THE first Cheltenham Sale under the Tattersalls Ireland prefix was a resounding success and six horses realised £100,000 or more. The three key statistics all showed improvements on a year ago, with turnover, average and median all rising. The aggregate advanced by 23% while the average and median grew by 35% and 20% respectively.

Three Ways was a €28,000 purchase at the Land Rover Sale in 2014 but his impressive debut win in a bumper days before the sale for Ronnie O’Leary saw his value soar to £190,000 and the four-year-old son of Flemensfirth will now join trainer Jamie Snowden for owner David Brownlow following his sale to agent Tom Malone. The dam of the sale topper is out of a half-sister to the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Master Oats.

Making a move from Ireland to Wales is Bach De Clermont, a point-to-point winner at Loughanmore for handler Brian Hamilton on his debut recently. Most impressive when landing his victory this half-brother to smart performer Perly De Clermont will carry the colours of William and Angela Rucker.

Warren Ewing also paid €28,000 at the 2014 Land Rover Sale for a three-year-old gelding by Presenting. This was for a partnership with Barry Geraghty and the subsequently named Reigning Supreme was runner-up on his second start in a point-to-point at Maralin less than a week prior to the sale. He sold to owner Michael Buckley for £130,000 and will join Nicky Henderson.

Three lots sold for £100,000 and the first to that figure was Liz Doyle’s Golden Birthday. Runner-up at Punchestown in a bumper on his debut in October, this half-brother to Willie Mullins’ multiple Grade 1 winner Golden Silver was knocked down to agent Richard Knight and the gelding will be trained for Gary Stevens by Harry Fry. The gelding more than doubled his Derby Sale purchase price.

Terry Warner, who won the Champion Hurdle with Rooster Booster, made his most expensive purchase when giving £100,000 for Leg Lock Luke, a Loughrea point-to-point winner on his third start and sold by Eugene O’Sullivan. This was a huge jump in value from his €9,000 sale price at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland August Sale.

Another graduate of that August Sale, costing €17,000, was River Wylde and this point-to-point runner-up sold to Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock for £100,000. He was sold by Thomond O’Mara and comes from the family of Harbour Pilot.

Peter Fahey, Donnchadh Doyle and Colin Bowe all consigned high-priced lots, with Big Meadow (£85,000), Monbeg Aquadude (£80,000) and Ballycrystal (£75,000) all selling to new owners in Britain.

The sale began with a selection of breeze-up lots but these did not seem to be in demand as the horses with form were. Only 19 were catalogued and 13 went through the ring. Four of them sold, one privately, but the best of the quartet was among the top 10 lots on the night when Willie Slattery of Meadowview Stables’ Martaline three-year-old gelding sold to Highflyer Bloodstock and trainer Ben Pauling for 70,000gns.The trainer had earlier in the day saddled his first Cheltenham winner. The gelding had been unsold at €40,000 at the Derby Sale in June.

At the sale’s conclusion Richard Pugh, director of Horses-in-Training Sales for Tattersalls Ireland, said: “It’s great to be here and to see the venue at its busiest. The number of six-figure lots is up, but we knew coming here that we had a very strong November Sale catalogue with plenty of quality among the four-year-old pointers right through to some very good bumper horses, headed by the top lot.

“I’ve attended this sale many times over the years, but to be here as part of Tattersalls Ireland and to see it from another side has been hugely enjoyable. There’s been a great sense of anticipation about the place.

“The reason Tattersalls Ireland are here is because we felt Cheltenham could deliver year on year, and on the evidence of this evening we have got away to a great start.”