‘He’s Potentially A Group Horse’ – Conran Full Of Hope For Leopardstown Winner

Everybody is searching for that flagbearer. Be it a jockey, trainer or an owner, the hunt for a horse capable of taking in big-race riches, that's the lure

Breeze-up consignors are no different. Being associated with good horses is what sustains a business and keeps buyers coming back for more. That's what makes Sunday's Leopardstown maiden winner Ecureuil Secret (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) such an important horse in the career of Ryan Conran. 

Having put down two big stints working for prominent breeze-up handlers Con Marnane and Thomond O'Mara, Conran has been connected to many top-class horses, but Ecureuil Secret is shaping up to be the first flag-bearer sold through his own Lacka House Stables. 

After failing to sell at the Arqana May Breeze-Up Sale last year, the €22,000 yearling purchase was snapped up privately by trainer Edward O'Grady on behalf of owner Aidan O'Ryan last summer. Afforded time to fill into his fine frame, Ecureuil Secret made his debut in a one-mile maiden at Leopardstown on Sunday, justifying strong support to score in the style of an above-average colt. 

Conran said, “I have only been consigning under Lacka House Stables since 2020 and, while I have worked with a lot of good horses and sold some nice horses through Knockanglass Stables [Thomond O'Mara] and Eoin McDonagh's Shanaville Stables, Ecureuil Secret is potentially the nicest I've sold under my own banner.”

He added, “Edward had an order for a two-year-old and I think he tried and failed to fill that order at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale. He looked at a couple of Thomond's horses that were going to the July Sale in France and then, afterwards, looked at my lad as well. He liked Ecureuil Secret and asked if I'd work him in his yard that week. 

“That all went well and we had a deal done a few days later. Edward gave the horse the time that he needed and now he has a very nice colt on his hands-he's potentially a Group horse.”

Ecureuil Secret (right): winning at Leopardstown | Racingfotos.com

Ecureuil Secret does not hold any fancy entries at this juncture but that might change soon. Described as 'a very nice horse' by O'Grady in his post-race interview, the Wootton Bassett colt is the latest example that smart horses don't have to break the clock at the breeze-up sales. 

Conran recalled, “He was not your typical breeze-up horse–he was big and raw but he always had a big engine and showed plenty of pace. He was just on the weak side. With that being considered, he couldn't have gone to a better trainer in Edward O'Grady, as he gave him all of the time that he needed.”

Ecureuil Secret might be the first horse that Conran is getting deserved recognition for but this is far from his first rodeo. He has been a key cog in the wheels of various big operations and has enjoyed many fine touches before branching out on his own. 

Explaining his background in the industry, Conran said, “Thomond is married to my aunt, Roisin O'Mara, and they taught me how to ride. They have taught me so much. I rode a lot of good horses for Thomond, including Malc (GB) (Calyx {GB}), who finished second in the Norfolk last year, and I still ride two lots for him every day.

“All told, I've been pinhooking and trading breeze-up horses for seven or eight years now. 

Happy Together (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) is probably the best horse that I have been associated with up until now. He has won over €3 million in prize-money in Hong Kong. I bought him for £15,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale when it was held at Newmarket during Covid in 2020. Thomond took half of the horse with me and I actually consigned him at Doncaster but he didn't breeze well and we withdrew him. I didn't do so well selling him at Doncaster so Thomond had a go at consigning him at Tattersalls Ireland!”

Conran added, “He wasn't ideally-suited to breezing–not every horse is–because he liked to pass horses and never really did it on his own. I met Peter Nolan the night before Goresbridge and, thankfully, he listened to me and came down and looked at the horse the following day. He didn't breeze brilliantly again but, Peter is such a brilliant horseman, he saw enough in the horse and bought him for £24,000 on behalf of Noel Meade. He nailed it.”

Nadowessi (Ire) (Sioux Nation), who finished second in a winners' race at Naas before being sold on to America, and rock-solid sprint handicapper Secret Guest (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), are other graduates.

Like so many of the young breeze-up handlers who are making a proper go of it in their own right, Conran also speaks highly of his time spent working for Marnane, and credits the Bansha House operator for fast-tracking his progress within the industry. 

He said, “I spent three or four years working for Con Marnane and had a great time working for him. I rode a lot of nice horses for Con–Sands Of Mali (Fr), Prince Of Lir (Ire), Different League (Fr), Teppal (Fr)–and went out to France when Matthieu Palussiere was looking after his string out there. When you think back now, so many of the staff that Con sent out to France are running their own breeze-up consignment now, so that's hardly a coincidence. You could call him the Jim Bolger of the breeze-up game! 

“Off the top of my head, you had Stephen Byrne [Knockgraffon], Justin Timmons [Dolmen], Eoin Mc Donagh [Shanaville], Colin Bargary [Drummona House] and Shane 'Rancher' Ryan as well. Con had a brilliant method in place and we all learned a lot there. It helped me realise what a good horse actually feels like and that helps when you are standing outside your own consignment. 

It seems as though Marnane is indebted to Conran just as much as the latter is to the Bansha boss. 

“He didn't just ride Different League every day,” Marnane recalls of Conroan's input, “he practically trained that filly. Ryan is a special horse man and you'd be proud to see himself and the lads doing so well out on their own.”

While becoming bigger and better is the name of the game, Conran explained how his rapid progress came as a surprise even to him at one stage last autumn. However, there is no such thing as a problem in Conran's world, only solutions.

He said, “We've nine horses this year but at one point we were a little short of room! My partner Pamela and myself bought a small place near Fethard in Tipperary a couple of years ago. We don't have a gallop yet but we try to improve the place every year. To that extent, we have been relying on the help of our neighbour, Johnny Cummins, who lets us use his gallop.”

He continued, “The other little hurdle we had to jump recently was a lack of stables! There were only eight stables when we moved in and, as I said earlier, I buy a couple of horses every year with Eoin McDonagh, but we were both full by the time Book 3 came around. Anyway, Eoin fell in love with a Starspangledbanner (Aus) filly and we couldn't leave her behind. We just couldn't help ourselves. 

“When I got home, I said that I had no other option to convert the garage into stables. I rang a couple of mates and we had it up in no time. When I started off buying breezers, I did it with Eoin and his aunt, Noleen O'Brien, and they have also been very good to me and gave me a great start. Wherever you go in this game, there are so many people willing to give you a hand, and I'm forever grateful to so many people.”

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Prince Of Lir’s Live In The Dream Wins The Nunthorpe

   It was a case of carpe diem at York on Friday, as Steve and Jolene De'Lemos's Live In The Dream (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}–Approaching Autumn {GB}, by New Approach {Ire}) carried some of the minnows of the racing world aloft on his shoulders with a sensational front-running display in the feature G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S.

Rapid from the gates, rapid throughout the first three furlongs and ruthlessly determined for the final two, the kingpin of Adam West's small Epsom base strained every nerve and sinew to lift the little-known Sean Kirrane to a momentous triumph. A length behind was last year's heroine Highfield Princess (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), with another 3/4 of a length back to fellow headline-maker TDN Rising Star Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) in third as the big guns wilted in his wake.

“I never thought it was possible to win. We were laughing about there being six places and how his odds were so skinny,” West said of the 28-1 winner, who now has his ticket to Santa Anita having mastered this “Win and You're In” contest. “I think we'll go to the Breeders' Cup, as I think he's 10 pounds better on a turning track. That's a big statement, but I do. He can get a breather round a bend, whereas on these straight courses he usually can't but he just nicked enough today.”

“We were going to take him for a race at Del Mar but we costed it, we're not a big yard and it was too expensive to go. Trying to make ends meet to try to get that money together and both get him over there and get him back is just all taken care of and it's some rollercoaster.”

Starting his ascent in the ratings with a brace of handicap wins last spring, Live In The Dream managed a second in Sandown's Listed Scurry S. on his black-type bow last June but was on the shelf come August with no sign that he would ultimately be able to mix it at this level. Despite that, the extremities of the sprinting and staying divisions still remain open to the possibility of these rare David and Goliath moments and this was another to add to a small yet precious collection.

In each start during this transformative season, he had carried Kirrane who had a three-pound claim for the gelding's two wins at Lingfield and Pontefract in March and April and it has proven a partnership made in heaven. Wearing his heart on his sleeve every time, the chestnut who was a bargain £24,000 buy at the 2020 Goffs Sportsman's Sale was worn down late by Vadream (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) in Newmarket's G3 Palace House S., by Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and Wednesday's handicap winner Equilateral (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) in Haydock's G2 Temple S. and when fourth in the Listed Prix du Cercle at Deauville in August.

This time, the pace-favouring flat track at York and the good-to-firm ground presented the ideal scenario for his unflinching style of racing and by the time he had put in second and third-furlong splits of :10.21 and :10.46 he had already dragged most into an outright brawl. From there, it was merely a case of how tired he would finish off but his closing effort was comfortably enough to see it out and give York's revered Ebor Festival one of it's most heartwarming stories in recent times.

“It's a surreal feeling and it hasn't really sunk in yet, it just feels like winning another race at the moment,” the 22-year-old Kirrane said. “The feeling in the last 60 yards when I could hear the cracks of the whips behind me but I knew I wasn't going to get caught was like nothing I've ever felt before. A massive amount of credit goes to the horse, he's really stepped up this year and it's been an incredible journey for all of us.”

“Adam has produced this horse brilliantly in top form today,” he added. “He needed the run out in France last time in a listed race, as he'd had a month off. It brought him forward perfectly. Every time you go out on him you quietly fancy him, as he is so effective over a fast five and York can play into the hands of front runners on this ground. We make lengths out of the gate and ride him aggressively, but he has a turn of foot as well. We try to take them off their feet in the closing stages, but today I was able to keep him on the bridle longer than I ever have as nothing ever came to me at the furlong pole. When I took him off it he found another gear again.”

For West, the outcome represents a major turning point for his 45-strong stable which like so many others of its size is struggling with the financial climate at present. “I never thought anything like this would happen,” he said. “For seven years I've been training and we've had him from a yearling and the journey has been incredible. It's a really tough game at the moment and you look at how things are and you think 'is this a future?' and then you get something like this and it changes everything.

“Epsom is the perfect mix of town and country for me, I can be out with my ferrets in 20 minutes one way and out in town with my owners 20 minutes the other. The owners in that tight-knit community have been fantastic. All this week and the last six months Epsom has been quoted saying it needs a Group 1 winner and they have just had one. The BHA do their best to govern and mind us as trainers, but realistically unless you are on the top, top scale, training is not a viable option. But money is not why any of us do it, we do it because we love the animals and we love the whole sport.”

John Quinn said of the 7-5 favourite Highfield Princess, who put in her customary honest effort, “The winner got away and well done to them,” he said. “She's run a fantastic race and she's a horse of two lifetimes. As long as she's alright we'll go to the Curragh [for the G1 Flying Five], that's the plan.”

Archie Watson said of Bradsell, “Probably the draw has worked against us, because the winner has blazed a trail and stuck on really well and that has probably favoured Highfield Princess in our battle for second. He's run a huge race and I would imagine he'll go to the Flying Five, [that] will be next. The Abbaye would probably be my less-favoured race, I would prefer to go Ireland and then America, but we'll see.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Live In The Dream's unraced dam Approaching Autumn, who is also responsible for the Listed Scarbrough S. runner-up Live In The Moment (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), is a daughter of the Listed Pinnacle S.-winning middle-distance performer Autumn Wealth (Ire) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}). A descendant of the GI E. P. Taylor S. and G2 Sun Chariot S. winner Braiswick (GB) (King Of Spain {GB}), she has an unraced 2-year-old colt by Proconsul (GB), a yearling filly by Elzaam (Aus) who was a €27,000 purchase by Sam Hoskins at the Goffs November Foal Sale, and a filly foal by James Garfield (Ire). Joe Foley's Ballyhane Stud acquired Approaching Autumn for 35,000gns out of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2022.

 

Friday, York, Britain
COOLMORE WOOTTON BASSETT NUNTHORPE S.-G1, £533,750, York, 8-25, 2yo/up, 5fT, 0:56.87, g/f.
1–LIVE IN THE DREAM (IRE), 139, g, 4, by Prince Of Lir (Ire)
         1st Dam: Approaching Autumn (GB), by New Approach (Ire)
         2nd Dam: Autumn Wealth (Ire), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
         3rd Dam: Prickwillow, by Nureyev
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN, 1ST GROUP 1 WIN.
(€4,000 Ylg '20 GOFFEB; £24,000 Ylg '20 GOFSPT). O-Steve &
Jolene de'Lemos; B-Lorna Doyle (IRE); T-Adam West; J-Sean
Kirrane. £302,690. Lifetime Record: 18-6-2-2, $538,881. Werk
   Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree,
   or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Highfield Princess (Fr), 136, m, 6, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–
Pure Illusion (Ire), by Danehill. (29,000gns RNA Ylg '18
TATDEY). O/B-Trainers House Enterprises Ltd (FR); T-John
Quinn. £114,756.
3–Bradsell (GB), 137, c, 3, Tasleet (GB)–Russian Punch (GB), by
Archipenko. TDN Rising Star. (12,000gns Ylg '21 TATSOM;
£47,000 2yo '22 GOFTY). O-Victorious Racing; B-Mrs D O'Brien
(GB); T-Archie Watson. £57,432.
Margins: 1, 3/4, HF. Odds: 28.00, 1.40, 4.50.
Also Ran: Makarova (GB), Regional (GB), Equality (GB), Khaadem (Ire), Get Ahead (GB), Nymphadora (GB), Twilight Calls (GB), Queen Me (Ire), Ladies Church (GB), Dramatised (Ire), Big Evs (Ire), Tees Spirit (GB), Aesop's Fables (Ire). VIDEO.

 

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The Heirs of Kodiac

Kodiac (GB) (Danehill) has long been a sought-after source of precocity, and as he has risen toward the upper echelon of proven stallions, the hunt is now on for his heir. Or heirs, as the case may be, because just as Kodiac's winners are legion, his sons' foals are starting to display that same vaunted quick-maturing zest for racing: a quartet of group-winning sons of Kodiac retired to stud in 2017-Kodi Bear (Ire), Adaay (Ire), Coulsty (Ire) and Prince of Lir (Ire)–and all have sired group winners with only two crops of racing age.

The 21-year-old Kodiac has every chance of establishing a sire line under his name, as he is the younger half-brother to Group 1 winner and Irish National Stud kingpin Invincible Spirit (Ire), himself a noted sire-of-sires globally, Kingman (GB) and I Am Invincible (Aus) being just two examples. Although he did not win a stakes race, Kodiac did place second in the G3 Hackwood S. before embarking on a stallion career at Tally-Ho Stud in 2007 at a fee of €5,000. He is priced at €65,000 for 2022-his fourth year at that level-and his sons are now stepping into the limelight.

It was the Rathbarry Stud stallion Kodi Bear, a winner of the G2 Celebration Mile and G3 Sovereign S. and also runner-up in the G1 Dewhurst S., who led the intake at €10,000. Kodi Bear's grandsire Danehill was famed for the versatility of his progeny, and it appears Kodi Bear could be headed that direction.

By the end of 2021, Kodi Bear had sired five black-type winners total, his three 2020 black-type scorers joined by another two in 2021. Across both crops he has thus far come up with 10 black-type horses. The smart filly Mystery Angel (Ire) won the Listed Pretty Polly S., and outstayed her pedigree when finishing second in Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn})'s runaway G1 Cazoo Oaks. The dual stakes winner Measure of Magic (Ire) also earned a Group 1 placing with a third at the other end of the distance spectrum in the G1 Commonwealth Cup.

Kodi Bear's trio of Group 1 horses-tops for his stallion intake barring Tally-Ho's rising star Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB})-was rounded out by G2 Railway S. hero Go Bears Go (Ire). Besides placing in the G2 Norfolk S. at the Royal meeting, the colt from Kodi Bear's second crop ran third in the G1 Phoenix S., fourth in the G1 Middle Park S. and bounced back with a close second in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Kodi Bear is from the family of three-time Group 1 winner Esoterique (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), and his 2022 fee has risen to €15,000.

Fellow Irish-based stallion Coulsty has already ticked the Group 1-winning box with his progeny, as has 2021 first-season sire Ardad (Ire), who stands at Overbury Stud. Although his opportunities have been more limited, Coulsty–the G3 Prix de Meautry hero–is advertised at €4,000 this year at Rathasker Stud in Ireland. Also runner-up in the G2 Hungerford S., Coulsty's quartet of black-type winners is led by last autumn's GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup heroine Shantisara (Ire) in the States and Santosha (Ire), who struck in the G3 Princess Margaret S. His seven black-type horses match another 2022 third-crop sire-Adaay, who started his career at Whitsbury Manor Stud.

Relocated to Allevamento di Besnate in Italy this term at €4,500, the dual group-winning Adaay sired four black-type horses in 2020 led by G3 Premio Primi Passi third Doctor Strange (GB). Last year marked his first group winner, with G3 Prix de Cabourg victress Have A Good Day (Ire) and second-crop listed winner Honey Sweet (Ire).

Similar to Coulsty, Prince of Lir's 2022 fee at Ballyhane Stud is €4,000. Represented by fellow Norfolk S. hero The Lir Jet (Ire), the 8-year-old's star progeny also ran second in the G1 Phoenix S.

But, it appears Kodiac isn't done consolidating his tail-male impact in pedigrees, as the aforementioned Ardad was the 2021 leading first-season sire in Britain and third in his class in Europe.

Through Jan. 30, the 8-year-old has sired 23 first-crop winners, his crowning glory the dual Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire), winner of both the G1 Prix Morny and the G1 Middle Park S. In between those victories was the G3 Sirenia S. tally of Eve Lodge (GB). Vintage Clarets (GB) also completed the trifecta in Royal Ascot's G2 Coventry S. Out of a half-sister to the dam of G1 Prix de l'Abbaye victor Maarek (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), Ardad commanded an opening fee of £6,500 in 2018, and Overbury has bumped him up to £12,500 for 2022.

 

Next in Line

Kessaar (Ire), a G2 Mill Reef S. and G3 Sirenia S. hero, is next to see if he can make a similar mark with his first 2-year-olds this year. Located at the sire-making Tally-Ho Stud, the 6-year-old has 77 juveniles in his first crop bred at €8,000 and they averaged £33,919/€40,575 for 37 sold of 41 offered at the yearling sales. His fee is currently €5,000.

The most accomplished son of Kodiac on the racecourse is new Gestut Lunzen resident Best Solution (Ire). A triple Group 1 winner in Germany and Down Under, the Australian champion stayer and top older horse in Germany relished trips well beyond the reach for the majority of his sire's stock. That is no doubt as a result of his staying female line: Best Solution's third dam Eva Luna produced the group-winning stayers Brian Boru (GB) and Sea Moon (GB). Starting out at Gestut Auenquelle at €6,500, the former Godolphin colourbearer and G1 Caulfield Cup victor's first foals are yearlings of 2022. His fee remains unchanged. It would also be no surprise to see his full-brother El Bodegon (Ire) enter the stallion ranks at some stage after winning last season's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud for James Ferguson to become Kodiac's first Group 1-winning juvenile colt.

Hello Youmzain (Fr) captured the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte as a juvenile and built on that early promise with wins in the G2 Sandy Lane S., a third in the G1 Commonwealth Cup and a tally in Haydock's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup in October of 2019. Haras d'Etreham's bay marked 2020 with a victory in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot and a second in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. He commanded €25,000 in 2021 and, his fee is unchanged for his second season, while the group-placed Flash Gordon (Ire) took up stud duties at Meelin Stud last year.

The intriguingly bred Nando Parrado (GB) will begin covering mares at the Irish National Stud for €6,000 in 2022. The son of Argentinean Group 3 victress and Group 1-placed Chibola (Arg) (Roy) broke his maiden by a length in the G2 Coventry S. in 2020. He promptly ran second in a pair of Group 1s-the Prix Morny to future G1 Commonwealth Cup heroine Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and to subsequent G1 Champion S. victor Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

The 2020 G2 Flying Childers S. hero Ubettabelieveit (Ire) calls Mickley Stud home and stands for £5,000. Also third in the 2020 GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, he landed the Listed National S. earlier in his juvenile campaign.

Kodiac's most accomplished and best-bred sons are yet to be represented by their progeny on the racecourse-none of the first four to retire to stud were out of black-type mares. The future, therefore, looks bright for Kodiac and his heirs aplenty.

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Nunthorpe Next Port of Call for The Lir Jet

Royal Ascot hero The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}), second by only a nose in the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly on Sunday, will make his next start against elders in the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe S. in August. Originally campaigned by Nick Bell and trained by Michel Bell, the bay sparkled on debut at Yarmouth on June 3 and was subsequently purchased privately by Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Racing. The acquisition proved a shrewd one, as The Lir Jet captured the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot on June 19, still in Bell’s care.

Bell said, “He’s back in the yard and seems none the worse for his exertions, thankfully. I’ve just been talking to Sheikh Fahad and I think we’re going to drop back to five furlongs for the Nunthorpe–that’s the thinking at the moment. Oisin [Murphy] is pretty emphatic that he’s better horse over five furlongs and the form book would suggest that, too.”

Facing the best European sprinters in the Nunthorpe, The Lir Jet will fortunately receive a hefty break in the weights.

“If the Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) we know turns up, he’ll be a worthy favourite, but if we don’t go there you’d be running somewhere carrying penalties, or running over six furlongs in the G1 Prix Morny, which would mean more travelling,” Bell added. “It’s not set in stone, but Sheikh Fahad’s view is you don’t succeed if you don’t try, which is a good attitude to have.”

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