Costelloe preparing young team in Lambourn

Leading Irish pinhooker Gearoid Costelloe is putting faith in the UK point-to-point circuit from a base in Lambourn.

Costelloe has bought a selection of three-year-olds at store sales in Britain and Ireland with a view to running them as four-year-olds and then reoffering them at public auction. With point-to-point Flat races now firmly established in the UK and a new 13-race series of maiden races restricted to four- and five-year-olds – sponsored by Tattersalls Cheltenham and Goffs UK – there will be no shortage of races for Costelloe and others to target when the new season opens.

Speaking at Tattersalls October Sales he said: “We’ve got ten nice three-year-olds to run once they turn four in the New Year. Most were bought this year at the Land Rover and Derby Sales, and we picked one up at Doncaster. They are by such sires as Kayf Tara, Martaline, Shantou and Slickly.

“The plan is to take our time with them, and if they do well we will offer them for resale, and if not we’ll run them on the track [under Rules] ourselves. People like Tom Lacey and others have shown there is a market for horses who come out of the [UK] point-to-point field.”

Costelloe grew up in Ireland and is a nephew of Tom Costello (whose name was spelt without an ‘e’ at the end), a leading trader of jumping horses and said to have sold six Gold Cup winners.