LAST Friday’s Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale was topped by a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Bravemansgame who sold for £370,000.

A four-year-old filly by Mahler, Dawn Of Light won a point-to-point at Quakerstown in Co Clare last weekend for breeder Richard Busher. She was bought at Cheltenham by agent Mags O’Toole, who did not disclose her client, though she has acted frequently for owner Brian Acheson of Robcour in the past.

Busher said: “I was going to keep her and breed from her, but she was too good for me to keep. She was doing her work, she always went well, we were just hoping on the day. When she went clear I was just hoping she would not fall!”

O’Toole said: “She is a gorgeous mare. She won very well, she’s got a great pedigree, and I hope that she is lucky. She’s going back to Ireland, but I don’t know who’s going to train her yet.”

The underbidder was Dan Astbury who later bought recent Loughanmore winner Eskylady (filly by Maxios) for £260,000 from handler Denis Murphy. Astbury said: “She was seriously impressive, won in an unbelievable time, and she is off to Mickey Bowen’s and is for Martin Gowing. We were looking to add a filly to his string, we came for the two fillies. She looks very exciting, has plenty of gears.”

Trainer Paul Nicholls teamed up with the Highflyer Bloodstock agency to buy John Nallen’s recent academy hurdle winner Minella Yoga for £360,000 on behalf of owner Michael Geoghegan. The three-year-old gelding is by Study Of Man. “This horse was very impressive, he is a big raw-boned horse with size and scope and could be anything,” said Nicholls. “We were determined to try and buy him if we could.

“Michael wanted a hurdler, he is one we can run over Christmas, and I see him as a chaser down the line.”

As an academy hurdle winner, Minella Yoga is entitled to run in an all-aged maiden hurdle in Ireland without a penalty, but would not have this advantage in Britain.

Nicholls also bought Donnchadh Doyle’s Stick To The Board for £215,000. A four-year-old by Crystal Ocean, he is a half-brother to listed hurdles performer Belle The Lioness and he held every chance of winning when falling at the last on his debut at Dromahane earlier this month in a race won by Red Acres Max.

Second in that Dromahane point was Colin Bowe’s Soul Asylum (by Walk In The Park) and he was sold to Gordon Elliott and Eddie O’Leary for £280,000. “He is a lovely horse, was very unlucky in his race, he is by a great sire and we have been very lucky buying off Colin,”said Elliott. “He looked like a stand out here.”

The record-breaking evening sale saw seven horses sell for £200,000 and above, a median price of £80,000 and a turnover of £4,627,000 - all new records for the November Sale, with the turnover the second-best ever achieved by a Tattersalls Cheltenham sale.

The average price was £98,447 (up 5%). The clearance rate was a superb 96%.