Sales Topper Leads Fine Day For Mahler

Beeches Stud sire Mahler enjoyed a fruitful few hours on Thursday, yielding a sales-topper at the Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale, along with winners in a beginners chase and maiden hurdle.

The sales-topper in question was Donnchadh Doyle’s debut winner Disguisedlimit (5g Mahler – Blessingindisguise, by Luso), who brought £150,000 from Tom Malone and Philip Hobbs. “He's a lovely, big, scopey chaser,” Malone said of their purchase. “I've had some luck with Mahlers and this horse probably has a bit of pace – in every stage of his race he travelled well. He won well and did his job well.”

Bective Abbey (6g Mahler – Sizing Kimberlite, by Flemensfirth) is another graduate of Irish point-to-points, having impressed at Tyrella on his sole start for Warren Ewing, and subsequently sold to Highflyer Bloodstock for £150,000.

Now trained by Nicky Henderson for Mark Blandford, he got off the mark under rules in the maiden hurdle at Warwick on Wednesday afternoon. Robert Dunne partnered the gelding to win by two and a quarter lengths from fellow six-figure purchase Fortified Fortune (Soldier Of Fortune). The promising son of Mahler was bred by Michael Shanahan.

Later that day at Wexford, the Dermot McLoughlin-trained Bocelli’s Voice (8g Mahler – Made Of Diamonds, by Alfora) won his second start over fences in the two mile Beginners Chase.

Placed on both his starts between the flags, the bay won a maiden hurdle last season and finished a promising fourth on chase debut last month. Ridden prominently by Ben Harvey on Thursday, he asserted after the final fence and kept on well to beat the favourite by three parts of a length.

The son of Beeches Stud sire Mahler is owned by C Smyth and was bred by Michael Whitty.