WILLMOUNT was well touted ahead of his appearance in the ring at the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale, and he did not disappoint.

The four-year-old son of Blue Bresil beat Shannon Royale on their respective debuts at Comea, and the winner that day was bought by Neil Mulholland for £340,000. The trainer saw off Harold Kirk, Gerry Hogan and Eddie O’Leary.

“He is for Oliver Harris, he has a few horses with us,” said Mulholland. “He was one of the standout horses at the sale. I mentioned him to Olly and he said that number eight [his lot number] is his lucky number! Listen, he is a nice horse, he came highly recommended. The sire is going places, and Olly was keen to get the horse and stuck his neck out.

“We’ll get him home, we’ll treat him as a good horse, and see if we can win a bumper.”

Willmount was bought as a three-year-old store last year for €46,000 at Goffs by Colin Bowe’s Milestone Bloodstock from Luke Barry’s Manister House Stud, and the gelding is out of a bumper winning daughter of Old Vic, and from the family of Banjaxed Girl.

It is another good February Sale result for Bowe, who sold the Grade 1 winning graduates Envoi Allen and Ferny Hollow. He said: “He has always been a standout. He has a very good temperament, he handles soft ground and can quicken off it. Hopefully, he will be a good horse for next year.

“I sold The Druids Nephew to Neil Mulholland [£40,000], so hopefully this will be another good one! This has been a good sale for me.”

Runner-up

Minutes later, Shannon Royale, a four-year-old Walk In The Park gelding who was a close second to Willmount at Comea earlier this month, again finished runner-up when selling for £300,000. He was bought by Mags O’Toole, with the underbidders including Gerry Hogan and Tom Malone.

“He is a fine big horse, the sire is on fire, he had a lovely run against the top lot, and he is a horse for the future. He won’t be rushed and goes into training with Gordon Elliot for an existing client,” said O’Toole. She added: “I loved the way the winner and this horse got away from the others, they quickened well, and he is only four! He is gorgeous, he has a lovely head on him. Of course he was going to be a lot of money”

Shannon Royale’s handler Denis Murphy of Ballyboy Stables, who spent €100,000 on the Walk In The Park gelding last year, said: “He is a lovely, gorgeous big horse and he should have a big future. He was the pick of the paddock when I bought him, and as he has been an easy horse to train. He should go forward.”

Of his run, Murphy said: “I was a little disappointed on the day, but Colin likes his horse a lot. Hopefully, the form will look good.”

Ireland-bound

Another lot heading back to Ireland is the five-year-old Getaway gelding Captain Checkdown. He was bought by Tony Martin, signing as Bloodstock Accountancy Services, for £180,000.

“He is for a new client to me,” said Martin. “The horse was well recommended to us, and he was impressive when he won. We will carry on with him now, he is a five-year-old, and we’ll look to win a bumper. His sire Getaway is going well.” Captain Checkdown was successful at Ballinaboola on his second run and is from the family of the Galway Plate and multiple Grade 1 winner Clarcam.

Captain Checkdown was sold from Andrew Latta’s Ballinakill Stables, and the Wexford man was also in charge of leading up duties. Latta purchased the gelding as a store at the 2020 Derby Sale for €26,000.

The previous lot was Belharbour debut winner Out Of Office and Rob James bought, reared, trained and rode him to win the four-year-old maiden. He cost trainer Evan Williams £160,000.

Great model

James purchased the Shirocco gelding as a foal at the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale for €30,000 and said: “He has a great pedigree, is a great model and was as a foal, too. I think he is very good; he is very smart.

“I am delighted Evan bought him – he bought Star Gate off me a couple of years ago and he won the same maiden. Hopefully he is lucky for the new owners.”

James, who trains around 12 pointers, said: “I buy or two or three every year, and tip away with them and do everything with them myself.”

The rider is enjoying a good season and has had 26 winners so far, just three behind the leading rider Barry O’Neill. “It is hard to beat Barry, but we’ll keep him on his toes,” smiled James.