Ireland Set Fair To Dominate Cheltenham Breeding Ranks

Whichever way you slice it, the green, white and orange of the Irish tricolour ran right through the middle of last year's Cheltenham Festival results. Some 28 races were run during the four biggest days in the jumps racing calendar, and the Irish raiding party won an unprecedented 23 of them. 

This haul included the four championship prizes, as Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}) won the Champion Hurdle, Put The Kettle On (Ire) (Stowaway {GB}) claimed the Champion Chase, Flooring Porter (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) took the Stayers' Hurdle and Minella Indo (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) was victorious in the Gold Cup. 

There was more soul searching than celebrating among the British contingent, as the home team won just five races. Whether matters can be turned around this year remains to be seen, but given the Irish are responsible for 23 of 28 ante-post favourites, the early signs are ominous. 

For those immersed in the world of National Hunt breeding, Irish dominance is not a new phenomenon. Results over the last ten years provide a clear illustration, as there have been 276 Cheltenham Festival races run since 2012, and 151 (55 per cent) have been won by a horse bearing the IRE suffix. That is just over four times more than Britain, which has been represented by 37 winners (13 per cent) in the same time frame.

While the action on course generally revolves around Britain versus Ireland, in the breeding stakes French-breds have been a formidable presence with 80 winners (29 per cent) since 2012. The remaining eight winners were supplied by Germany and the US, who delivered four apiece. 

A significant factor in these results looking so lop-sided is the sheer weight of numbers, with Irish breeders producing far more jumps horses than their British counterparts. 

Data published in the latest Weatherbys Fact Book shows that in 2021, Ireland was home to 4,599 National Hunt mares, which is 31.7 per cent of the country's combined broodmare band and 3.8 times more than Britain, which had just 1,213 dedicated jumps mares, 14.8 per cent of its total broodmare population. In turn, Ireland produced 2,722 jumps-bred foals in 2021, which is 3.9 times more than the 696 youngsters born in Britain who are destined to race over obstacles. 

Moreover, not only do Irish breeders have a sizeable broodmare band to call upon, but the balance of National Hunt sire power has long since been based in Ireland. 

It was a notable subplot to Frankel (GB) winning the 2021 Flat sires' championship that he was the first British-based title-holder since Mill Reef, who landed the spoils back in 1987. 

But you have to go even further back to find the last time the champion National Hunt sire crown left Irish soil, with Spartan General (GB) registering a rare success for Britain during the 1978-79 season. It has been one-way traffic since then, with jumps racing titans like Deep Run (GB), who notched a remarkable 14 consecutive sires' championships, Strong Gale (Ire), Be My Native, Supreme Leader (GB) and Presenting (GB) all coming to the fore for Ireland. 

Although Sadler's Wells never claimed a National Hunt sires' championship to go with his record-breaking 14 Flat equivalents, the breed-shaping son of Northern Dancer has exerted a similarly huge influence over the jumping scene. Nowhere has this been more apparent than at the Cheltenham Festival. 

No fewer than 23 of Sadler's Wells' sire sons have been responsible for the winners of 84 Cheltenham Festival races in the last ten years, while another 22 winners have the former Coolmore flag-bearer further back in their paternal pedigree. This means that in the last decade alone, the Sadler's Wells line has been responsible for 106 Festival winners, a huge 38.4 per cent of the 276 races run. 

No stallion has done more to extend Sadler's Wells' influence over the jumping sphere than King's Theatre (Ire), who claimed five sires' championships and also supplied 12 Festival winners in the last decade, a tally that makes him the most prolific Cheltenham sire of recent times. The late Ballylinch Stud resident's Festival roll of honour includes the likes of Brindisi Breeze (Ire), Champ (Ire), Cue Card (GB), Riverside Theatre (GB) and The New One (Ire). 

Among the other successful sons of Sadler's Wells are names such as Milan (GB), source of seven Cheltenham winners since 2012 and the 2019-20 champion, Oscar (Ire), sire of ten Festival scorers, and Glenview Stud's Sholokhov (Ire), whose four successes at the meeting include recent Grade 1 winners Bob Olinger (Ire) and Shishkin (Ire). 

Other noteworthy sire sons include High Chaparral (Ire) and Montjeu (Ire), who were responsible for four-time Festival scorer Altior (Ire) and dual Champion Hurdle hero Hurricane Fly (Ire) respectively, while Montjeu's son Authorized (Ire) gave us the mighty Tiger Roll (Ire). 

While Sadler's Wells' influence has helped cement Ireland's position as the nucleus of National Hunt breeding, he is also responsible for a British heavyweight in Overbury Stud stalwart Kayf Tara (GB), who has sired seven Festival winners since 2012. 

As if all that were not enough, Sadler's Wells' own record includes an important winner from the not too distant past, as Synchronised (Ire) claimed the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup for JP and Noreen McManus. 

However, despite his ongoing influence, you need to look a little further back to find Sadler's Wells' defining achievement in National Hunt racing, as he is immortalised as the sire of Cheltenham Festival icon Istabraq (Ire), who won three consecutive Champion Hurdles from 1998 to 2000. 

Galileo (Ire), heir of the Sadler's Wells empire on the Flat, also has a handful of Festival winners on his vast stud record, and is the grandsire of a further four, with sons Nathaniel (Ire), best known for supplying queen of the Turf Enable (GB), and Soldier Of Fortune (Ire) each responsible for a brace. With so many high-class sons of Galileo on jumps breeders' radars, including the likes of Coolmore's National Hunt recruits Capri (Ire), Kew Gardens (Ire), Mogul (GB) and Order Of St George (Ire), we can expect his name to appear in prominent jumps pedigrees with increasing regularity over the coming years.

There have been 232 individual winners who have struck at the last ten Festivals, and these have been supplied by 124 different stallions. The diversity among this number means that, while Sadler's Wells has been an almost ubiquitous force in recent Festival history, his line is not alone in having had a significant bearing on proceedings. 

Another name more commonly associated with high-class Flat performers is Danehill, who has been represented by four successful sire sons with eight winners to their credit, namely Aussie Rules, Dansili (GB) and Duke Of Marmalade (Ire), who all have one winner apiece, as well as Castlehyde Stud's Westerner (GB), who has five. 

Danehill's rags-to-riches son Danehill Dancer (Ire) also emerged as a force in the National Hunt world, primarily through the exploits of the much-missed Jeremy, whose five Festival winners include Supreme Novices' Hurdle hero Appreciate It (Ire) and Champion Bumper victor Sir Gerhard (Ire), who are back for more this year. These results have seen Danehill feature in the male line of 15 recent Festival winners. 

The last decade has also seen significant success for descendants of other prominent National Hunt influences such as Alleged, Garde Royale (Ire) and Monsun (Ger). Alleged's name has appeared in the male line of 11 winners in the last ten years, with Shantou responsible for five of those and the mighty Flemensfirth having supplied another four, while Astarabad and Sir Harry Lewis also sired one winner apiece. 

Garde Royale's success owes plenty to Robin Des Champs (Fr), whose ten Festival winners in the last decade include National Hunt celebrities Quevega (Fr) and Vautour (Fr). Garde Royale has also been represented by Kapgarde (Fr), sire of A Plus Tard (Fr), a past Festival winner and a strong contender for this year's Gold Cup. 

As far as furthering their legacies, time may be running out for Alleged, whose breeding sons have either passed away or been retired from active duty, and Garde Royale, for whom Kapgarde is a sole representative between Britain, Ireland and France. Monsun, however, has already left his imprint on 12 Festival winners through six sire sons, and remains well represented among the European stallion ranks. 

Other sire lines may have been a more plentiful source of Festival success, but Monsun can lay claim to the highest-rated Cheltenham winner in recent times thanks to Sprinter Sacre (Fr), the son of Network (Ger) who won an Arkle and two runnings of the Queen Mother Champion Chase. 

The other sons of Monsun to supply a Festival winner are Arcadio (Ger), Gentlewave (Ire), Maxios (GB), Schiaparelli (Ger) and Shirocco (Ger). There were eight sons of Monsun standing across Britain and Ireland in 2021 – namely Axxos (Ger), Gentlewave, Getaway (Ger), Masterstroke, Maxios, Ocovango (GB), Schiaparelli and Vadamos (Fr) – and between them they covered 940 mares, which gives an indication of the sire line's ammunition for the years ahead. 

Given that National Hunt horses have longer career cycles than their Flat counterparts, by the time most jumps stallions reach the peak of their powers plenty have either been pensioned or passed away, as evidenced by Milan being the only serving champion jumps sire at present. With so many high achievers no longer in action, breeders will be looking to Cheltenham to reveal who is capable of filling the void. Once again the Irish ranks look to hold all the aces. 

Among those with a strong hand are the likes of Sadler's Wells' son Yeats (Ire), who sired four winners last year and will be represented by leading fancies Conflated (Ire), Flooring Porter (Ire), Mount Ida (Ire) and Party Central (Ire) this time around. Another member of the Sadler's Wells line with a strong team is Grange Stud's Walk In The Park (Ire), sire of past Festival scorers Douvan (Fr) and Min (Fr). 

The son of Montjeu could start the week with a bang when Jonbon (Fr), a brother to Douvan who fetched a record £570,000 at the Goffs UK Yorton Sale in November 2020, lines up in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle on Tuesday. Walk In The Park will also be represented by the progressive Ginto (Fr) and Champion Bumper favourite Facile Vega (Ire), who is out of six-time Festival heroine Quevega. 

Glenview Stud's Blue Bresil (Fr) could also be set for a good week, with the son of Smadoun (Fr) set to field the likes of Blue Lord (Fr), Constitution Hill (GB), Redemption Day (GB) and Royale Pagaille (Fr). 

The French ranks will be typically well represented, not least by the progeny of Doctor Dino (Fr), who stands at a record fee for a jumps sire at €18,000. The Haras du Mesnil resident looks set to supply well-fancied runners such as Dinoblue (Fr), Fil Dor (Fr) and State Man (Fr), while his compatriots No Risk At All (Fr), sire of Allaho (Fr) and Epatante (Fr), and Kapgarde, source of A Plus Tard and Prengarde (Fr), could also make an impact. 

There are also a host of younger names for whom a first Festival winner would mark a major milestone in their upwardly mobile careers. These include Arctic Tack Stud's Jet Away (GB), source of Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle second favourite Brandy Love (Ire), Haras de la Tuilerie's Masked Marvel (GB), who is responsible for Champion Hurdle challenger Teahupoo (Fr), and Kilbarry Lodge Stud resident Diamond Boy, sire of Brown Advisory Novices' Chase fancy L'Homme Presse (Fr). 

During a busy weekend of sport, Ireland were made to work hard for their 32-15 victory over England in Saturday's Six Nations contest at Twickenham, with the gloss added to the final score only inside the last six minutes. When the Cheltenham roar goes up and the countries renew their rivalry at the Festival this week, all known form suggests that matters will prove much more one-sided. 

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King Henry Rules With Gold Cup One-Two

The crowning moment in an extraordinary week for Henry de Bromhead was provided by not one but two horses when Minella Indo (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) beat his stable-mate A Plus Tard (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}) in steeplechasing's greatest prize, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The victory of Barry Maloney's 8-year-old also wrote de Bromhead's name in the history books as the first person to train the winners of the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup in the same year. 

“This is crazy stuff, it's not reality,” said the trainer as his voice became increasingly hoarse in a week which his stable has provided six winners at Cheltenham, including the two champion mares Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}) and Put The Kettle On (Ire) (Stowaway {Ire}) and one of the most exciting novice hurdlers in training, Bob Olinger (Ire) (Sholokhov {Ire}).

He continued, “It's massive. As we always say, it's the Olympics, the pinnacle, and it confirms why I sometimes get so frustrated at home when you go out and it's so competitive and you're getting beaten with good horses.”

The trainer's stable in Knockeen, Co Waterford now houses plenty of Ireland's leading jumpers and, though de Bromhead has tasted success as the Festival in the past, most notably with two previous Champion Chase winners, this is the first time he has finished the week at the head of the trainers' list, equal with Mullins on six wins. The latter may have been given the nod on countback for the number of second-place finishers but there was no doubting that it was de Bromhead who was the dominant force at Prestbury Park throughout the four days.

He has rightly had to vie for the headlines this week with the jockey who rides the majority of his horses, Rachael Blackmore, who also broke new ground as the first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival. Her six winners, however, did not include the Gold Cup, as she stayed true to A Plus Tard, who gave Blackmore her first Cheltenham winner two years ago. Instead, 21-year-old Jack Kennedy added an important update to his own burgeoning CV with his surefooted victory on Minella Indo, by far the most significant of his four wins this week. 

With the King George VI Chase winner Frodon (Fr) (Nickname {Fr}) setting off in front in his customary fashion under Bryony Frost, Kennedy had Minella Indo handy throughout the course of the Gold Cup, never far off the leading pack which included Black Op (Ire) (Sandmason {GB}) and Kemboy (Fr) (Voix Du Nord {Fr}) for the first circuit. Going clear second behind Frodon six fences from home, Minella Indo made his challenge while freewheeling down the hill as A Plus Tard and Al Boum Photo (Fr) (Buck's Boum {Fr}), the Gold Cup winner of the last two years, crept closer. 

Kennedy made his decisive move on the turn, taking his mount to the lead into the straight with two to jump but being chased hard all the way by Blackmore on A Plus Tard. Just over a length separated the pair at the line, with another four lengths back to the defending champion Al Boum Photo.

“It's ridiculous but you know what, it's all down to the crew at home, they work so hard, and to all our clients,” de Bromhead said. “We couldn't do it without the horses. And you want to achieve it for them. They put their faith in us.”

He continued. “[Minella Indo] has always been a brilliant jumper and he was brilliant at Navan and then we went to Leopardstown first time out and he just made a silly mistake. The Irish Gold Cup was probably never really the plan but we needed a clear round after falling.

“A Plus Tard was amazing, he ran a cracker for the Thompsons and Cheveley Park; both jockeys were amazing, it's just brilliant. Rachael did have the choice of the two. I would always try to stay out of that as I would hate to put her the wrong way. I couldn't split them. I just let her do it and I don't like to interfere. She knew they were both training well.”

De Bromhead added, “Nothing seems to faze Jack but he actually looked emotional then when he came in, which was a surprise.”

Though only 21, Kennedy's career has been blighted by injuries, including breaking his leg four times. Declaring his Gold Cup win the “best day of my life”, he added, “You dream about winning these sorts of races when you're a child. I know I'm still young, but I suppose I have been in the position where I could have been winning them for a couple of years, so to get it done is brilliant.

“I missed last year's Festival because I broke [my leg] about two months beforehand, but thankfully I've had a year this year that I'll remember for a long time.”

Blackmore Triumphs—Again

Gold Cup day kicked off with a familiar ring to it: Rachael Blackmore winning in the Cheveley Park Stud colours for Henry de Bromhead.

Last month Quilixios (GB) became the first Grade 1 winner over jumps for Maxios (GB), the Niarchos-bred Monsun (Ger) half-brother to Arc winner Bago (Fr) (Nashwan) who was recruited by Coolmore's Castle Hyde Stud last year from Gestut Fahrhof. Quilixios has now added a Cheltenham Festival victory to his record after another attacking, front-running ride from Blackmore saw him claim glory in the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle over the David Pipe-trained Adagio (Ger) (Wiener Walzer {Ger}).

The juvenile hurdler was one of eight horses moved from Gordon Elliott's stable a fortnight ago along with Wednesday's G1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper winner Sir Gerhard (Ire) (Jeremy), who was switched to Willie Mullins.

Speaking after saddling his fifth winner of the Festival, Henry de Bromhead said, “Quilixios is a gorgeous horse: obviously we have just got him. We're delighted for the Thompsons of Cheveley Park, they are great supporters of ours.”

He continued, “Rachael was brilliant on him, and all credit to Gordon [Elliott] and his team; the horse looked amazing when he came down to us. We've done very little—it's down more to them than to us. Everyone was very helpful, we knew he jumped really well and obviously we've seen him a good bit, and he's been really impressive. He's just a lovely horse to do anything with, gorgeous-looking, lots of size and scope, and will be a lovely chaser in time, I'd say.”

Reflecting on Blackmore becoming the first female to be leading jockey at Cheltenham, he added, “We all know how good Rachael is; we've always said how lucky we feel to have her on our team. She's riding out of her skin. 

“It was Eddie O'Leary who recommended her to me nearly three years ago and we said we'd try it out. We were trying her on the Gigginstown horses, and within two or three months she was practically riding all of ours, she was so good. She's a great person and works very hard, is really good to work with and a brilliant rider.”

Cheveley Park Stud Jumping For Joy

With six runners at the Cheltenham Festival, the Thompson family's Cheveley Park Stud ended the week as leading owner, with a remarkable three winners and two seconds. The one blot on the week was the fall of the strongly fancied Envoi Allen (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), a winner at the last two Festivals who was thankfully unscathed after his tumble in the G1 Marsh Novices' Chase. Ballyadam (Ire) (Fame And Glory {GB}) was second to the hugely impressive Appreciate It (Ire) (Jeremy) in the opening G1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle before Sir Gerhard (Ire) (Jeremy) and Allaho (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}) won their respective Grade 1 contests and A Plus Tard capped the week with a valiant runner-up finish in the Gold Cup.

The select string of jumpers owned by the Newmarket-based stud with a long history of breeding top-class Flat horses was accrued in recent years by the late David Thompson, who died in December.

Cheveley Park Stud's mangling director Chris Richardson said, “It's been absolutely amazing. I know Patricia Thompson and Richard and the whole family are so overwhelmed and obviously thrilled. They are saddened in that David wasn't here to see it all and to witness such a special occasion, but it is a great tribute to him and his memory.

He continued, “Ballyadam is as game as a pebble and if he hadn't misjudged that two out, he wouldn't have beaten the winner but he would have been a bit closer, and that was a great start for the Cheveley Park runners.

“To have 16 National Hunt horses in training and to have six running throughout the week in six Grade 1 races was a phenomenal feat really. Envoi Allen was obviously very sad but he made a mistake and thankfully he and Jack [Kennedy] were both okay afterwards. A lot of these young horses have plenty of miles in them hopefully. 

“A Plus Tard is a beautiful horse and we were thrilled when he won the Savills that he showed that he stayed, and [the Gold Cup] was always the plan. I am delighted for Henry de Bromhead that he had the first and the second, and obviously Racheal [Blackmore] has been fantastic in every way. She's a brilliant jockey and she reads races so well. She times everything to perfection and she's a great ambassador for the industry so we're thrilled for her.”

Richardson added, “The race of the week for us was obviously Allaho, who is a fine individual and once again he was ridden beautifully. He just ran them into the ground—all those Grade 1 winners behind him—it was just a phenomenal performance and he has certainly stepped up wonderfully on his progression through his racing to this point.

“Of course it was very sad that owners couldn't be there. It would have been lovely if Richard  Thompson and Patricia Thompson could have been there, especially having won the bumper for the third year in a row, which is a bit of a link to the Flat. But to be leading owner is a tribute to David Thompson. It's something he instigated three years ago, and he obviously committed a lot of money to it but he was well advised. I compliment Tom Malone and Alex Elliott, and obviously the trainers who guided us with the various purchases. It's a 'pinch yourself' moment really.”

Cromwell At The Double

Gavin Cromwell brought a team of five horses with him from his base in Co Meath and will return home with two Grade 1 winners on the lorry after Vanillier (Fr) (Martaline {GB}) landed the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle in the hands of Mark Walsh. This followed Thursday's Stayers' Hurdle victory of Flooring Porter (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}), and on both occasions the horses should have been ridden by Jonathan Moore, who stood himself down from action on Thursday morning following a race fall on Sunday. 

“It's tough for Johnny but the good thing is he'll be back on these horses for the future,” said Cromwell.

He added of the 6-year-old Vanillier, who dominated the three-mile contest and bounded up the hill for a 11-length victory, “He's a proper staying chaser in the making. I wasn't sure how he was going to act on that better ground; he's been running on heavy ground in Ireland all year, and he's quite a slow horse, but Mark said he travelled with loads of enthusiasm today. He lined him up good and handy, because we thought he might struggle to travel early, but he showed an extra gear there that he hasn't shown before, and we know he stays really well.”

Ireland All The Way

With Willie Mullins winning the final two races of the Festival to oust Henry de Bromhead with six wins and seven seconds, he was crowned leading trainer at the Festival for a record eighth time.

But plenty of Irish trainers can take credit for their country's record-breaking haul throughout the week. The 23 victories for Ireland were spread between 10 different trainers, which included first Cheltenham wins for Denise Foster, Ian Ferguson, Paul Hennessy, Emmet Mullins and Peter Fahey. By contrast, four British trainers won just five of the week's 28 races.

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