed up with Jamie Snowden for another big price acquisition. This time it was John Nallen’s Beat Hollow five-year-old Minella Beat.

The point-to-point winner has already seen action on the racecourse and found one too good for him in a couple of bumpers.

Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock paid £170,000 for Virginia Considine’s Sholokov four-year-old Shishkin and the gelding now goes to Nicky Henderson for his career on the track. Winner of a point-to-point at Lingstown, he was placed earlier in the spring but his handler’s patience paid off and he well rewarded the €28,000 investment made in him.

Highflyer made two further six-figure purchases, both for £100,000. John Nallen sold his Lingstown five-year-old winner Minella Royale, a son of Shirocco, while Donnchadh Doyle received that amount for two-time points winner Madiba Passion, successful in a maiden at Punchestown and more recently in an open. He will be trained by Alan King.

Denis Murphy had two notable transactions, firstly with the sale’s best priced filly Take It Away and then with Overthetop.

The latter sold to Aiden and Olly Murphy for £150,000 after winning at Ballindenisk and he was an expensive store, costing €115,000 at the Derby Sale.

Originally sold as a foal for just €2,000, Take It Away was a dozen lengths in front of all the rest when she won her maiden at Dromahane and the four-year-old daughter of Yeats was another purchase for JP McManus, this time by Frank Berry.

Henry de Bromhead will shape the future career of Walk Away, a five-year-old son of Black Sam Bellamy, who sold for £130,000. He was trained to win at Ballindenisk by Pat Crowley for owner Ger Burke of Glidawn Stud.

A three-year-old son of Arakan, Fearless won a juvenile bumper for Oliver Sherwood but will now join Rebecca Menzies after he sold for £120,000. Completing the list of six-figure sales was Pat Doyle’s Silver Hallmark, a £115,000 buy by Fergal O’Brien.

From one of the best jumping families in the stud book, he ran out a three-length winner on his debut at Tattersalls Farm.

At the conclusion of the sale Richard Pugh commented; “At this sale five years ago, One For Arthur and Tiger Roll, within 15 lots of each other, were sold at this very venue.

They both went on to write themselves into history by winning the Grand National. It is horses like this that has established this sales venue as the leading source of high class NH performers.

“Ahead of this week’s sale, we were quietly confident that we had assembled a strong catalogue of horses and tonight’s trade has reinforced this confidence.

Producing an average of just under £100,000 in the horse-in-training section and to sell 14 horses for £100,000 or more proves that there is continued demand for this calibre of horse.”