11 minute read
NH racing review
A Christmas feast
Amy Bennett reports on a fantastic week of Festive racing
CHRISTMAS IS ALWAYS the season of feasting and what an abundance of delicacies there were to be enjoyed by racing fans between Boxing Day/St Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Day.
No fewer than 13 Grade 1 contests took place between Christmas and New Year, spread across both sides of the Irish Sea and encompassing victories for returning heroes and rising stars alike. And that is not to mention a full spread of Grade 2 and 3 and Listed races, as well as a bumper cards of more ordinary fare.
So where to begin reviewing the feast? Perhaps with the morsels below.
The bargain buy Hewick and his trainer Shark Hanlon have redefined the word “bargain”.
Purchased for just €850 at Goresbridge as a two-year-old for his owner TJ McDonald, Hewick is one of racing’s true rags-to-riches stories. Since he was signed for by Hanlon’s partner Rachel O’Neill, the now-nine-year-old has banked over £613,000 under Rules.
An impressive £143,000 of that total came on Boxing Day when the Virtual gelding scored a never-say-die victory in the King George VI Chase (G1) at Kempton, having looked ready to be pulled up at one stage.
Bred by William Quinn out of the unraced Oscar mare Ballyburn Rose, he hails from a solid jumping family, with such luminaries as the Grade 1-winning hurdler Artello Tower and the high-class chaser Deep Bramble on the page.
It is worth noting that Hewick’s owner signed for the gelding’s foal half-brother by Jet Away at the 2023 Goffs December National Hunt Sale for €20,000, while the star’s is two-year-old half-brother by Affinisea is another to have joined the fold, with Hanlon signing for him at €25,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale in 2022.
While a long way from their older sibling’s bargain basement price tag, that duo is also a long way from some of the bidding frenzies we have seen in NH circles in recent years.
Hewick’s sire Virtual began his stud career at Cheveley Park Stud before moving to Woodlands Stud in County Galway, where Hewick was conceived. He moved again in 2022 to stand at Etheridge Farm in Dorset, an operation focused on producing eventers and show horses.
Higher prices
Given the prevalence of big rollers in NH racing in recent times, it is perhaps a little surprising that high-priced sales graduates were not more dominant in the biggest races over Christmas.
Most pricey of the Grade 1 winners was Caldwell Potter (Martaline), who made the leap from a maiden hurdle victory to top-level success in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle (G1) with ease at Leopardstown on December 27.
The Martaline gelding was snapped up as a three-year-old by Joey Logan for owners Andy and Gemma Brown for €200,000 in Part 1 of the Goffs Land Rover Sale in 2021.
A full-brother to the four-time Grade 1 winner Mighty Potter, sadly killed in a fall at Fairyhouse last year, the six-year-old is also a half-brother to the Grade 3 winners French Dynamite (Kentucky Dynamite), Indiana Jones (Blue Bresil) and Brighterdaysahead (Kapgarde), all bred by Francois-Marie Cottin.
They are out of the Laveron mare Matnie, an unraced daughter of the Grade 2-placed hurdler Lirfox (Foxhound), from a smart jumping family. Having produced a pair of sons by Doctor Dino in 2021 and 2020, Matnie foaled a colt by No Risk At All last year, for breeder Walter Connors.
Two weeks later another of Connors’ mares received a big boost when Readin Tommy Wrong triumphed in the re-arranged Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle (G1) at Naas. Bred by Connors out of the High Chaparral mare Roque De Cyborg, the winner, unbeaten under Rules, is by Authorized, who was recently repatriated to stud in Ireland from Turkey.
Also providing a smart return on a big price tag was Jango Baie, the son of Tiger Groom who was signed for by JP McGrath Bloodstock at £170,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale last year.
The five-year-old made his own little piece of history by winning the inaugural Formby Novices’ Hurdle (G1) at Aintree, formerly the Tolworth Hurdle, run at Sandown, on Boxing Day.
Successful by the narrowest margin in a novice hurdle at Ascot in early November, the now five-year-old stayed on well to win in some style at Aintree.
At the double
The young sire (in NH terms) Karaktar has made plenty of friends with his first runners, including via a trio of Grade 3 winners last year. However, the Haras de Cercy-based sire really made headlines over Christmas with his first top-level winner outside of France, followed by a Grade 2 winner for good measure.
Il Est Francais became his sire’s first Grade 1 winner when successful at Auteuil in November 2022, and he could scarcely have been more impressive when striding clear over the last to triumph in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase (G1) at Kempton by 11l for the training partnership of Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm.
Bred by Haras de Saint-Voir and out of the Video Rock mare Millesimee, he is from the first crop of Karaktar, who retired to Haras de Cercy for a fee of €2,000 in 2017.
That fee has now rocketed to €12,000 after the son of High Chaparral reportedly covered 263 mares last year off a fee of €4,500.
Only ten minutes the triumph at Kempton, Kala Conti flew the flag for their sire at Leopardstown when triumphing in the Juvenile Hurdle (G2).
Now four, the filly was bred by Patrick Joubert and Ecurie Couderc out of the Roli Abi mare Rolibie de Vindecy. The next reported foal out of the mare, a half-brother by Pour Moi, was foaled in 2022.
Twice successful in Grade 3 company at 1m2f, Karaktar was bred and raced by the Aga Khan.
A Point to watch
It is hardly a secret that it pays to keep a close eye on French form in NH racing, but how many people who watched the Prix Jacques de Vienne, an AQPS Grade 1 contest run at Saint-Cloud in November 2021, could have predicted such success for its 1-2?
Clearly a few did, as both horses involved now race for different owners and trainers, but even so, when Irish Point defeated Il Est Francais in the extended 1m4f contest on heavy ground, would all those have predicted Grade 1 success for the duo over Christmas two years later?
Two days after Il Est Francais romped home at Kempton, Irish Point (Joshua Tree) was an impressive winner of the Christmas Hurdle (G1), run in memory of Jack de Bromhead at Leopardstown.
In defeating Asterion Forlonge and Ballyadam the now six-year-old added another top-level success to his victory in last season’s Mersey Novices’ Hurdle (G1).
Trained by Gordon Elliott for Brian Acheson’s Robcour, the gelding looks to have a very bright future in the staying division.
The gelding’s dam Burkina (Fragrant Mix), who won both on the Flat and over fences, foaled a full-brother to Irish Point last year, now named Major Tree.
Gone but not forgotten
We all know that good sires can come from anywhere, but, historically, it has tended towards one-way traffic when sending stallions to stand in South Africa.
We all know that good sires can come from anywhere, but, historically, it has tended towards one-way traffic when sending stallions to stand in South Africa.
Found A Fifty gave lie to that notion when triumphing in the Racing Post Novice Chase (G1) at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day, registering a first top-level triumph for his deceased sire Solskjaer.
Bred by Orpendale, the son of Danehill was a half-brother to the outstanding stayer and top sire Yeats (Sadler’s Wells).
Successful in the Royal Whip (G2) when trained by Aidan O’Brien, Solskjaer found no favour in the northern hemisphere and commenced his stud career in South Africa, standing at Summerhill Stud. After failing to set the world alight in his new home country, he was purchased for only R5,000 by Heversham Park Stud who then negotiated a deal to send him to David Stack’s Coolagown Stud.
Despite what would be a short-lived stud career, the sire struck gold in his first season in Ireland, Found A Fifty was conceived that spring and he remains a testament to his well-travelled sire.
Found A Fifty’s victory at Leopardstown was not exactly drama-free, as he jumped right throughout, but his price has been slashed for the Arkle in two months’ time.
He was bred by Thomas Fahey out of the Gone Fishin mare Fillmein, who scored twice over hurdles and once in a point-to-point, and is a half-sister to the useful jumps mares Rathmuck Native and Field Robin.
Moore seeing double
Trainer Gary Moore secured a notable cross-card double on December 27 when training the winners of both the Desert Orchid Handicap Chase (G2) at Kempton and, a lorry journey down the M4, the Welsh Grand National (G3) at Chepstow in the space of an hour.
Winless since triumphing in the Clarence House Chase (G1) at Cheltenham in January 2023, Editeur Du Gite showed plenty of pace at Kempton to defeat a very useful yardstick in Nube Negra (Dink) to win the 2m Desert Orchid by 3l.
Bred by Daniel Gerault, the gelding is by Saddex, who stands for a private fee at Blackrath Stud in County Kildare and whose oldest Irish-conceived crop are three-yearolds this year.
At the other end of the stamina scale from his stablemate, Nassalam (Dream Well) put up a performance for the ages at Chepstow making light work of the heavy going and extended 3m6f trip to romp home by 34l under stable-based jockey Caoilin Quinn.
It marked the seven-year-old’s first win since February 2022, but he has turned in some decent performances in defeat and more is surely to come.
Bred by Genetique Obstacle, Nassalam is the first winner from six foals to race out of the unraced Shirocco mare Ramina, whose latest recorded foal is a Saint Des Saints colt born in 2023.
Chewy the Master
A quick glance at sales results over the last few years show the faith breeders have placed in the progeny of Walk In The Park since his move to Grange Stud in 2016, with the sire dominating in the sales ring as well as on the racecourse.
Results from his French-conceived crops have been rewarded with big books, abundance of mares, and the progeny of those big Irish books are now hitting the spotlight.
Master Chewy is a member of his sire’s first Irish-bred crop, foaled in 2017, a group that also includes the Grade 1 winners Ashroe Diamond and Facile Vega.
Although not yet quite at the level of his paternal half-siblings, the seven-year-old gave warning that he is on the rise when triumphing in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase (G2) at Kempton on December 27.
Coming into the race off the back of two defeats, he has some questions to answer, but stayed on well to score by just under 5l for Nigel Twiston-Davies and owners Anne-Marie and Jamie Shepperd.
He was bred by James Hoare out of Shake The Tree (Shantou), who was placed in a bumper and hails from a family that has done the best of its winning since the 1970s in Australia.
Welcome back!
The 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup (G1) victor Galopin Des Champs has tasted defeat twice since that win, but the eight-year-old by Timos bounced back to winning ways in some style in the Savills Chase (G1) at Leopardstown on 28 December.
Travelling strongly throughout, the Willie Mullins-trained gelding stormed clear to defeat the top-class Gerri Colombe (Saddler Maker) by 23l.
On the other side of the Irish Sea, Constitution Hill (Blue Bresil) maintained his unbeaten record with an easy victory in the Christmas Hurdle (G1) at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The winner’s delayed seasonal bow, following his withdrawal from the rearranged Fighting Fifth (G1) Hurdle earlier in the month, came after a break of 257 days.
The margin of victory, nine and a half lengths, was far less than the 17l trouncing he handed to Epatante 12 months earlier, but victory in 2023 was every bit as smooth and easy as we have come to expect, and it would take a brave person to bet against him repeating the dose at the Cheltenham Festival.
