WHEN Mifa d’Airy bolted up on debut at Dromahane, bloodstock agents, trainers and big-spending owners paid attention – specifically Dan Skelton, Ryan Mahon, Matt Coleman, Gordon Elliott, Mags O’Toole and Harold Kirk when Sean Doyle’s mare went under the hammer at Thursday’s Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale.

It was the new British champion National Hunt trainer and agent Mahon who won out, relegating Kirk to the role of underbidder, mirroring Skelton taking the title from Mullins. At £450,000, Skelton’s recruit is the highest-priced mare to be sold at Tattersalls Cheltenham, and also holds the title of the highest-rated four-year-old mare in Irish points so far this season.

Skelton’s post-sale comments were as complimentary as expected, the trainer saying: “She looked supreme in her race, incredible, almost too good to be true, and her physical matches up, she is an absolute rocket.”

Owner Rachel Wilson, who is putting together a partnership to race Mifa d’Airy, was equally enamoured by their buy. “She is gorgeous, and when I saw her I was smitten,” she commented.

“Dan phoned me after her win and he sent me her page and then her video, too. We thought she’d make that sort of money and we are very excited.”

Mifa d’Airy was sourced by Monbeg Stables from Fenloe House at the Derby Sale for €70,000 – a considerable investment for a mare at the time, but Sean Doyle reported that he knew it was money well-spent from an early stage.

“The first day we lunged her we knew she was cheap – her balance and lungs were unbelievable,” he explained. “It is great to get well rewarded, and she has gone to a great team.”

Thursday was Tattersalls Cheltenham’s final sale of the 2025/2026 season and it has been one to remember for Doyle. “We have never had a team of horses like this,” he reflected.

“The individuals were great and they matched up with ability; it has been a wonderful year. It is a lot of work – we have a tremendous team at home, and they are headed up by my brother Gearoid.”

Impressive profits

Mifa d’Airy’s landmark price helped to bring the sale’s average price to £75,242 – an increase of 13% year-on-year and the second highest achieved at the April Sale. The median remained steady at £50,000, but clearance rate was not as healthy, dropping six points to 72%.

Ryan Mahon and Dan Skelton were clear leaders in terms of spend, securing six lots for a total of £837,000, with three of their recruits costing six-figure sums. The pair declared their intentions when giving £180,000 for the second lot through the ring, Rob James’ four-year-old maiden winner Glebe House.

The Poet’s Word gelding didn’t win by as wide a margin as Mifa d’Airy (16 lengths), but the tight finish at Loughanmore did showcase the newcomer’s game attitude. Skelton’s comments suggest that Glebe House inherited his temperament from his young sire.

He said: “We love the sire, who doesn’t? His stock are very workable, very malleable, they are easy to work with, they ride well, they have good attitudes. Hopefully, this horse is lucky.”

Thursday’s price marked a sizeable return on the €41,000 paid by James last summer, and an even greater leap from his foal price of €9,000. He becomes the fifth six-figure point-to-pointer by Poet’s Word this year so far, and it’s particularly notable that Glebe House doesn’t have an impressive pedigree to help his case, with no blacktype performer in the first three dams.

Top pinhooking honours, however go to connections of Meetmebythelake, who sold to Mahon and Skelton for €100,000. Trained by Vincent Devereux to win, the Ocovango cost just €1,000 as a weanling, when he was bought by Maurice Day.

Day bred the similarly named Meetmebythesea, by his family’s stallion Watar, who finished second to He Can’t Dance at Monksgrange for Devereux. Subsequently sold privately to JP McManus, he has now won six of his eight starts under rules, including last month’s Golden Miller at Cheltenham.

Two hats

Fergal O’Brien made a successful switch from buyer to consignor, when selling promising hurdler Tiddesley Wood to Dan Astbury and Adrian Keatley for £160,000.

O’Brien had bought the Sir Percy gelding as a three-year-old for £50,000, and after a patient wait, the chesnut rewarded connections with two wins and two thirds from five starts over hurdles this season.

He appears to be on an upward curve too, as a step up to two miles and five furlongs at Kempton last month yielded his best performance to date.

“This horse has got a great profile,” Astbury said, after revealing that his purchase was made on behalf of owner Garry Wilson.

“He put in a massive figure last time, winning in a quicker time than the 0-150 handicap. He looks a ready-made Saturday horse, and, hopefully, if he improves a bit for going over fences, he could be a graded novice chaser. He has the size to jump a fence, and he might respect fences more than he does his hurdles.”

Tiddesley Wood’s stable won’t be empty for long, though, as Fergal O’Brien bought Idaho Road earlier in the day for £100,000. Benny Walsh’s five-year-old made a promising debut last weekend, when he was headed close home by a more experienced rival at Tattersalls, with the front pair finishing 10 lengths clear of the third.

Gordon Elliott was the only Irish trainer on the score sheet at Cheltenham on Thursday, buying Lawless’ smart Shirocco mare Ballydonagh Girl for £155,000 and Eamonn Doyle’s promising Poet’s Word four-year-old Bold Script for £130,000.