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Click here<\/a> to add us to your Google preferred sources or find out more here<\/a><\/p>\n Hillberry Hill<\/a>, who holds multiple entries at the Cheltenham Festival, topped Wednesday\u2019s ThoroughBid January Sale, selling to Ed Bailey Bloodstock and Mat Nicholls for \u00a370,000.<\/p>\n The Kingston Hill gelding, offered by Mags Mullins, had impressively landed a maiden hurdle at Thurles last weekend and holds entries for all three Grade 1 novice hurdles at the Festival. He is also qualified for the \u20ac75,000 Connolly\u2019s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Hurdle Series Final.<\/p>\n The four-year-old is set to join the yard of Nicholls and his training partner Kim Bailey and was secured on behalf of long-time client John Perriss.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI thought there were a lot of positives to him,\u201d Ed Bailey said. \u201cHe put in a lovely performance on his second run when he won, he hit the line very hard, and I thought that for what you can often find in a Cheltenham sale he represented a bit of value. He looks a fine big horse, let\u2019s hope he can improve with a bit more time. The connections are a big fan of the sire.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the gelding fell within expectations on price: \u201cI thought he made sense at that price personally, we thought he\u2019d be around that. We felt he represented value from a proven under rules run. We were happy to pay that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to think outside the box a little to try and find value in what is a very competitive market for proven form types, so we felt he made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n While Hillberry Hill holds multiple spring options, Bailey suggested a patient approach.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if [the Cheltenham Festival] is necessarily the route he\u2019ll be taking, but he still looks a nice horse for the future, which will definitely be over fences.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll go back to Mat Nicholls and Kim Bailey\u2019s and he\u2019s been bought for John Perriss, who\u2019s a very long-standing owner of theirs. John actually picked him out, the horse really caught his eye. He\u2019s got a nice horse by Kingston Hill we bought for him with Mat and Kim called White Noise, who looks like a really progressive mare. He was keen to buy another.\u201d<\/p>\n Hillberry Hill winning the Connolly’s Red Mills EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle at ThurlesCredit: Patrick McCann<\/p>\n Mat Nicholls added: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have picked up Hillberry Hill. He\u2019s 16.3hh, he\u2019ll jump a fence and get a trip in time. We thought he was very eye-catching.<\/p>\n \u201cHe obviously holds the Grade 1 novice hurdle entries at Cheltenham, which is something lofty to aim at, but we\u2019ll get him home first before we make any decisions on where he\u2019ll be targeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHaving qualified for the Red Mills Final at Punchestown, that could be a nice pot to look at with him this season, but we\u2019ll know more once we get him home and settled in. Hopefully this guy can be lucky for John.\u201d<\/p>\n The second top lot was the Olly Murphy-consigned filly Broken Vow, who went the way of agent Darren O\u2019Dwyer for \u00a350,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n A winner over two miles on debut at Lingfield ten days ago, the Decorated Knight four-year-old was bought to race on in the United States under trainer Leslie Young for owner Bonnie Hamilton, who achieved Group 1 glory on the Flat in 2024 with the Jessica Harrington-trained Hotazhell.<\/p>\n O\u2019Dwyer said: \u201cIt\u2019s really pleasing to have purchased Broken Vow on behalf of Bonnie Hamilton. She\u2019ll go out to Leslie Young in the US and we\u2019re excited to see how her career goes. She came highly recommended by Olly Murphy, and she did it really well in her bumper at Lingfield.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think she\u2019s the type who ought to suit American racing well.<\/p>\n ThoroughBid chief executive James Richardson said the January Sale had delivered an encouraging start to the year for the online auction house, with 22 of the 33 available lots selling for total receipts of \u00a3203,300, producing a solid clearance rate of 66 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe January Sale has been a cracking start to the year,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cIt was fantastic to see two horses make \u00a350,000 or above, with Hillberry Hill topping the sale at \u00a370,000. He looks a lovely, quality young horse for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cBroken Vow is set to follow in the footsteps of fellow ThoroughBid graduate Grade 1 winner Belfast Banter as she\u2019s been picked up by shrewd judge Darren O\u2019Dwyer to continue racing in the US. Hopefully she can make her mark stateside for some top-drawer connections.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, the sale\u2019s figures are really positive. An average of over \u00a39,000 and a strong clearance rate of 66 per cent \u2013 we couldn\u2019t have asked for a stronger start to 2026. We\u2019re already looking forward to February\u2019s sale.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more<\/strong><\/p>\n ‘I haven\u2019t been more excited about a stallion since Danehill’ – Juddmonte’s Lead Artist to shuttle to Arrowfield Stud<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n New names join established order at Fittocks as Cumanis build on sky-high season<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Hillberry](\"https:\/\/www.racingpost.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fprod-media-racingpost%2Fprod%2Fimages%2F169_1008%2Ff116f329da38-6180792.jpg&w=3840&q=75\"\/)
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