A WINNER at the Cheltenham Festival and narrowly denied at Aintree, Call The Cops came out on top at the DBS Spring Horses In Training Sale when he was sold to agent Aiden Murphy for £220,000. He was one of a number of supplementary entries to the sale and was offered from Nicky Henderson’s Seven Barrows.

A son of Presenting, Call The Cops raced for Matt and Lauren Morgan and captured the Pertemps Network Final back in March. In the Anglo/Irish Jumps Classifications issued on the day he was sold he was rated 153, on the same mark as Activial, Glens Melody and Windsor Park.

It’s not clear who will train Call The Cops next season - Murphy said the purchaser is an existing client - though it seems likely the horse will have a new trainer.

Another supplementary entry to sell well was Krugermac, a son of Boardsmill Stud sire Kalanisi. This once-raced four-year-old was runner-up to Nambour at Punchestown in a bumper and he will now join Gary Moore after his sale for £185,000 with Felix Phelan doing the bidding. Shane Nolan Racing consigned him for Barry Potts.

On the first day of the horses-in-training section the Multiplex six-year-old Out Sam, another from Nicky Henderson’s, sold for £145,000 to Highflyer Bloodstock’s Tessa Greatrex and will join her husband Warren. Henderson was among a number of disappointed underbidders.

SKELTON PURCHASE

One of the highlights each year is the sale of Million In Mind horses and their best offering this year was Pain Au Chocolat, a son of Enrique who was trained by Alan King at Barbury Castle. He now moves to join Dan Skelton after realising £135,000 in the ring.

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott gave £125,000 for Mere Anarchy and this Ludlow bumper-winning son of Yeats will now join Robert Stephens, having gained his success for Kim Bailey. He comes from the family of Ballynagour, recently successful in a Grade 2 at Auteuil.

Six lots made six-figure sums, double the number of a year previously, and the sextet included Ballycross, a son of champion sire King’s Theatre. This point-to-point winner at Largy now moves to Nigel Twiston-Davies after selling for £120,000. He was sold by Wilson Dennison’s Loughanmore Farms.

A black-type earner for Lucinda Russell, Clondaw Knight was one of a pair of lots to realise £75,000 and he was sold to owner Ray Green and will return to Russell. He was runner-up in a listed chase at Ascot in February. He shared that sale price with Mendip Express, catalogued just three lots earlier, and he will now move from Harry Fry to Philip Hobbs. This multiple winning son of King’s Theatre was runner up in the Becher Chase at Aintree last December.

NORTHERN POINTERS

A good sale for Wilson Dennison’s Loughanmore Farms saw Ballyarthur and Ballyvaughn both sell for £50,000. A point-to-point winner at Tyrella, Ballyarthur was purchased by Nigel Twiston-Davies, while Gerald Bailey acquired the Robin Des Pres five-year-old Ballyvaughn who is out of a half-sister to Wither Or Which and the dam of Alexander Banquet.

Alberta, a six-year-old by Choisir, was sold to dissolve a partnership from Gordon Elliott’s yard and Bobby O’Ryan and trainer Jim Best secured him for £50,000. He won a bumper at Downpatrick and was runner-up at Cork on his two starts.

Turnover at for the horses-in-training rose by 14%, while the average did even better, going up by 18%. The median dropped from £9,000 to £8,500. The clearance rate dipped from last year’s 87% to 77% this time.

STORES SALE

A three-year-old full-sister to the Grade 3 Greatwood Hurdle winner Olofi proved to be the star attraction among the almost 200 stores traded at DBS this week.

Offered from Richard and Sally Aston’s Goldford Stud, the French-bred daughter of Slickly will join Jonjo O’Neill following her sale to Ross Doyle for £80,000. The grey comes from the family of the Grade 1 juvenile hurdle winner Don Lino. She was purchased as a foal for €22,000.

The filly was offered on the second day of trade for stores and her price eclipsed the top price of £78,000 paid on Tuesday for a son of the deceased Stowaway. This three-year-old out of a winning Supreme Leader mare was sold from Willie Browne’s Mocklershill Stables to Mags O’Toole for Gordon Elliott.

Paul and Sara Thorman’s Trickledown Stud led the list of vendors when selling 17 lots for £405,000. Topping their draft was a three-year-old son of Robin Des Champs from the family of Dato Star. It took a bid of £72,000, again from Mags O’Toole, to secure him for Noel Meade Racing.

The top-class dual-purpose runner Midnight Legend has enjoyed great success at stud and the Bleahen’s Lakefield Farm sold a son of his for £68,000 to John O’Byrne. This three-year-old is out of the Zaffaran mare Valentines Lady who was placed in a listed bumper at Aintree.

A two-year-old son of Al Namix offered from the Haras de Faydeau in France was put through the ring and led out unsold at £80,000. Subsequently Paul Webber’s bid of £65,000 was good enough to acquire the gelding who is already named Detonate.

An increasing number of French-bred stores are being offered at the sales in Ireland and Britain and Trickledown Stud’s three-year-old son of Le Fou and the flat and jumps winner Page D’Histoire sold for £63,000 and was purchased by Ross Doyle, again to join Jonjo O’Neill.

A pair of three-year-old geldings sold for £62,000 each. The first to do so was a son of Oscar out of the six-time winner Bannington Blaze. The gelding is the mare’s fourth progeny and the first three have all run and won. Vere Phillipps sold him to Gerry Hogan Bloodstock for Emma Lavelle.

The next to make £62,000 was the third lot in the ring on Wednesday morning. This was a Robin Des Champs gelding from a once-raced Dr Massini mare sold by Whitebarn Farming in Ireland. Bloodstock agent Aiden Murphy signed the buyer’s docket and revealed the gelding would ultimately join Philip Hobbs

A three-year-old son of Kalanisi, the second foal of an unraced mare by Definite Article, offered from Liss House, made £58,000 and sold to Colin Tizzard. Incorrectly catalogued, he was in fact a full-brother to Krugermac who sold earlier on the same day for £185,000 following his debut second in a Punchestown bumper. The dam of the two lots, Vindonissa, is a half-sister to the Grade 1 winners Thisthatandtother and Carlingford Lough.

Norman Williamson’s Oak Tree Farm sold three lots and their best was a three-year-old son of Stowaway from a well-known Aga Khan family. At £53,000 he was the most expensive of nine purchases made by Highflyer Bloodstock in the stores section.

The only horse offered this week from Ask’s first three-year-old crop sold for £40,000 to Colin Tizzard.

With a larger catalogue the stores section saw a small increase in aggregate but recorded falls in average and median of 8% and 6% respectively.

The overall sale turnover grew by 8%, the average by 5% and the median by 9%.