Poetic Flare | Horse Racing Free Tips

Poetic Flare, Mother Earth Chase Classic Doubles

Jim Bolger has some unfinished business to take care of on Sunday, having gone agonisingly close to an unprecedented English-French-Irish Guineas treble in 2007 with Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley). Denied by a head by Darjina (Fr) (Zamindar) in the second leg at ParisLongchamp, the “living legend” went on to add the Irish equivalent and it is a unique Guineas treble that is on the mind of the Coolcullen maestro once again in 2021.

With an extra seven days than his brilliant filly had between the G1 2000 Guineas and the G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains for his latest project Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), this second part of the ambitious tilt at least seems achievable. Bolger's horses have proven time and again that they can back up quickly, so the 15-day gap that his May 1 Newmarket Classic hero has enjoyed is a relative holiday and he also has an ideal draw in four. Due to the customary eight-day period between the English and French mile monuments, the 2000 Guineas hero has not even attempted the double in recent decades but the veteran owner, breeder and trainer has spotted an opportunity to create some history.

“I'm hoping to do them all, all going well,” he said, referring to the triumvirate of European Classics which culminates at The Curragh next Saturday. “I haven't had many runners in the French Classics–Finsceal Beo was the only one, I think. He's come of Newmarket well and I've no worries about the ground.”

Irish racehorses have come even more to the fore in recent weeks under both flat and National Hunt codes and it would be no surprise if this Classic was another prestige event to be dominated by the country. Poetic Flare's sole defeat came in a soft-ground G1 Dewhurst S. won by compatriot St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), although there were mitigating circumstances for that effort as Bolger's homebred was coming into that off a lengthy break. St Mark's Basilica now has to play catch-up with the colt he left trailing in Newmarket's juvenile showcase, but the half-brother to Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) will be at home on this easy surface. “It was always the plan for him to run in the 2-year-old race on Arc day [the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere], but he didn't and that is why he ended up going to Newmarket,” Aidan O'Brien said. “After that it was always the plan then that he would go to France for this race. I think he's a miler, but when Frankie [Dettori] rode him in the Dewhurst he said then he'd get further than the Dewhurst trip, so you'd think he might get a bit further at three.”

As far as the home team is concerned, the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau is a key course-and-distance trial and the latest edition Apr. 18 went to the imposing Policy of Truth (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at the expense of the runaway G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}). The latter's trainer Frederic Rossi is convinced that Haras de la Gousserie and Guy Pariente's representative has made marked improvement from that comeback and it is hard to forget his emphatic eight-length victory on testing ground in the Lagardere. “Sealiway is getting stronger,” he said. “His last work was very satisfactory and I hope the ground will be on the soft side. I don't think that there is one particular standout horse.”

From Britain is Hambleton Racing's Mehmento (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), a member of Archie Watson's stable who comes here on the back of a second in the G3 Greenham S. at Newbury Apr. 18. Bizarrely, his early education was solely on Southwell's Fibresand with two wins there by a cumulative margin of 22 1/2 lengths Jan. 15 and Feb. 25. The syndicate's head racing manager Cosmo Charlton said, “He's in really good form and Archie is very happy with him, so fingers crossed he runs well. It was only his third start at Newbury, so hopefully there's more improvement to come. It's a big step up again. You've got the 2000 Guineas winner in there and Aidan O'Brien's Dewhurst winner, so those two are going to be hard to beat. If we can be in the mix to make the frame we'll be absolutely delighted.”

Where Finsceal Beo failed narrowly in completing the 1000 Guineas-Poule d'Essai des Pouliches double, the current Newmarket Classic title-holder Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) bids to put that right on Sunday. She is joined by the fellow Irish-trained Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who was just a neck behind the Ballydoyle repesentative when third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland in November. Miss Amulet has a big disadvantage of the widest draw in 13 and that allied with the fact that Mother Earth also has a fitness edge over her means that it would be a remarkable training feat from Ken Condon if she overcomes. “She accumulated plenty of experience as a juvenile with eight runs, she's been abroad and obviously finished her year in the Breeders' Cup so she's not lacking in that department,” he said. “She does like nice ground too and I didn't think the likelihood of nice ground in the trials in the spring was probably realistic, so we were happy to go straight there.”

Miss Amulet's stamina has to be taken on trust, but Condon is happy to find out. “You'd need to see more evidence, I suppose, before you could be categorical about the trip but to my eyes she ran on well and was strong going to the line at Keeneland,” he added. “We've had an uninterrupted prep. She's fit and looks a picture; all is well with her. She's not a flamboyant worker or anything like that, but she's done everything we've wanted. She's been on the grass with all the fillies here at The Curragh, and she won't lack for fitness anyway. She's drawn 13, which will be difficult out there but I'll speak with Ioritz Mendizabal and Michael, and we'll try to formulate a plan.”

Andre Fabre has opted to revert to a mile with Godolphin, Ecurie des Monceaux and Ecurie Skymarc Farm's unbeaten Philomene (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) following her success over 10 1/2 furlongs in the Apr. 6 G3 Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud. As a May-foaled half-sister to Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), this is a bold move but her trainer has made many leftfield decisions throughout his remarkable career with much success. “Philomene is a very straightforward filly, who has enjoyed an uninterrupted preparation,” Godolphin's Lisa-Jane Graffard commented. “Dropping her back in trip came under discussion very quickly after the Prix Penelope and Andre Fabre felt this race worked best for her timing-wise. She is a filly with a lot of class and Andre has very few worries about the trip. It's obviously unusual to drop back in distance from a [Prix de Diane] prep race to the Pouliches, but it has been done before and he felt that it was the right thing to do. This is very much a springboard for the Prix de Diane, but we are hopeful that she can run very well.”

Another potentially high-class domestically-trained filly is Gemini Stud's Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who has received the inside draw in one. Having beaten last year's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) by six lengths in the Listed Prix la Camargo at Saint-Cloud Mar. 21, she was doing her best work late when fourth to Cirona (GB) (Maxios {GB}) in a blanket finish in the course-and-distance G3 Prix de la Grotte which included the runner-up Silvestri (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and third King's Harlequin (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).

“Sweet Lady is in great shape and the more rain there is, the happier I will be,” trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said. “She ran well in the Prix de la Grotte, which was a bit of a strange race with little pace. Christophe Soumillon looked after her that day. She has improved a lot for the run and looks in very good order to me. We are following the tried-and-tested route.”

Another proven prep is the G3 Prix Imprudence and it was Yeguada Centurion SL's Reina Madre (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) who prevailed in that seven-furlong contest over Deauville's straight track Apr. 8. As she was on that occasion, she is a live outsider again along with Amo Racing and Charles Obank's G3 Prix Miesque winner Lullaby Moon (GB) (Belardo {Ire}). The latter's trainer Ralph Beckett is wanting rain. “Lullaby Moon has worked well this spring and is ready for this task,” he said. “Every drop of rain that falls up to post time will help.” This is the swansong for Tiger Tanaka, who was sixth in the nine-furlong G3 Prix Vanteaux here Apr. 11 following her heavy defeat in the Prix la Camargo. “Tiger Tanaka is doing well–she showed us that she was in very good order during her work on Wednesday,” trainer Charley Rossi commented. “I think this will be her last race. She has had some health issues in the past and we want to do what is right by her. It is a great privilege to train such a filly. It is thanks to her that my wife, Jessica Marcialis, made racing history. Tiger Tanaka certainly has captured the imagination.”

Chapel Takes Next Step

At Naas on Sunday, 'TDN Rising Star' Contarelli Chapel (Ire) (Caravaggio) works towards Royal Ascot in the G3 Coolmore Stud EBF Fillies Sprint S. So impressive over this course and six-furlong trip Apr. 26, the half-sister to Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is taken on again by the third-placed Freedom of Speech (Ire) (Australia {GB}) who has since come back here to win May 8. “She seems in good form since winning at Naas,” trainer Aidan O'Brien said of the likely hot favourite. “She hasn't done much obviously, but we're very happy with her since. This will tell us what our next option will be, whether that's Royal Ascot or somewhere else, but we are happy with her. Having won already in Naas is obviously a positive and we were delighted with her that day.”

In the G3 Goffs Lacken S., Laws of Indices (Ire) (Power {GB}) who beat Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in The Curragh's G2 Railway S. in July is back at that six-furlong trip following a latest fifth behind Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in

Leopardstown's Listed Ballylinch Stud 2000 Guineas Trial over an extra furlong Apr. 11. He takes on last year's G3 Anglesey S. one-two A Case of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) and Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo) and trainer Ken Condon is happy to be sending him back to what looks an ideal distance. “He's been very well since he ran in the Guineas Trial and, of course, it goes without saying the form of that is working out very well,” he said. “He has a penalty on Sunday, but he's entitled to carry that for what he did last year. It was a very nice comeback run under a penalty–I was pleased with that and I think he's come forward for it. He's a hard horse to read, to be categorical about his optimum. There were diverging opinions, but I think the owners as a collective decided after the Guineas Trial to target this race and come back in trip.”

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‘Complete Package’: 79-Year-Old Trainer Jim Bolger Celebrates Classic Success With Homebred Poetic Flare

The 2021 British Champions Series got off to a thrilling start on Saturday as Poetic Flare broke Godolphin hearts in the final stages to claim the first Classic of the season for Kevin Manning and Jim Bolger. Sired by 2013 QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach, also trained by Bolger, Poetic Flare emulated his father – but was made to fight all the way by a gallant Master Of The Seas and William Buick.

It meant the QIPCO 2000 Guineas will head back to Ireland, but not to a stable with a trainer named “O'Brien” as many had predicted in the build up. Instead, 79-year-old trainer, owner (via his wife), and breeder Jim Bolger's colt took the prize in a compelling finish which saw Master Of The Seas, Poetic Flare and Luky Vega drawing clear to fight out the closing stages.

It was Master Of The Seas who looked the most likely winner in the final half furlong, however Poetic Flare dug in and got his head down right when it mattered. The photo finish went the way of a delighted Kevin Manning, also Bolger's son-in-law.

For Jim Bolger it means that he picks up the coveted prize for a second time in his training career, having previously won the race in 2013 with Dawn Approach.

“He's the most complete racehorse I've ever had,” Bolger told racingpost.com. “He's the complete package — you couldn't find a fault with him. If he was sent to a new trainer in the morning he'd just pick it up from there.”

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The Weekly Wrap: Pure Poetry

Master horseman Jim Bolger may have been ensconced in Ireland during this weekend's Guineas Festival, but his influence was felt far and wide across the Rowley Mile.

The fact that Bolger bred, trained and raced the 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire})-in addition to the small feat of breeding his sire and first two dams and training his grandsire and third dam-has been well documented in the following days. But Bolger's fingerprints were likewise on the G1 1000 Guineas the next day: he had trained the winner Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire})'s dam Many Colours (Ire) (Green Desert) for Godolphin, putting a foundation of four wins from 10 starts, including the Listed Dance Design S., on her before she was transferred to Saeed bin Suroor for a Dubai campaign. After producing two winners from her first five foals, Many Colours was sent through the ring at the 2016 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale in foal to Night Of Thunder (Ire), where she was scooped up by the Wallace family's Grenane House Stud for €50,000. She will be worth considerably more now, with that resulting Night Of Thunder filly, Night Colours (Ire), having won the G2 Premio Dormello and the mare's next foal being Mother Earth. Many Colours has a yearling filly by Sioux Nation and a colt foal who is a full-brother to Mother Earth.

It shouldn't be overlooked either, that in addition to the dam, Bolger also trained the trainer of Mother Earth, Aidan O'Brien having spent his formative years in Bolger's employ.

Last October, when Bolger bred four 2-year-old stakes winners (including two Group 1 winners) in the space of a week, and trained and owned three of them, and three of their sires and all of their dams, it was rightly hailed as a remarkable accomplishment. It would take some deep digging into the record books to know where that feat rates in history, but for the 2000 Guineas it is a bit easier to ascertain. You have to go back to the late 1800s to find the last time an individual trained their own horse to win the 2000 Guineas, and it happened four times between 1823 and 1872. Complete records on breeders for the time are difficult to track down, but we do know that in 1844 John Barnham Day bred, trained and owned 2000 Guineas winner The Ugly Buck. We do not know whether Day bred The Ugly Buck's sire and first two dams! In any case, the owner/breeder/trainer trifecta hasn't happened in the Guineas since at least the mid 1800s. Bolger himself would have accomplished it eight years earlier with Poetic Flare's sire Dawn Approach had he not sold his colt to Godolphin late in his 2-year-old season, but that association-which also saw Dawn Approach's sire New Approach (Ire) change silks prior to winning the 2008 Derby–has been mutually beneficial. Bolger, who always seems to know exactly what he has, was surely crafting a return to the Rowley Mile in his own silks before the ink was dry on the Dawn Approach deal, with the breeding rights he had retained. Meanwhile, Bolger has continued to reap the rewards of another branch of the family: Poetic Flare's third dam Saviour (Majestic Light)-who Bolger trained for Tom Gentry before buying her privately from her breeder-is the second dam of the Bolger-bred Teofilo (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who like Dawn Approach and New Approach won the Dewhurst before going to stud at Darley.

Though he has supplied 10 European stakes winners from his first four crops of racing age, Dawn Approach, prior to Saturday, simply hadn't taken off at stud in the fashion one might have hoped for from a champion 2-year-old and Guineas winner. After covering 32 mares at Kildangan Stud in 2020-most of which were Bolger's anyway–he was deemed surplus to requirements on the Darley roster. No bother. Bolger took Dawn Approach back to his Redmondstown Stud for 2021, where he has entertained Bolger's own broodmares, and it is likely a few others will be knocking on the door. Poetic Flare aside, Dawn Approach has made a productive start to the turf season: his three runners in Britain on Saturday were all winners; 3-year-old Lunar Space (Ire) won the Listed Tetrarch S. on Monday for-you guessed it-owner/breeder/trainer Jim Bolger; and he had three other winners and four placegetters last week. Dawn Approach is the first 2000 Guineas winner to sire a winner of that Classic since 1984 victor El Gran Senor provided the 1989 winner Rodrigo De Triano, both campaigned by Robert Sangster.

Rock Solid

Poetic Flare's sire wasn't his only family member who made a statement over the weekend. We highlighted the accomplishments of Coolmore's elder statesman Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire) in this space last week on the back of his Rocky Sky (Ire) winning the Listed Salsabil S., and if this weekend's results are anything to go by it looks as if the genes of the seven-time Group 1 winner could be enjoying a renaissance. Rock Of Gibraltar was the damsire of three group winners this weekend: in addition to Poetic Flare, daughters of the son of Danehill produced the Aga Khan's Ebaiyra (Distorted Humor), who won her third group race in ParisLongchamp's G3 Prix Allez France; and Lambo (Ger) (Protectionist {Ger}), who became the first stakes winner for his sire in the G3 Bavarian Classic. The Bolger bred, owned and trained 2-year-old filly Missing Matron (Ire) (Vocalised), out of a full-sister to Poetic Flare's dam, picked up black-type on Monday when finishing third in The Curragh's Listed First Flier S. At 22, Rock Of Gibraltar is this year available for his lowest-ever fee of €5,000, but despite the dip his numbers have held steady: he sired 12 stakes winners in 2020 and his 2017 crop, his 4-year-olds of 2021, has included six stakes winners-his third-best crop yet.

Poetic Flare will be the last Bolger-bred foal out of his dam Maria Lee (Ire); Bolger sold her for €65,000 at Goffs November in 2018 to Clarecastle Stud, whose David O'Loughlin-also director of sales at Coolmore–said the Rock Of Gibraltar factor was key to the then-11-year-old mare's appeal.

“Firstly, she was a daughter of a stallion that we really rate, Rock Of Gibraltar,” he said. “With Poetic Flare winning on Saturday and Kameko taking the race last year, his daughters have now produced the winner of the 2000 Guineas two years running. She was also out of a mare by Royal Academy, a stallion I was lucky to be involved with through my work for Coolmore. Her first foal [Glamorous Approach] was a dual listed winner and had been sold for €280,000 as a breeding prospect earlier that year; we believed there may be a fair bit of upside to her.”

“The first foal [Maria Lee] produced for us was a colt by Dawn Approach, a full-brother to Poetic Flare. We sold him to Jim Bolger's granddaughter Clare Manning as a foal and he is now a 2-year-old named Frazil. We then bred her to U S Navy Flag, a champion 2-year-old like Dawn Approach. The resultant foal has developed into a lovely yearling. We look forward to offering her later on this year. We then bred her to another Group 1 winning 2-year-old in Magna Grecia. She produced a colt foal by him the other day. We are really delighted with him. We currently are discussing who to breed her back to and it's definitely not out of the question that she may return to Magna Grecia off the strength of her foal.”

Zoffany Much Missed

While Team Coolmore is surely enjoying a sense of pride concerning Rock Of Gibraltar, Zoffany's good weekend had a bittersweet tone to it, with the son of Dansili (GB)'s premature loss at just 13 in January felt more keenly than ever. In addition to Mother Earth's Classic win, the 5-year-old Zofelle (Ire), who was picked up by Stephen Hillen for 27,000gns from the Peter Magnier dispersal at Tattersalls July in 2019 and later sold privately to Scott Heider, was beaten three-quarters of a length when third in Saturday's GII Distaff Turf Mile S. on the Kentucky Derby undercard. The winner was Blowout (GB), Dansili's daughter of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who had cost Peter Brant €450,000 as a foal at the Wildenstein Dispersal in 2016.

Minaun (Ire), a member of Mother Earth's crop, meanwhile, marked herself as one to watch with an eye-catching local debut at Belmont Park on Friday for trainer Chad Brown. Bred by Sir Edmund Loder-whose Bellosa (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) was one of the more impressive debutantes of the Craven meeting-Minaun was an €8,000 Goffs Sportsmans yearling who broke her maiden in the G3 Marble Hill S. last summer for Henry De Bromhead before being sold privately to American owners.

Zoffany wasn't the only son of Dansili to enjoy a productive weekend: Bated Breath (GB) bolstered his strong American record with new graded stakes winner Gift List (GB), a 23,000gns yearling initially trained by Karl Burke who won Churchill's GII Edgewood S. by 4 1/2 lengths in her second American outing. She will doubtless soon have the opportunity to join Viadera (GB) as a Grade I winner for Bated Breath. Bated Breath's Banstead Manor barnmate Kingman (GB) had a Grade I winner on the same card, with Klaravich Stables's October Book 1 find Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) sharing the spoils in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic with Colonel Liam (Liam's Map).

Australia (GB) was another sire to make his mark over the weekend with a group winner each in Britain, Ireland and France, all of which could make their marks in the top middle-distance races during the summer. Sir Ron Priestley (GB) got things going with a comfortable score in Saturday's G2 Jockey Club S. at Newmarket, and the 2019 G1 St Leger-placed 5-year-old looks set to continue his comeback after missing all of 2020 in the G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot. The 4-year-old Mare Australis (GB) became Australia's second Group 1 winner-joining last year's Leger scorer Galileo Chrome (Ire)-when taking ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix Ganay on Sunday, and his longterm goal is the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Broome (Ire) has to be one of the most accomplished horses of the season thus far; he made it three stakes wins on the bounce when taking Monday's 10-furlong G2 Mooresbridge S. at The Curragh and is surely Group 1-bound sooner rather than later.

Cup Protocols Tightened

Speaking of Australia, the horse's namesake was in the headlines last week when it was announced that significant new health and safety measures would be implemented in particular for international horses looking to compete at the Melbourne Spring Carnival. Prompted by the high-profile death of Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) during the running of last year's Cup, Racing Victoria commissioned a fatality report as well as a review of injuries sustained by international horses both during the Melbourne Cup and at their quarantine station, the Werribee International Horse Centre, since 2010. That is because, unfortunately, Anthony Van Dyck's breakdown was not an isolated incident. While a locally-trained runner has not died during the Cup for 42 years, the last eight years have seen six international horses break down during the Cup, and three others sustain fatal injuries at Werribee. Most of those were from European stables.

RV's review was released last week, with 41 of the 44 recommendations within set to be implemented. All Cup runners-local or international-for the first time will undergo a CT scan of their distal limbs pre-race and will be subject to an additional veterinary inspection the day before the race, but that is where the paths diverge. International horses aspiring to compete in the carnival will now be required to undergo a full-body scintigraphy and CT/MRI of their distal limbs before entering quarantine. International horses that have had a previous fracture or orthopedic surgery will be excluded from the carnival. An additional vet check by an RV-approved veterinarian will be required before the horse boards the plane, and the number of international runners at Werribee will be capped at 24; the uncapped peak was 42 in 2018. Those that do make it over will only be allowed to run once before the Cup.

The changes were met by almost universal disappointment among European trainers, who expressed understanding that something had to be done, but disappointment nonetheless at the severity of the new measures. There is fear that the difficulty and expense of running a foreign horse at the carnival may mean that even more middle distance runners and marathoners are sold abroad even earlier in their careers. There is sadness that The Race That Stops A Nation, which has become an international treasure since the pioneering Dermot Weld won it with Vintage Crop in 1993, may shrink back to a colonial event once again. The recommendations in the report are based on educated guesses, but as it usually goes with horses, no one really knows why international horses are dying at such a disproportionate rate to locals at the spring carnival. Yes, the measures seem in some cases extreme, but they might be what is needed to pull the Cup back from the public confidence crisis it is embroiled in.

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Bolger Achievement Generations In The Making

To breed four 2-year-old stakes winners within a week would be a landmark accomplishment for anyone. For Jim Bolger, however, it merely scratches the surface of what he accomplished the past two Saturdays as a breeder, owner and trainer.

Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) got things going on Oct. 17 at Leopardstown with a win in the G3 Killavullan S. Bolger bred not only Poetic Flare but his first two dams and his sire, and raced them all in the white and purple silks of his wife Jackie Bolger, with Dawn Approach having eventually been sold to race in the Godolphin blue.

G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy winner Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) was the highlight of a memorable day on Oct. 24 for the Bolger program, he being another third generation homebred trained by his breeder and by a sire trained and originally owned by Bolger. Mac Swiney, in fact, is a blend of Bolger’s two most successful colts, being by New Approach (who he bought as a yearling) out of a mare by Teofilo (a second-generation homebred).

Mac Swiney’s win followed five minutes on from Gear Up (Ire)‘s victory in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. That Bolger-bred, who is by Teofilo, was sold as a yearling to trainer Mark Johnston for €52,000. A memorable Saturday was capped by homebred Flying Visit (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) winning the G3 Eyrefield S. at Leopardstown. He is out of another Bolger homebred Teofilo mare.

It is a rare feat indeed for one person to enjoy such continuous success across two professions as notoriously difficult as breeding and training racehorses, but Bolger has done just that over the past 20 years in particular. Teofilo and Soldier of Fortune (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) were both from Galileo’s second crop and raised in the same paddock at Bolger’s Redmondstown Stud. G1 2000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach was from the first crop of Bolger’s Derby winner New Approach and provided the trainer with his fifth Dewhurst in seven years, all homebreds aside from New Approach, while Trading Leather (Ire) was a Bolger-bred Classic winner by Teofilo. And the program at Redmondstown has turned out plenty of top-class fillies, too, like Pleascach (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who won the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas in the Bolger colours and the G1 Yorkshire Oaks in the Godolphin blue.

“One of the reasons I have to breed horses is that it’s the best way to get them to train, and when you get a good one you know it isn’t going to be taken away from you,” Bolger explained on Monday shortly after sending out yet another 2-year-old winner, French Fusion (Ire) (Harzand {Ire}), at Galway in his wife’s colours. “There’s great peace of mind with owning them as well because if you do mess one up you don’t have to explain it to anybody. Except my principal owner–but she’s very forgiving.”

Bolger took out his trainers license in the late 1970s, and while simultaneously training a few fillies that went on to be influential broodmares for other owners-the likes of Give Thanks, Flame of Tara and Park Appeal-began building his own broodmare band. One of his early acquisitions was the Northfields mare Amoura, who went through the ring nearly unnoticed at Keeneland November in 1994 and was scooped up by Bolger for $5,000. Eleven years old at the time and in the care of Juddmonte, the unplaced Amoura had had seven foals at the time, five of racing age and one winner.

“I had a very close association with Northfields when I started out,” Bolger said. “I always liked Northfields and his broodmares. This one [Amoura] had a very good tail female line of the Aga Khan’s. Even though she was older at the time I said ‘sure, if I get a couple of foals out of her I might get the makings of a good broodmare.’ Quest For Fame was standing out there [in Kentucky] at the time and I would have known all about him being a Derby winner. It was fortuitous for me that he was standing in America because I wasn’t going to bring Amoura home.”

Amoura’s first Bolger-bred foal was Mac Swiney’s second dam Siamsa (Quest For Fame {GB}), who won twice. Siamsa’s second foal was Halla Siamsa (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), who gave Bolger the Dewhurst winner Parish Hall (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) as well as his stakes-placed full-siblings Hall Of Fame (Ire) and Siamsaiocht (Ire). Five years later Siamsa produced the G2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial and G3 Ballysax S. winner and G1 Irish Derby-placed Light Heavy (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), and the following year his full-sister, Mac Swiney’s dam Halla Na Saoire (Ire), who was Siamsa’s last foal.

Mac Swiney was making his sixth start in the Vertem Futurity Trophy, having beaten the useful Ballydoyle yardstick Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) when breaking his maiden at second asking and Jessica Harrington’s Cadillac (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the G2 Futurity S. on Aug. 22 at The Curragh. The heavy going and mile trip at Doncaster proved no problem for the chestnut, and Bolger described him as a horse for next year.

“We always felt that he’d improve a nice bit as a 3-year-old because he’ll be able to stretch out further as well,” he said. “I think he’ll stay a mile and a half but we’ll probably start off in one of the Guineas and go from there.”

All going well it would be no surprise to see Mac Swiney line up in a Derby alongside his former studmate Gear Up, who took his record to three from four for Mark Johnston over the heavy Saint-Cloud ground in the mile and a quarter Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

“I was thrilled for Mark Johnston because he has campaigned the horse very well and it was lovely to see him win his Group 1,” Bolger said.

As with Amoura, Gear Up’s dam Gearanai was sourced from Keeneland for $40,000 as a short yearling at the January sale in 2008. She is a granddaughter of the four-time Grade I and Classic winner Dispute (Danzig), and this is a family that has been very good to Bolger in particular this year; Maoineach (Congaree), a great-granddaughter of Dispute from a different branch of the family, provided Bolger with yet another group-winning 2-year-old in August in the form of the G3 Round Tower S. scorer New Treasure (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}). Gearanai supplied the G3 Eyrefield S. winner Guaranteed (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) two years ago and her Teofilo yearling colt topped last month’s Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale when bought by the Hong Kong Jockey Club for £325,000. He was consigned by Bolger’s granddaughter Clare Manning’s Boherguy Stud, as was the sale’s second-top lot, a New Approach colt out of Maoineach. Gearanai has a colt foal by Parish Hall (Ire), who Bolger retained after his racing career to cover some of his own mares. Parish Hall, who has his first 2-year-olds this year, won’t have huge numbers to represent him, but it is worth noting what Bolger has done with Vocalised, who he liked enough to use as a private stallion. Parish Hall has 22 foals in his first crop and from three runners has had a winner and one placed.

“I held onto him and he covers some of my mares every year, and hopefully there’s more to come from him,” Bolger said of Parish Hall. “They would be out of lesser mares; I sent him very ordinary mares, but some of them have shown me enough this year to indicate that they’ll probably be fairly good next year.”

Flying Visit brought up the hat trick on a remarkable day for Bolger in the Eyrefield going 1800 metres at Leopardstown. Bolger bought the second dam Six Nations (Danzig), a full-sister to Chief’s Crown, for €52,000 from Goffs November when she was 17, and the second mating that Bolger planned for her produced Flying Visit’s dam Fionnuar (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Flying Visit is the mare’s fifth foal; she has produced two winners by Pour Moi (Ire) and placed fillies by Vocalised and Intense Focus.

“She was quite good, she won a few races for us and she’s a great-looking mare with plenty of scope,” Bolger said of Fionnuair, adding modestly, “I’m sure she’ll make a good broodmare, but I haven’t done so well mating her. Hopefully I’ll get it right now in the future.”

It was certainly a tip of the cap for Pride Of Dubai to be sent a mare by Bolger for his first Northern Hemisphere book, and the Coolmore sire has obliged with five first-crop stakes winners including Flying Visit. Bolger admitted that while the script has worked out well, Flying Visit was not the result he had planned for with the mating.

“I knew Pride Of Dubai was a fast horse and I was looking for some speed, but I ended up getting a middle distance horse,” Bolger explained. “I’ll take what I got, but it wasn’t what I intended. I probably was hoping to get a filly out of that mare with a good turn of foot that I could keep to go to stud, but anyway, it wasn’t to be but the consolation is alright.”

Flying Visit was, remarkably, making his 10th start in 10 weeks in the Eyrefield. Bolger explained, “he’s not the easiest horse to manage. He’s ridden out every day by the one person. Because he was like that, after he ran the first time he did no more fast work at home. He does everything on the track and it’s working out well for him. He’ll definitely improve for next year and he’ll stay well also.”

By the time an eventful Saturday had passed, the Oct. 17 G3 Killavullan S. must have seemed like a distant memory in the Bolger camp, but indeed it was Poetic Flare who kicked off the entire sequence that day at Leopardstown. Poetic Flare had been a debut winner at Naas on Mar. 23 over Ballydoyle’s last-out Listed Doncaster S. winner Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo), and having not been seen in over six months, finished 10th of 14 in the G1 Dewhurst S. seven days prior to the Killavullan.

“I probably didn’t manage him that well,” Bolger reflected. “He won first time out and then we got locked up with the Covid. At the same time he began to grow. He was only 15.2 when he won his maiden and he has grown 2 1/2 inches since then. So I left him alone all summer but I left him on the easy list too long. Then I had to rush him back a little bit. He needed the run in the Dewhurst so I knew he’d come on a nice bit after that. He’s ready for the big time now.”

Bolger trained Poetic Flare’s third dam Saviour (Majestic Light) for owner/breeder Tom Gentry.

“Tom Gentry was a good friend of mine and he sent me Saviour to train,” he recalled. “I won a couple races with her but she wasn’t very correct and he wasn’t interested in bringing her back to breed from her, so I bought her from him.”

Saviour’s first foal was the listed-winning Graduated (Ire) (Royal Academy) and her third was Elida (Ire) (Royal Academy), who would later foal Maria Lee (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), the dam of Poetic Flare and listed winner Glamorous Approach (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}). Those would all be outshone, though, by Saviour’s sixth foal Speirbhean (Ire) (Danehill), who provided Bolger with the champion 2-year-old and dual Group 1 winner Teofilo, who has become so synonymous with the success of his breeder and trainer as evidenced by the past two weekends’ results.

To breed and train four 2-year-old black-type winners in the space of seven days is a truly remarkable accomplishment. For that breeder and trainer to have also developed each of those four families from at least two generations back was likely unheard of before last weekend. When it comes to the development of top-class Thoroughbred families and homebred success, there are few that can claim more accolades than Jim Bolger.

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