Cheveley Park Stud’s exciting prospect Envoi Allen continued his rapid development in the National Hunt sphere at Fairyhouse on Sunday when he justified favouritism to take the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.
That success saw the five-year-old stretch his unbeaten record to six races under rules since he was purchased by bloodstock agent Tom Malone for David and Patricia Thompson for £400,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale in 2018.
Having taken a trio of bumpers prior to victory in the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, the son of Muhtathir has made a seamless transition to hurdles this season.
Chris Richardson, Managing Director of Cheveley Park Stud, was on hand to see the rising star win in Ireland and said: “It was there for everybody to see – he was so impressive.
“He’s a fine stamp of a horse, a good size, and everything he’s done so far, he’s done within his compass. The Royal Bond was a very strong race with plenty of depth and I thought we might get caught after the last, but he dug deep and did enough.
“He’ll still develop further – we’re very excited and very lucky. It was lovely to have that experience [on Sunday] and it’s great for the Thompsons to be competing at the top level.
“The dream of having a few runners at Cheltenham has turned into a very exciting result for the future and hopefully all being well, there’ll be plenty more to come.”
The Thompsons have invested heavily in the National Hunt sphere in recent years with other high-profile purchases such as the sidelined Malone Road, who caught the eye with two impressive bumper victories in November 2018.
“It’s great for the Thompsons to be competing at the top level”
That decision to increase their participation over jumps also saw the switch from the purple and pink silks associated with 1992 Grand National winner Party Politics to the famous red, white and blue colours that have been carried to many top-level victories on the Flat.
Of the Thompsons’ string under both codes, Richardson said: “There are 120 horses on the Flat and we’ve got 18 National Hunt horses – 17 in Ireland and Nicky Henderson has one.
“We want to be involved in Ireland. We stand Unfortunately, the son of Society Rock who was a Group 1 winner, at Springfield House Stud.
“We’re involving Ireland in a big way and the Thompsons are very committed to Flat racing and National Hunt racing.”
Richardson was speaking during the Tattersalls December Mares Sale on Tuesday, the same venue which last week saw the first foals of Cheveley Park Stud stallion Ulysses take their turn in the ring.
He added: “Ulysses foals have been well received. They’re all impressive individuals and his average is just over £55,000 if you include Goffs and Tattersalls.
“He’s got one of the best pedigrees in the book, he’s a very impressive individual himself and we’ve got some exciting foals by him at home. Now we look forward to seeing them as yearlings next year.”
