Commentator Ian Bartlett issued a line to strike dread into the hearts of rival trainers. Mullins had picked up where he left off, with Ballyburn (Ire) (Flemensfirth) leading home his stable-mates Jimmy de Seuil (Fr), Ile Atlantique (Fr), Mercurey (Fr) and Predators Gold (Fr) in the G1 Gallagher Novices' Hurdle. The only other finisher, and one of two British-trained runners, was Ben Pauling's Handstands (Ire), tailed off, while Jingko Blue (Fr) continued a week of woe for Nicky Henderson by becoming his sixth horse in the last two days at Cheltenham to be pulled up mid-race.

In the parade ring ahead of the next, Queen Camilla looked unperturbed by England's apparent inferiority in the jumping ranks as she chatted with friends, very much at home in the Cotswolds. Just across the paddock was the man who trained Cheltenham's original 'Famous Five', Michael Dickinson, holding court amid a group of visiting influencers.

Things have changed since 1983 when Dickinson saddled Bregawn, Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck and Ashley House, who became an instant quiz question when securing their places in history by being the first five home in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Dickinson looked around, gesturing towards the impressive new grandstand, and said, “The Festival is so different now, none of this was here. It has changed and gone forward, it was nothing like this in the old days.”

The Yorkshireman has been based in America for many years but can't resist an annual pilgrimage to Cheltenham.

“It's four days of championship racing with over 200,000 people attending. They bet half a billion dollars and there's £7 million in prize-money,” he added. “That's it in a nutshell. There's nothing like this.”

There is also nothing, or nobody, quite like Willie Mullins. After Ballyburn came the stunning Fact To File (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}) to win the G1 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase and put Ireland's champion National Hunt trainer on the cusp of notching 100 winners at the Cheltenham Festival. He walked in to the winner's circle with an almost apologetic air. Nicky Henderson, his main British rival and the man who for a long time had been the winningmost trainer at the Festival, was barely at the races. Henderson had acknowledged the poor performances of his runners on the opening day of the meeting and announced the withdrawal of Jonbon (Fr), First Street (GB) and Kingston Pride (Ire) from Wednesday's proceedings.

As Mullins mused next year's Champion Hurdle potential of Ballyburn, his thoughts turned also to his friend and rival. 

“Nicky Henderson must be devastated, having to pull out his horses,” he said. “That's what I'm always dreading, that you have an axe swung in from the side that takes you out at the knees.

“We all feel for him, because we'd rather have beaten Constitution Hill to win the Champion Hurdle. We're good pals and we like the competition, and it's just awful for people. You save it all up for the whole year, your energy, everything, put it all into this and then the horses are taken out because of some mystery, whatever's going through the yard.”

Setbacks come in different guises, however, and by the time of the day's feature race, the G1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, it was Mullins who was ruing his luck when his odds-on favourite El Fabiolo (Fr) (Spanish Moon) crumpled on landing over the fifth fence and, though swiftly back to his feet with Paul Townend still aboard, was sensible pulled up, all momentum lost. 

Instead, it was that immensely popular duo of Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore who prevailed with the appropriately named Captain Guinness (Ire), who had been second last year behind Energumene (Fr). This time around Mullins had to settle for second courtesy of his other runner, Gentleman De Mee (Fr) (Saint Des Saints {Fr}).

For the winning trainer it was a fourth success in this championship for the two-mile chasers in the last 13 years, but it was the first time his stable jockey Blackmore had won this particular race and it completed her triple crown to go with Honeysuckle's Champion Hurdles and A Plus Tard's Gold Cup.

“Here she is, the Queen of Cheltenham,” said the announcer as Blackmore was led back in while the actual Queen stood discreetly to one side applauding. 

Blackmore has long been jump racing's greatest gift. A fierce competitor on equal terms in an unforgiving sport, she would almost certainly loathe to be thought of as anything other than just a jockey, but she is indubitably one of the best we've seen and she just happens to be female. 

“You just leave it to her,” said de Bromhead as he assessed the performance of Blackmore. “I've said it all before, she's such an incredible rider, and whatever it is about here, she's amazing here, even better.”

Blackmore herself said after claiming her 16th Festival victory on Declan Landy's nine-year-old, “He's an incredible horse and just fantastic. I'm not shocked, because I thought his day would come, but at the same time I can't believe it came today.

“Although he was beaten a long way, he ran a really good race here last year behind an incredibly talented horse, and when you are riding for Henry around here this week he does just get them spot on, so I was very, very hopeful coming into the race. I'm just so delighted it's finally happened, and on the biggest stage of all. It's an incredible race to win.”

Britain did get two strikes on the board on Wednesday – both from the same stable. Dan Skelton, the trainer of repeat Coral Cup winner Langer Dan (Ire) (Ocovango {Ger}) and Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase winner Unexpected Party (Fr) (Martaline {Fr}), had started the week in less auspicious fashion by being fined £6,000 by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) for his part in the saga surrounding the sale of George Gently (Fr). 

In a “fast-tracked” disciplinary hearing into a case which has actually been ongoing for six years, Skelton admitted to two breaches of the Rules of Racing. He was handed a financial penalty but no suspension despite having been found to have misled or attempted to mislead the BHA in regard to the ownership of George Gently prior to his sale to a syndicate. Not the greatest PR for British jump racing at a time when its fragility is becoming increasingly apparent. 

Cheltenham, too, has issues that will need to be addressed in the near future in regard to the Festival. The attendance figure for Wednesday was 46,771, the lowest it has been since 2009. In 2022, the first year the crowds returned after Covid, there were 64,431 people at Cheltenham for Queen Mother Champion Chase day, but prior to the pandemic the more usual figure for the Wednesday had been just shy of 60,000.

More positively, the day ended as it had started, with victory for Willie Mullins and a significant milestone reached with his century of Cheltenham Festival winners.

“Willie's in the bumper” has been a favourite fall-back option for festival-goers for years, ever since Mullins trained – and rode – his first Champion Bumper winner Wither Or Which (Ire) in 1996. That sparked three in a row, and his tally in the Festival's sole flat contest now stands at 13 victories. On four of those occasions his son Patrick has been aboard, as he was for this significant 100th Festival win. 

In fact, these days it is hard to narrow down exactly which one of Willie's it will be in the bumper. This year he trained eight of the 19 runners, and the winner, Jasmin De Vaux (Fr) (Tirwanako {Fr}), is owned, like the unfortunate El Fabiolo, by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

“I can't put into words what it feels like to train 100 winners here, because nobody ever thought that anybody would train 100 winners,” Mullins said. “As I've often said, when I started out and had my first win here with Tourist Attraction I thought that was a lifetime achievement, so I'm absolutely stunned that we've come this far.

“We have such a wonderful team at home, with my wife Jackie, Patrick, David Casey, Ruby [Walsh], Dick [Dowling], and all of my head people. It's such a team effort, and they had all of those horses to saddle there. I didn't go near one saddle.”

He added, “I was really pleased Patrick got the ride. I wasn't sure he was on the right one, but he picked it and he was spot on.

“Simon and Isaac had the disappointment with El Fabiolo so for them to own this horse was a little bit of justice.”

It is indeed, for while Mullins is dominating the Festival, with six of the 13 winners at the halfway stage, those horses were owned by five separate owners or partnerships. It is hard to see the influx of young equine talent to his stable ending any time soon.

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Chianti Classico's trainer Kim Bailey has had his share of Cheltenham glory but those high days were almost 30 years ago when, in 1995, Alderbrook (GB) took the Champion Hurdle followed two days later by the victory of Master Oats (GB) in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the maestro Norman Williamson in the saddle for both. 

That was in the days when it seemed that the spoils were more evenly spread, and Bailey claiming two of the championship races in the same year was big news. Now, Mullins does that with regularity and the winner's enclosure on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival was again frequently occupied by his horses.

There seemed little doubt, barring the vagaries of luck in running, that State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) would carry off the G1 Unibet Champion Hurdle once Constitution Hill (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) had been ruled out last week. The latter is the only horse who has been able to tame State Man in his last 12 races, when, on this day last year, Constitution Hill handed him a nine-length drubbing in this same race. 

“You've got to turn up to win a Champion Hurdle. We turned up,” said Mullins, unable to resist a a gentle sideswipe at those constantly comparing his fifth Champion Hurdle winner to the rather more flamboyant absentee. 

“There's no wow factor with State Man,” he said of the seven-year-old. “And you don't go 'wow' when you look at him either, but he does what it says on the tin. He's that type of horse. It's very hard to be wow in that ground, but he's a good solid, sound horse and he just gives his running every time.”

There is a rather bigger wow attached to the lovely five-year-old mare Lossiemouth (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}), who prowled round the parade ring, cruised around racecourse, making light work of the heavy turf, then returned to claim her second prize on Cheltenham's main stage. She has only been beaten once in her life and we will surely see her in the Champion Hurdle in years to come but, having taken last year's G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle it was plainly the right decision to keep her among her own sex in the G1 Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle. The sheer depth of that race in recent years is testament to the fact that it is doing exactly what is was introduced to do, and that is to encourage owners to buy and race mares.

“You can say anything you want to in hindsight,” said Lossiemouth's owner Rich Ricci. “We had a plan and we stuck to it. Hopefully we'll be able to do it next year. We've won the Mares' [Hurdle], it's a Grade 1 and I'm delighted.”

It was in fact double delight for Ricci and his wife Susannah, whose colours had already been borne to victory by Gaelic Warrior (Ger) (Maxios {GB}), who had started the ball rolling for Mullins with victory in the G1 Arkle Novices' Chase. This provided a rare top-level winner over fences for the breeding operation of the Niarchos family. He'd been sold by them for only €9,000 as a yearling in Germany and thus became the first of two BBAG September Yearling Sale graduates to strike at Cheltenham on Tuesday. He is one of the standout performers, along with former Triumph Hurdle winner Quilixios (GB), for his sire Maxios, and his breeding is Niarchos through and through, with his first two dams and damsire Hernando (Fr) having also been bred by the family. 

Incidentally, lovers of racing trivia may recall that Maxios's half-brother, the Arc winner Bago (Fr), was responsible for the only horse ever to have carried the Niarchos colours on a Henry Cecil runner at Cheltenham when his son Plato (Jpn) won the 2011 St Patrick's Day Derby under Lorna Fowler, whose first runner as a trainer in the Champion Hurdle this year, Colonel Mustard (Ger) ran an honourable fifth.

It is now the norm for Irish-trained horses to have the upper hand at Cheltenham, and Henry de Bromhead, Joseph O'Brien and Emmet Mullins also wrote their names on the first-day scoresheet.

First blood went the way of de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore in the G1 Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle when Slade Steel (Ire) outbattled Mystical Power (Ire) up the hill. The latter has the bloodlines to excel on the Flat or over jumps, as he is by Galileo (Ire) out of the brilliant Champion Hurdler Annie Power (Ire), but it was Galileo's son Telescope (Ire) who provided the winner. Though born in Ireland at Ballincurrig House Stud, Slade Steel was bred by British breeder Dena Merson, who joins an elite group to have bred a winner at both the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot. The two horses are related, too, as the 2008 Ascot Stakes winner Missoula (Ire) (Kalanisi {Ire}) is a half-sister to Slade Steel's dam Mariet (GB) (Dr Fong). 

The cousins Joseph O'Brien and JJ Slevin combined for their second joint-Festival win with Lark In The Mornin (Ger) in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. The son of Soldier Hollow (GB) may not be one of the main poster boys for the breeze-up sales but he adds an extra level of versatility to the list of graduates from that division, having been bought at BBAG by Tom Whitehead for €28,000 and resold through his Powerstown Stud for 130,000gns at the Tattersalls Guineas Sale. Also the winner of Listowel mile maiden on debut at two, Lark In The Mornin was bred by Gestut Hof Ittlingen out of Loyalty Ger), a mare by their G1 Japan Cup winner Lando (Ger).

Emmet Mullins, who runs his Grand National winner Noble Yeats (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) in Thursday's G1 Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle, claimed Tuesday's finale, named in honour of his grandmother, who died last month. The Maureen Mullins National Hunt Challenge Cup saw the widest-margin winner of the day when JP McManus's Corbetts Cross (Ire) (Gamut {Ire}) shot clear by 17 lengths in the hands of Derek O'Connor.

“It was a great honour and a privilege for The Jockey Club to name the race after Mrs Mullins, granny, and it's extra special to win it,” said Mullins.

But the day really belonged to Emmet's Uncle Willie, who, with Lossiemouth, recorded a 97th Festival win. Don't bet against him getting a hundred up before the week is out, and there would perhaps be no more appropriate way to do so than in the hundredth running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday. Conveniently, and totally unsurprisingly, Willie Mullins has the favourite for that race, too.

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The Rathmore Stud boss also provided a passionate riposte to some of the criticism being levelled at the mares' races at the Cheltenham Festival by stating that their horse of a lifetime Honeysuckle (GB) may never have seen a racetrack had it not been for the opportunities presented to mares through the heightened programme in recent years.

Following the high-profile defection of Constitution Hill (GB) in this year's Champion Hurdle, Willie Mullins and owner Rich Ricci have come under pressure to run last year's Triumph Hurdle scorer Lossiemouth (Fr), as short as 1-2 for the Mares' Hurdle, in the day one showpiece. 

It's a situation Molony can relate to as similar pressure was being heaped on trainer Henry de Bromhead and Alexander to run the reigning Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle against the boys in the build-up to last year's festival despite the fact she clearly wasn't operating at her brilliant best throughout the campaign. 

In the end, Honeysuckle bypassed the Champion Hurdle in favour of the Mares' Hurdle, and delivered one of the standout performances of the meeting when bowing out with a hard-fought victory over Love Envoi (Ire). 

While Molony agrees that change is needed in order to drive competition at the Cheltenham Festival, he says the three mares' races–the Mares' Novices' Hurdle, Mares' Hurdle and Mares' Chase–are hugely important lures for people to buy and race mares.

He said, “The mares' races have been under attack recently but, what people don't seem to realise is that none of these mares would be in training at all if it wasn't for these mares' races. Honeysuckle, Annie Power (Fr), Quevega (Ire)–none of those mares would have been kept in training if it wasn't for the mares' races. Before these races came about, there was zero trade for National Hunt fillies. Zero. That's what people don't seem to realise.

“For me, we need to step back and appreciate how these mares' races are enhancing the game. I don't understand the criticism levelled at these races. Now, I do agree that changes need to be made at Cheltenham, but I am firmly of the belief that these mares' races are adding to the programme and that they are not part of the problem. In actual fact, they are part of the solution.”

Molony added, “One pundit, I can't even remember who it was, described the Mares' Hurdle as the worst race at the Cheltenham Festival. Whoever he was, he clearly wasn't watching last year's edition. These races add a huge amount of colour. Okay, last year's race was run in exceptional circumstances and there was huge emotion surrounding the whole thing. However, according to most people who were there and a lot of people watching it on television, it was one of their most amazing experiences in racing when Honeysuckle won.”

The Mares' Novices' Hurdle is shaping up to be one of the races of next week. Gordon Elliott has gone on the record in saying that Brighterdaysahead (Fr) compares favourably with anything he has ever trained before. While Molony is full of respect for Brighterdaysahead, he is also confident that Jade De Grugy can give a good account. 

He said, “Great friends of mine, the Bleahens, sold Brighterdaysahead so I have known about her for a long time. She was the most beautiful three-year-old and she has a serious pedigree. She's clearly a very good racemare and we have lots of respect for her.”

Molony added, “Our lady has done everything very easily, though. When Brian Hayes got off her at Fairyhouse, he said he thought he was in loads of trouble at one point in the race, because he thought he wasn't going fast enough. As it transpired, she was just going so easy and he said he'd never sat on anything like her before. Willie seems to be quite bullish about Jade De Grugy so we will find out who is the best mare on the day.”

Alexander will be doubly-represented in the Mares' Hurdle with Gala Marceau (Fr) and Tellmesomethinggirl. Molony says that he is quietly confident that the latter can out-run her general odds of 20-1. 

He explained, “I think the two-and-a-half miles will really play to Gala Marceau's strengths. She was very disappointing the last day but Willie seems pretty confident that that was just a blip. We're actually quietly confident about Telmesomethinggirl. We know she loves the place-she won the Mares' Novice very impressively three years ago and she was running a huge race in the Mares' Hurdle itself two years ago before she got brought down. 

“Rachael [Blackmore] came in afterwards and was absolutely sick–she thought she was going to win. At her best, I think she'd give everything in the race something to think about. We had a waste of a year over fences last year with her. She didn't really take to it. Henry seems to be confident that she's coming right back to her best so we're quite hopeful.”

Alexander will take on another short-priced favourite on Friday when Kargese bids to get the better of the hugely impressive Sir Gino (Fr) in the Triumph. Kargese, a Grade 1 winner at the Dublin Racing Festival, is said to be improving with racing, and Molony gives the filly a big chance getting weight from the opposite sex.

Molony said, “Everywhere we look, we seem to be running against a monster. Telmesomethinggirl has Lossiemouth to contend with, Jade De Grugy has Brighterdaysahead and now Kargese has Sir Gino to worry about in the Triumph. She is a beautiful-looking mare. The first day she ran for us, she just didn't settle at all and did remarkably well to finish second. Then she went and won the Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival where she settled much better. If she settles in the Triumph, she'll run a big race getting weight from the geldings.”

On the rest of their festival squad, he added, “We'd love Doddiethegreat (Ire) to run well and win some money for the Doddie [Weir] foundation. He'll be declared for the Coral Cup and, if he gets in, he'll run. If he doesn't, he'll go for the Martin Pipe but we're hoping he gets into the Coral Cup. 

“We also have Miss Manzor (GB) in the Boodles. We like her a lot and she ran a blinder at Christmas. She must have a little bit of a squeak.”

Asked to nominate Alexander's best chance of the week, Molony said, “Tellmesomethinggirl, Jade De Grugy and Kargese all have great chances but they're all running up against monsters. If one of them happened to win, we'd be delighted.”

Meanwhile, four-time Festival winner and dual Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle is due her first foal by Walk In The Park (Ire) in the coming weeks. 

Providing an update on the legendary racemare, Molony concluded, “Honeysuckle is still in Scotland. Kenny was very keen that she foaled over there and it's all good so far, touch wood. She is due in about three weeks' time now. Kerry, who looks after her so well over there, is under strict instruction to call me whenever she foals–I don't care if it's two o'clock in the morning! 

“Fingers crossed, everything will go well and we will have a healthy foal. Everything going well, she will come back to us when the foal is about three weeks old and we will be visiting Blue Bresil (Fr) this year.”

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Jack de Bromhead was a son of leading Irish NH trainer Henry de Bromhead who died in a pony racing accident at the age of 13 in 2022. The colt, bred by Kia Ora Stud racing manager Luke Wilkinson who also was involved in the purchase of his sire and dam, is out of Wanted Lady (Aus) (Wanted {Aus}).

“We met young Jack de Bromhead at Jessica Harrington's place and spent a week with him,” breeder Luke Wilkinson told The Thoroughbred Report AusNZ of his 'life-changing' yearling and the reason behind his nickname. “I said to my wife that this kid was an absolute star and no matter what he did in life he was going to be good at it.

“That's why this horse got the name Jack. He's been a special horse to me and every time I think of this horse I think of young Jack de Bromhead. He was a great kid.”

“I purchased Extreme Choice and then got a lifetime breeding right, so he changed my career,” added Wilkinson. “I've always supported him and when he was subfertile I sent extra mares to help him, which nearly killed me financially.

“This mare was injured when I bought her off some stable clients when I worked for Mick Price, I think I paid around $9,000 for her. As soon as this horse was born Peter Orton said to me straight away within 10 minutes that this was a cracking colt, then everyone from Vinery seemed to ring me to say the same thing.

“This is life changing. I've got a young daughter who wants to go further in her equestrian career and now I'll be able to put a deposit on a farm and help her. It means a lot.”

The post Seven-Figure Extreme Choice Colt ‘Life-Changing’ For Luke Wilkinson, As He Honours Jack De Bromhead appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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On offer are yard visits with some of the top racing operations in the UK and Ireland, stallion nominations to the likes of Inns of Court (Ire) and Dawn Approach (Ire), and membership to the Byerley Indians Syndicate. The last was created to increase awareness of the disappearance of two of the three Male Trial lines–Byerley Turk and Godolphin Arabian.

Stallion nominations including Flat and National Hunt sires and of the 37 trainers who donated a yard visit, notable additions include Nicky Henderson, Henry de Bromhead, and Lucinda Russell, among others.

A total of 123 lots will go up for bidding and the collection can be found here. Buyers must have a registered account with Thoroughbid if they wish to partake.

“We cannot thank ThoroughBid enough for hosting the Racing For A Reason online charity auction. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to those who so generously donated lots for the auction itself,” said Sinead Gillespie, the National Fundraising Lead for the Irish Cancer Society. “The Irish Cancer Society receives only 5% of its funding from the Government, so it's because of fundraising efforts like the Racing For A Reason online charity auction, that we can provide free services and supports, to ensure nobody in Ireland faces cancer alone.”

Gillespie added: “Your generosity provides free information, vital services like our Freephone Support Line 1800 200 700, patient travel, Night Nursing and funds ground-breaking cancer research to support people affected by cancer across the country. On behalf of those who benefit from this support, thank you.”

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   Son of the legendary Martin Molony, widely regarded as the best dual-purpose jockey of all time, Peter is one of the most respected judges in the game.

   He opened the gates of Rathmore Stud to TDN Europe this week and revealed why Leopardstown is D-Day for dual Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle and explained that retirement would be the preferred option to running in the Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham for Henry de Bromhead's star.

   Molony also shares that, for when Honeysuckle is retired to the paddocks, she will visit Walk In The Park (Ire). He also discussed in great detail his role at Goffs, concerns for the industry, Oisin Murphy's eagerly-anticipated return and much more in this week's Starfield Stud-sponsored Q&A.

Brian Sheerin: With your Rathmore Stud hat on, how do you reflect on 2022?

Peter Molony: It was a great year for us. The first big sale was the Land Rover and our horses sold really well there. We'd a good Milan (GB) filly of our own who sold well. We gave 50 grand for her as a foal and we got 150 grand for her at the Land Rover, so that was lovely. The yearlings sold well as well and, considering what's happening in the world, the market held up really well–especially for the quality horses. We were lucky enough to breed a nice winner last year, Wren's Breath (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}), who Henry [de Bromhead] trained for us. We'd a half-sister to her at the Orby by Zoustar (Aus) and she made 300 grand, which was phenomenal. She is a beautiful filly. Our pinhooks went quite well this year so we got stuck in again in November. But, as I said, the market was quite strong so it was hard to buy the ones you wanted.

BS: Any air of trepidation about getting stuck in again? This was a phenomenal year but some people are worried that we might feel a bite in 2023.

PM: We've had a few very good years with the pinhooking on the Flat. We decided that we'd step off the beaten track a little bit because, when we went in for the big, fancy, obvious foals, we had to give too much for them and we just haven't been lucky with them recently. We bought later foals, a few end of April and even May foals, which pinhookers seem to step away from, but they've done very well for us so we did the same again. We didn't just plough on regardless. We thought about what we were going to do and went for that type of foal again. Hopefully it will work out. On the National Hunt foals, we decided to concentrate a little bit more on quality. John Bleahan is a great friend of mine and we were chatting away recently about what the market is going to look like in the next couple of years and his summarisation was good. He said, 'it's either this or sheep,' in that we don't know anything different, so we may as well keep going at what we know best.

BS: The National Hunt market is going through a strange period at the moment. You need to be by Walk In The Park, Blue Bresil (Fr) or one of the good French sires to get well paid. When you were concentrating on the top end, what stallions were you honing in on?

PM: It's very tight. There are only a small number of top-end stallions that people seem to want. We bought a couple of Walk In The Parks (Ire), we could only get our hands on one Blue Bresil (Fr), we got a No Risk At All (Fr) and took a chance on a couple of foals by Order Of St George (Ire)–I really like them, they're really good-looking horses and they seem to have lovely temperaments. But it's a risky time for him as he has a couple of crops ahead and, if they don't work out, it's not ideal. I bought a Soldier Of Fortune (Ire) but didn't give huge money for it and we bought a Maxios (GB) and a Vadamos (Fr), so we have a bit of a spread.

BS: I suppose the best horse you ever bought was outside the box in that she was by Sulamani (Ire).

PM: The difference with her was that she was bought to race. All of those foals are bought to be sold on. There's a big difference between buying a racehorse and a sales horse which shouldn't make sense but it does. You have to buy what the market is going to want in the future.

BS: And speaking about Honeysuckle (GB), there has been a lot said and written since she lost her unbeaten record but what's your own feeling on the whole thing.

PM: All the ratings people seem to believe it was her best ever run in the Hatton's Grace and normally her first run of the season is always her worst run. I suppose she's getting older and it's going to take a little more to get her ready first time out so, taking everything into account, it was one of her highest-rated runs for her first start of the season so we'd have to be happy. If we weren't protecting an unbeaten run, I think we'd have left Fairyhouse cock-a-hoop with ourselves. We haven't lost faith in her. Leopardstown here we come.

BS: Everyone wants that match between Honeysuckle and Constitution Hill (GB) in the Champion Hurdle. Is that still the dream or has the Mares' Hurdle become a more appealing target than it was previously?

PM: First of all, I think the Mares' Hurdle is getting a bit of a slagging off, which I think is totally unfair. If we didn't have the mares' programme that has been built up over the past 20 years, Honeysuckle probably wouldn't be running right now–she'd be out in a field with a foal at foot somewhere. The amount of top-class mares who have come through the system in the past 10 to 15 years, most of those, if not all of them, would never have hit the track if it wasn't for the mares' programme. I think people are missing the point, to be honest, and I think the mares' programme is hugely important. We got a lot of slagging when we ran Honeysuckle in the Mares' Hurdle first time round but, as it happened, we probably ended up running in the tougher race by taking on Benie Des Dieux (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}). People were saying we were ducking the challenge of the Champion Hurdle but we just felt she wasn't quite ready to run over two miles at championship pace and that the two-and-a-half-mile option was better at that stage in her career. Her jumping was a bit slow at that time–she was big and novicey when winning her first Irish Champion Hurdle the time before so we did what was best for her. That will be the same this year.

We will always do what's best for Honeysuckle. That's the number one thing. I suppose I will give you a bit of a scoop here, if we don't think that she is up to running to her best, she probably won't run full stop–she'll be retired. Kenny said that last year, that we were going to give her one more season but, if we don't feel she is up to doing herself justice, she is not going to be risked. She is too important to us. We are not going to risk her. We have to think that she will be up to running to her full ability if she runs again.

BS: Is Leopardstown D-Day in that, if she doesn't run right up to her best, she could be retired?

PM: That is a distinct possibility, yes. It's not about ducking competition. There are three scenarios. Number one is that she runs in the Champion Hurdle, number two is that she is retired and number three is that she goes for the Mares' Hurdle. The least likely scenario is that she would run in the Mares' Hurdle. That's where we are at with her. It's all about Honeysuckle. We are all dreaming and we really want to take on Constitution Hill. Nicky Henderson is a great friend and has been a wonderful supporter of mine. We've been slagging each other all summer and nothing would give me more pleasure than going out and beating Constitution Hill as I think he is a phenomenal horse. That's what we really want to do. But let's see what the next few weeks bring. Both horses have to get there in one piece.

BS: Kenny seems to be a great character. From saying he was extremely confident on Racing TV the evening before Honeysuckle won her first Champion Hurdle to being magnanimous in defeat after the Hatton's Grace, he is quite refreshing.

PM: He is genuinely a lovely guy and very down to earth. After Honeysuckle won the Champion Hurdle last season, he led her in with his shirt hanging out and the Racing Post rolled under his arm. I think some people had thought that some interloper had run into the winner's enclosure to lead Honeysuckle back in. But that's him–no airs or graces about him. I am very lucky to have met him and to be working for him.

BS: How did that relationship come about?

PM: The first time I met Kenny was at this kitchen table 12 or 14 years ago. He rang David Redvers around the same time Sheikh Fahad got involved. David told him that he was concentrating on the Flat but recommended that he come and visit us here at Rathmore Stud. He told me about his dream to breed top-class National Hunt horses and I told him he was nuts. I advised him to buy foals so at least he'd know what he was getting and therefore he could concentrate on the thing a little bit. The first thing we did was buy two National Hunt foals at the Tattersalls February Sale to pinhook together. We bought a Kalanisi (Ire) and a Flemensfirth.

At the time, we had been buying National Hunt foals to pinhook as yearlings but the National Hunt yearling market fell flat on its face. This was about the time when that happened. They cost 17 grand each and, when we brought them back to the November Sale, we couldn't get what we paid for either of them. Kenny must have been thinking, 'oh my God, what idiot am I after getting involved with?' I told him that we had two lovely horses on our hands but the National Hunt yearling market had gone. We kept them on as 3-year-olds and sold the Kalanisi privately. He paid for himself and the Flemensfirth and went on to be named Champagne Express (GB) for Nicky Henderson. He was a good horse. We brought the Flemensfirth to the Land Rover Sale, I think it was the first year I was working as an agent for Goffs, and he made 130 grand. We sold him again to Nicky Henderson and David Minton, funnily enough, and he turned out to be O O Seven (Ire). From thinking I was an eejit, Kenny must have suddenly thought that I was a genius, but maybe the truth was somewhere in the middle.

For the next few years after that, I was only doing bits and pieces for Kenny and I bought him a mare called Asturienne (GB) (Sleeping Car {Fr}) off Alan King. She was his first broodmare and ended up breeding his first black-type horse, Carrie Des Champs (Ire) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}), and she's also bred Doddiethegreat {Ire}) (Fame And Glory {GB}). Typical of Kenny, he named that horse after Doddie Weir and all of his prize money will go towards the Doddie Weir foundation for motor neurone disease.

It was five years ago when I went up to Kenny's box at Cheltenham. I'd noticed he'd started to spend a few quid through different agents, which was all fine, but he wasn't having any success. He'd given a lot of money for a few horses with no results. There was another bloodstock agent there that day chatting him up. He's actually a friend of mine and I've told him this story since and he laughs about it. But I kind of saw red a bit that day. I just felt that the whole thing was disorganised and that Kenny was going to get cheesed off with the whole thing because he'd things coming at him from every direction. It was just too disorganised.

When that bloodstock agent left the box, I pulled Kenny aside and told him that he needed to get somebody to pull it all together and organise it for him. I can tell you, I was not looking for the job myself because I had Rathmore, Qatar and Goffs to concentrate on. He asked me to do it and, after saying no a good few times, I rang my wife Sarah to see if she thought we could take it on or not, and we decided to give it a go. The following day, I was walking through the Cheltenham enclosure and met Henry and Heather de Bromhead. I invited them up to meet Kenny and they got on like a house on fire. We bought Sinoria (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) at the Cheltenham sale that week and then we bought Honeysuckle the following month at the Goffs Punchestown Sale.

BS: It has snowballed, hasn't it?

PM: Yes, and the idea is to concentrate on well-bred National Hunt mares, which is why I had no interest in Honeysuckle initially because I didn't think her pedigree was good enough. The idea is that they go back to Kenny's stud as broodmares. With those mares, you might have to give a lot of money for them after they win their point-to-point but, if they stand on a nail in the morning, they still have a residual value whereas the geldings don't. There's a certain safety net.

BS: Halka Du Tabert (Fr) (Balko {Fr}) was impressive at Naas on Tuesday and looks another smart recruit for Kenny. What other running plans are there for over Christmas?

PM: She was very good and she'll go to Fairyhouse for the Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle next. We've a nice juvenile hurdler, Gala Marceau (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), who won a listed juvenile hurdle for fillies impressively at Auteuil. She's smart. Gauloise (Fr) (Samum {Ger}) is also back from injury and will hopefully run over the Christmas as well.

BS: And you must be sick of re-telling the story of how you came to buy Honeysuckle at this stage.

PM: Our scouts told us about how impressive she was in winning her point-to-point and, I'll have to be honest, I didn't even look at her race. I took one look at her pedigree and didn't think it was good enough. As a Goffs agent, I wanted to show support to the sale so I went down to look at her and she was a big, raw and narrow thing–she was like two boards slapped together. I thought, 'if she could win as impressively as they are all telling me that she won, she must be good.' I went and watched the race and she was unbelievable. I rang Henry and Kenny and told them that maybe we should reconsider her.

BS: Being by Sulamani she could go to any stallion, couldn't she? Have you thought that far ahead or do you want to get her racing career over and done with first?

PM: I have already talked to a stallion master. All you need to do is look at the National Hunt sales to figure out who she will be going to see. She's booked in to Walk In The Park, all going well. That's the plan.

BS: And what about Henry's role in the whole thing? I know that you are very close with him.

PM: I can remember the first time I met Henry and it's probably not far off 40 years ago when we were in school. I was in fifth year and I think he was in first year. I can remember that he had a pudding bowl haircut! I remember him because he was a de Bromhead and we all knew his father Harry as being a successful trainer. Henry was a cheeky little pup! We've always been friendly and, I've said before, great horses bring people together and between Honeysuckle, Sinoria, Minella Melody (Ire) (Flemensfirth), we've had huge success with the de Bromheads and have become closer and closer with them and the kids down through the years. They are such a lovely family. They are phenomenally strong people. I am full of admiration for them.

BS: What will the next few months entail with a view towards the Land Rover? A lot of work has gone into that sale in the last number of years and it's amazing how much the quality has risen as a result.

PM: There is a great team at Goffs and everyone is really enthusiastic. The first thing we did was target the horses. The year we sold O O Seven, we also had Tombstone (Ire) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}) in our draft and a lot of people at the time were asking me why I didn't have them in the Derby Sale. My attitude was, Eddie O'Leary, David Minton and Nicky Henderson were all at Goffs, so why would I need to go anywhere else. John Bleahan and I had a horse four or five years prior to that, Virginia Preuil (Fr) (Saint Preuil {Fr}), and we got €120,000 for him at the Land Rover. I think he was the first ever National Hunt store to make €100,000 or more at Goffs. So I had confidence that, if you had the right horse at Goffs, you were going to get well-paid for it. It took seven or eight years but slowly the confidence in the sale began to grow and people started to send better horses. The marketing team does a great job at getting the trainers and the agents in and the momentum has really grown.

BS: And obviously a huge amount of work went on behind the scenes to attract the American buyers to Goffs for the Orby and it told with the record-breaking trade. Could you see that sale developing further?

PM: A couple of years have passed since the Orby debacle at Doncaster and it was a debacle, it was an absolute disaster and nobody is denying that, so there was a lot of soul searching after it. A lot of Irish vendors were really good to us the following year and brought some lovely horses to the Orby to help revitalise it and it worked. It worked really well. This year was a step up again. The one thing people will say to you, and they said it when we were trying to build the Land Rover, is that traditionally, all the best horses have been sold at the Derby Sale or that, throughout history, all the best yearlings have been sold at Newmarket. My question is why? If the horses are in the Orby well then the buyers will come. It's an awful shame that millions of euros worth of yearlings pass the door at Goffs on their way up to the ferry every year. I believe there's no need for that. Since I have joined Goffs, I've sold everything there–at the Orby, Sportsman's and the Land Rover.

BS: The Goffs Million was reintroduced this year and I think people recognised that. Is there anything else in the pipeline or do you think they are gimmicks?

PM: I think gimmick would be an unfair word and those incentives are needed. Thinking outside the box is needed. Henry Beeby is such an enthusiast and such a hard worker. He's passionate about the whole game and is desperate to get the Orby where it should be. I've no doubt that there's going to be a lot thrown at the sale over the next five years.

BS: If you were to think big, look at how well a race like The Everest has been received in Australia. I'm not saying something like that would work here but I do think there's a bit of a disconnect between racing and bloodstock and the more we can fill in those blanks, it has to have a huge upside for the industry.

PM: Absolutely. When you mention Australia, I think that is where we need to look towards. I know they have a different funding model but one man I hugely admire, and what he did for Magic Millions and how they caught up on Inglis, is Gerry Harvey. He's done something that should be admired hugely and maybe even mimicked.

BS: And how do you view the future of Irish racing?

PM: With the way society is going and with the demonisation of gambling from certain sections, I think we need to be looking at different ways of funding the industry. I'm not sure if I am bright enough to figure it out but I think racecourses–with notable exceptions–are relying a little too much on media rights and not working hard enough on getting people through the turnstiles. There were suggestions that there might be racing behind closed doors in Britain not too long ago because it would be easier on the racecourse in question not to employ staff etc for punters on the track. I asked the question recently about what the GAA's main revenue stream was. It's people through the turnstiles. That's something we need to work on big time. If you look at Australia and the crowds that go racing and the atmosphere they can generate on course, I think it's something we need to try and emulate. The racetracks really need to work on this. I've a very good friend who doesn't have anything to do with racing and he asked me recently if our industry was totally reliant on gambling. When I told him it was, he made an interesting face, and that's the way society is going so we need to be aware of that. We really need to be actively thinking about different ways of funding the industry.

BS: And speaking about international jurisdictions, Sheikh Fahad has had heightened success in America this year.

PM: Fergus Galvin and Adrian Regan in Hunter Valley Farm have done a wonderful job. Sheikh Fahad has done a good bit of trading there recently as well. The likes of Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who was a high-class filly in England but goes over there and wins a Grade I. The prize-money over there is phenomenal and, when you win your Grade I over there, you can see what they are worth. She made $1.6 million at the sales. It's hard to argue with that model.

BS: And closer to home, can you tell me a bit more about Rathmore Stud? There is great history to this place.

PM: Apparently the first mention of us here is back in 1682–so we've been here a while! My grandfather William trained a couple himself. He'd a good horse Hill Of Camas and another called Timber Wolf, who I think won a Galway Plate. My grandmother owned Knight's Crest who my father rode to win the Irish Grand National when he was just 16 years' old. That was his first major win as a jockey. So there was Martin, my father, and his brother Tim, who won four Champion Hurdles in a row and I'm pretty certain he's the only person to have done that. He was crowned champion jockey five times in England and was actually left this place but decided to move to England and sold it to my father.

BS: Martin was arguably the greatest dual-purpose jockey of all time.

PM: He had already retired 13 or 14 years by the time I was born. He was only 26 when he retired and we couldn't really appreciate all that he achieved in the saddle but we certainly saw it here at home. He was gifted and was still riding 2-year-olds for me here when he was 75. People used to say to me that I was nuts to put him up but the answer was that he was much less likely to get a fall than anyone else. I think he was a horse whisperer. What he could do was phenomenal. The likes of Paul Carberry and Ruby Walsh, they have something, it's a gift. Horses just relax for them. You'd put my father up, aged 75, on a 2-year-old who'd been bucking and kicking and, as soon as he'd sit up on him, the horse would just relax. It was phenomenal to watch. He used to drive us mad as kids. He'd send us out to get a horse from the field and we'd be running around for an hour trying to catch it. He'd come out and, next thing, the horse would walk over to him. It used to drive us bonkers! He wasn't very generous with his talent–he didn't pass it on!

BS: I suppose we're seeing something similar with Rachael Blackmore in that horses seem to just run for her.

PM: When Rachael rode Honeysuckle to win the Grade 1 novice hurdle at Fairyhouse, Richard Pugh came up to me and told me that, in his reckoning, she was the first lightweight jockey to be as successful over jumps as my father was. Horses are so balanced under her and she's got a phenomenal tactical brain. I can't really compare her to my father because I never saw him ride in a race.

BS: Speaking of jockeys, a certain Oisin Murphy is back next year.

PM: Listen, he's a brilliant rider. He's stayed here a few times this year and we've gone around looking at breeze-up horses together and things like that. Please God he can keep on the straight and narrow and realise his full potential because he's a wonderful rider. He's seriously gifted.

BS: That famous Kieran Fallon anecdote from an interview with David Walsh comes to mind. He described Pat Smullen as being “the person who gives his whole life to the job to the best of his ability,” before adding, “no distractions. Great professionalism. I don't know how they do it. I've had my quirks. Pat has had his tractors.”

PM: Oisin is not alone in that a lot of supremely talented people, be that riders, footballers, musicians, actors, whatever, seem to have a bit of a kink. My father certainly had one. He was incredibly religious. It's about channeling their talent as best they can. Sheikh Fahad, David Redvers and Andrew Balding, they've all been unbelievably patient with him and he's got a great support team. It's up to him now to make the most of it.

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McManus, who is a 19-time champion National Hunt owner in Ireland, received the Contribution to the Industry Award. He has been associated with many of the top jumps horses for over 40 years with more 4,000 winners, including Mister Donavan (Choral Society {GB}), Jack Of Trumps (Kings Theatre {Ire}) and Deep Gale (Deep Run {GB}). He is a six-time Champion Hurdle-winning owner, two-time Grand National winner with Don't Push It (Old Vic [GB}) and Minella Times (Oscar {Ire}), and the Cheltenham Gold Cup went his way with Synchronised (Sadler's Wells).

Manning, who concluded his 40 years in the saddle this fall, was bestowed the Irish Racing Hero Award. He was champion apprentice in 1984 and 1987 and he won 36 Group 1 winners over his remarkable career, including the Epsom Derby aboard New Approach (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in 2008, the Irish Derby on Trading Leather (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) Hong Kong Cup on Alexander Goldrun (Ire) (Gold Away [Ire}) in 2004.

The Kenny Alexander-owned Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}) was crowned Horse of the Year for the second consecutive year after extending her winning streak to 16 races. She remained unbeaten for a fourth season and added Hatton's Grace Hurdle for a third time, the Irish Champion Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival for a second time, and the Champion Hurdle at Punchestown.

Jockey Sam Ewing received the Emerging Talent Award, the National Hunt Award went to Henry de Bromhead, the National Hunt Achievement Award was won by John 'Shark' Hanlon, Liz Lalor earned the Point-To-Point honor, the Flat Award went to Billy Lee, the Flat Achievement Award was given to Dylan Browne McMonagle and Wayne Lordan was honored with the Ride of the Year for his effort aboard  Waterville in the Friends of The Curragh Irish Cesarewitch.

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O'Brien has consigned four lots to the sale, including Zofast (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), an unraced half-sister to a pair of multiple winners, as well as Flash Bulb (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), a latest third over 9 1/2 furlongs at Gowran Park June 12. Also in the Carriganog consignment is Cork maiden winner Ghasham (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}).

The Roger Brookhouse-owned and Henry de Bromhead-trained nine-year-old Arahecan (Ire) (Arakan), twice a winner over fences, is amongst the 13 lots, while this year's G1 Falmouth S. winning trainer Beckett brings two geldings to the party in Sweeping Statement (Ire) (Estidhkaar {Ire}) and Postmark (GB) (Postponed {Ire}). The former is a 4-year-old with an official rating of 76, while the latter is a 3-year-old winner having won on his latest start at Ffos Las at the beginning of the month.

Bidding will begin Friday 22 July from 9am.

James Richardson, CEO of ThoroughBid, said: “It's always great to see returning customers who have enjoyed their experience with us and there's more than a few coming back for the Midsummer Sale.

“To have trainers of the calibre of Henry de Bromhead, Joseph O'Brien and Ralph Beckett entering horses is fantastic and it promises to be another really exciting sale with some interesting and potentially unexposed lots up for grabs.”

You must register in order to bid: https://www.thoroughbid.co.uk/register

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The daughter of Pour Moi (Ire), named Kudasheva (Ire), was an eye-catching winner on debut in a point-to-point in Ireland on March 6 and brought a final bid of £370,000. Offered as lot 18 by Pat Doyle's Suirview Stables, the 4-year-old is out of a Hernando (Ire) half-sister to Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Don Cossack (Ger) (Sholokhov {Ire}).

Gordon Elliott will take charge of two of the sale's leading lots after going to £350,000 for Better Days Ahead (Ire) (Milan {GB}), a 4-year-old gelding sold by Warren Ewing of Bernice Stables, whose previous graduates include Tuesday's track-record-breaking Constitution Hill (GB) (Blue Bresil {FR}), winner of the G1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Lot 12 was another recent winner from his sole start at the end of February and he will race for Noel and Valerie Moran of Bective Stud.

Elliott also bought lot 5, the 5-year-old gelding Stellar Story (Ire) (Shantou), for £310,000 from Donnchadh Doyle's Monbeg Stables. 

The sale, which took place in the parade ring after racing, turned over £3,353,000 in just over an hour for the 23 lots sold at an average of £145,783.

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At ParisLongchamp on Sunday, the 6-year-olds Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) and Marianafoot (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) pulled off a group-race double on a stellar weekend for owner Jean-Claude Seroul and trainer Jerome Reynier, while their younger stable-mate Elusive Foot (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) brought up a memorable treble in the Quinté. These followed Saturday's listed Derby du Medoc victory for the same owner/trainer combination with Paco (Ire) (Paco Boy {Ire}). 

On board the G1 Prix Ganay winner Skalleti and Paco was Gerald Mosse, now back in his native France following a bit of a European tour in recent seasons. Mosse is 54, the same age as this season's 2000 Guineas-winning jockey Kevin Manning, and he rode his first Group 1 winner when the 35-year-old Reynier was a toddler.

The combination of youth and experience has proved a fruitful one as Mosse also rode Reynier's listed Grand Prix du Bordeaux winner Monty (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) on Saturday. The pair also combined for one of the trainer's early major wins when Royal Julius (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB}) landed Italy's G2 Premio President della Repubblica.

It's safe to say that Skalleti has now stolen the title of stable star from Royal Julius, becoming the first Group 1 winner for his trainer, his sire Kendargent, and for Seroul. The latter, now in his 80s and a prolific owner/breeder in France over many years, bred his other three weekend stakes winners but not Skalleti, who was bred by Guy Pariente, owner of both Kendargent and Skalleti's listed-winning dam Skallet (Fr). The 13-year-old mare is a daughter of the well-bred former Haras des Faunes resident Muhaymin, by A.P. Indy out of the 1000 Guineas winner Shadayid (Shadeed). 

Skallet's offspring have been dominating ParisLongchamp this season.  Not only has Skalleti won the G2 Prix d'Harcourt as well as the Ganay, the previous weekend his full-brother, the up-and-coming stayer Skazino (Fr), won the G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier following his easy success in the G3 Prix de Barbeville in early May. Then there's the 7-year-old Skalleto (Fr), not quite as talented as his illustrious siblings but listed-placed nonetheless and winner of a handicap at the track on May 16. The mare has so far produced four foals, all by Kendargent, the youngest of which is the unraced 2-year-old gelding Skalli (Fr), and she is now back in foal to the 18-year-old stallion.

Reynier has done his bit to boost the profile of the southern French training centre of Calas, near Marseille, and he is proving something of a dab hand at nurturing the careers of his horses through to maturity. Six is clearly not old for a horse–it just seems so in an increasingly precocity-obsessed industry. 

Skalleti, and his fellow 6-year-olds Marianafoot and Monty, have won 23 races between them and counting. As a gelding, Skalleti can race on unhindered by concerns of a stud career while his mind and body allows. Reynier has already stated that his long-term aim for this season is a return to Ascot for the G1 QIPCO Champion S., in which he was second last year. Skalleti only needs another seven wins to equal a former wonder of the French ranks, Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {GB}), who won the Champion S. 10 years ago and returned to Ascot in three successive years to finish runner-up twice. 

We look forward to welcoming Skalleti back for years to come, and we can expect to hear plenty more about his trainer. From 12 runners last week, Reynier saddled seven winners and he now lies in third place in the French trainers' table behind those multiple champions Jean-Claude Rouget and Andre Fabre.

Anything Euchen Do

On the subject of equine golden oldies, there are few more admirable horses in training than William Johnstone's homebred Euchen Glen (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), who sprang something of a surprise when winning the G3 Coral Brigadier Gerard S., run in memory of the late Joe Mercer, as the 20/1 outsider of four.

Granted, the soft ground at Sandown played to his strengths, but there's plenty to love about the Jim Goldie-trained 8-year-old, who was recording his 11th win from 37 starts after having the best part of two years off the track with a tendon injury after winning the John Smith's Cup in July 2018. His impressive list of wins includes last year's G3 St Simon S in heavy ground and G3 Cumberland Lodge S. on soft. Even more impressive is that his victories have come from 1m2f at almost every distance up to 2m, the latter being his win in the Shergar Cup Stayers. 

Sandown's Brigadier Gerard meeting is arguably the best evening fixture of the year in Britain, and this year the two group races on the card were plundered by Scottish and Irish raiders. Jim Goldie took the Brigadier Gerard trophy back to Renfrewshire and Henry de Bromhead proved that he's far more than just an excellent National Hunt trainer, by sending the 4-year-old Lismore (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) to land the G3 Coral Henry S. 

The statuesque filly, who races for her breeders Sonia and Anthony Rogers, would certainly not look out of place in a field of smart jumping mares, but she may well now be aimed at following the example of fellow Irish-trained Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) later in the season with a raid on the G1 Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend. In a year in which her trainer has captured the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Grand National, we should perhaps expect nothing less than to see him adding a Group 1 victory on the Flat to his outstanding record.

Golden Moment

The one other stakes race at Sandown's Thursday meeting provided a special first for the team behind the 2000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold (Ire). It was actually a second first, as Ebro River (Ire), winner of the listed National S., had already become his sire's first winner on May 15 for Galileo Gold's former trainer Hugo Palmer and owner Al Shaqab Racing. Extra lustre was provided by the fact that he was bred by Tally-Ho Stud, where Galileo Gold stands.

His stud-mate Cotai Glory (GB) is ahead of Galileo Gold in the table with eight individual winners, and Ardad (Ire) is further clear still on nine. But Galileo Gold is the first of the freshman sires to notch a stakes winner and Ebro River looks likely  to head next to the G2 Coventry S.

The chestnut colt is out of the Balmont mare Soft Power (Ire), a half-sister to the dam of top sprinter Slade Power (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}), and the 10-year-old mare is now back in foal to Galileo Gold at Tally-Ho Stud.

Barbe Goes Back For Black

In a week in which the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd was widely marked around the world, Black Lives Matter (Fr) (Panis) was an appropriately named winner of the opening 2-year-old maiden on Sunday's ParisLongchamp card.

The colt, who was bred by Frederic and Christine Ehlinger, went through the Arqana Autumn Sale in the draft of Haras des Faunes, where his sire stands. His buyer, at €7,500 was bloodstock agent Patrick Barbe, who had previously owned and bred his dam Magic Potion (Fr). Barbe also had a close connection to the mare's sire Divine Light (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), whom he had been responsible for importing to France from Japan, and who made his mark as the sire of 1000 Guineas winner Natagora (Fr).

“We had the grandam and the dam,” Barbe recalled. “I originally bought into this family because the third dam was Magic Night (Fr), a champion filly in the 80s. She was second in the Arc and the Japan Cup and won the Vermeille.”

He continued, “This colt was named Blackmagic to begin with but we didn't like the name so we thought Black Lives Matter was a better one and we changed it in December. Gradually he'll be aimed at a listed race and then hopefully a Group 3. We'll see. So far, so good.”

Barbe added, “I am also a great fan of Panis, who has covered very few mares recently. I love Panis because I used to love his sire Miswaki, who is the broodmare sire of Galileo (Ire).”

Magic Potion, whom Barbe bred in partnership with Jean-Paul Marchand, was second in the listed Prix la Flèche at two, produced three foals for the partners before she was sold to the Ehlingers in December 2015. Her second foal, Magic Song (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), was a five-time winner in France, while the third, Shadow Noel (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), was exported to Japan, where she won four times.

Barbe has long had strong links with Japan and the connection continues through Black Lives Matter's trainer the Chantilly-based Satoshi Kobayashi. The former assistant to Mikel Delzanges and John Hammond had celebrated his first Classic victory the previous weekend in the G2 Derby Italiano with Tokyo Gold (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) for owner/breeder Teruya Yoshida.

Gold Medal Standard

The stallion in demand at Arqana's Breeze-up in Doncaster last Friday was Darley America's Medaglia d'Oro, whose three colts in the sale were among the eight leading lots on the day and returned an average price of £438,333. 

They included the £675,000 sale-topper and most expensive breezer in Europe this season, who was sold to Godolphin and will join the stable of Andre Fabre. The French maestro has previously enjoyed success with Medaglia d'Oro's striking Breeders' Cup Turf-winning son Talismanic (GB), who is now at stud for Darley in Japan.

American sires have generally fared well at the European breeze-up sales, and Medaglia d'Oro has previously been responsible for the Brown Island Stables graduate Mshawish, who was picked up by Johnny Collins and Chad Schumer for $10,000at the Keeneland September Sale and sold at Arqana's 2012 breeze-up for €170,000. He went on to listed success in France before becoming a dual Grade 1 winner for Al Shaqab in Florida. Now at Taylor Made Farm, Mshawish was represented by his first stakes winner on Saturday when Sainthood landed the GII Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont Park.

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