GORDON Elliott is hoping that Golden Current will repeat his success with the Tattersalls Cheltenham January Sale after the in-form trainer gave £315,000 for Saturday’s top lot.

It’s the highest price ever recorded at the January Sale, with Elliott having both bought and sold the previous record holder Wingmen for £250,000.

Jonathan Fogarty sold the latest sales topper, who bolted up by 12 lengths on debut at the end of December. Clondaw Buster, who chased home the impressive newcomer, sold to Jerry Mcgrath and Ben Pauling for £120,000 that same evening.

After seeing off the attentions of Tom Lacey, Matt Coleman and Ger Hannon, Gordon Elliott commented: “It was a very good performance when this horse won. He has cost a bit more than we had planned, but a nice horse is always going to have a few lads on him. Jonathan knows the time of day and is a good operator.”

Saturday’s sale marked a significant change in fortune for Golden Current, who was bought back for £28,000 when offered by Hegarty Bloodstock at the Goffs UK Spring Store Sale.

The son of Overbury Stud resident Golden Horn was bred by Mr E. Cantillon out of the listed-winning Gold Away mare Tunkwa and shares his page with Odeliz.

“He did not come to me until July and Dermot Cantillon and David Cox own him with me,” Fogarty explained. “The plan was to run him as a five-year-old, but he was doing things so easily that we decided to run him at Dromahane on New Year’s Eve.

“He was very impressive, and Golden Horn is a very good sire. It is great to get him here, and the Tattersalls team has looked after us so well.”

Changing Tide

Just as he did at Dromahane, Golden Current finished some way clear of his rivals at Cheltenham, with Willow Tide the next highest-priced at £200,000. From 26 lots offered, 20 sold to produce an average price of £85,950 – a new high for this sale.

Willow Tide’s price marked an impressive return on the €10,000 Aidan Fitzgerald paid for the Crystal Ocean gelding at the Goffs Arkle Sale. The bargain buy fell when sent off favourite on debut in November but was foot-perfect when landing a five-year-old maiden at Carrigarostig earlier this month.

Fergal O’Brien and his partner Sally Randell liked what they saw, the trainer explained: “He is a lovely horse; we saw him on the videos, and my partner Sally came and viewed him yesterday.

“He vetted well today, and everything about him is lovely – he has size, scope, and came well recommended, Aidan is a good man to buy from. The horse has been bought for a client in the yard.”

Worth the wait

Tom Weston gave the same figure of €10,000 for Mortal Coil, but had longer to wait, having bought the son of Affinisea as a foal at the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale.

His patience was rewarded when the four-year-old made a winning debut in an Exeter bumper earlier this month, beating a newcomer of Nicky Henderson’s, with the pair eight lengths clear of the favourite in third.

Ryan Mahon and Dan Skelton were so impressed by the performance that they gave £170,000 for the bay on Saturday.

“He is a lovely four-year-old,” Mahon commented. “It was very impressive to win so early in the year against older horses with experience; it takes a bit of doing, and he must have a high level of ability to do that.”

A delighted Tom Weston added: “That is by far our best result in the ring. I was hoping he would stand out, as he was one of just two four-year-olds in the sale, and his sire Affinisea is also going the right way.”

“He was a smart winner of his bumper at Exeter – he was the first four-year-old of ours to run this year, and you are never quite sure where you are with them.”

Marley in the money

The other four-year-old in the catalogue, Nightflyer, also boasted a debut bumper win. Just three days before the sale, the Adrian Keatley-trained gelding justified strong support in a Catterick bumper, where the first two finished clear of the rest of the field.

Offered by Roger Marley’s Church Farm Stables on Saturday, the Amaron gelding brought £95,000 from Stroud Coleman Bloodstock and O’Neill Racing. It marked a fine return on the €11,000 Marley paid for the German-bred chesnut at the BBAG September Yearling Sale.

Harry Goff stretched to €28,000 for a Berkshire gelding at the Tattersalls Ireland July Store Sale and was rewarded for his faith when the now-named Clondaw Buster finished closest to the exciting Golden Current on debut.

Having made the running until after four out, the promise shown by Mick Goff’s charge drew the attention of Jerry McGrath and Ben Pauling, who parted with £120,000 to secure the five-year-old on Saturday.