Dale Peters pulled off a dream result at Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale on Friday when selling four-year-old Byorderofthecourt for £120,000
Based near Sawtry in Cambridgeshire, Peters trained and rode the son of Court Cave when making a winning debut, then elected to send him to the sales. The gelding (pictured above with Peters) was owned in a partnership involving the trainer and his father Mick, plus Toby Hunt. They bought Byorderofthecourt for £20,000 at Goffs UK's Spring Sale in May last year.
Bloodstock agent and point-to-point trainer Tom Malone was the buyer on behalf of 13-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls. Malone said: "He's a big backward horse, so he's done well to do what he has.
"He's Paul Nicholls' type of horse and hopefully he'll look good value in time. They [Peters and Hunt] did well to buy him as a store at that price. Paul and I have bought him together and he'll be sold on at some stage."
Dale said: "It's a great result and means we can go again – we'll be going back to Doncaster next month to the venue where we bought this one.
"He has found everything very easy from the day we broke him in. I think he's very good. We chose the race at Mollington from a long way out, hoping to find a good race with some respectable stables represented. If we were lucky to win it would help him sell in the ring, and the second and third were well regarded."
Eleven of the 61 lots in the catalogue had shown form on a British point-to-point course, and six of those found a buyer in the ring. Bloodstock agent Ryan Mahon bought Fran and Charlie Poste's four-year-old Chaddesley Corbett winner Rock House for £55,000, a sweet upgrade on his £20,000 price as a store, while Lydstep dead-heater Deadly Missile was sold for £40,000 to agent Hamish Macauley on his way to a place across the Atlantic with American trainer Leslie Young.
Rock House, who left Fran and Charlie Poste's yard bound for Dan Skelton after selling for £55,000 **Photo Carl Evans
The Postes also gained £26,000 for Diamond Tiki, who had finished second in a point-to-point Flat race at Maisemore Park, while Cothelstone winner Top Target left Chris Barber's stable on a bid of £26,000 by Kim Bailey. Copper Fox, who finished second in a Fakenham maiden point-to-point for Tom and Gina Ellis, was bought by Donald McCain for £15,000.