Top Industry Judges Have Their Say On The First-Season Sires

It's early-February and already the Flat enthusiasts are getting excited about what stallion will end the season as champion first-season sire. A futile exercise, one would have thought? Not a bit of it.

Even the greatest handlers of young stock, Malcolm Bastard, Alan McCabe, Joseph O'Brien, Conor Hoban and Dick Brabazon, men who know better than most the folly that comes with predicting 2-year-old talent, are keen to have their say on which up-and-coming stallion can make the biggest splash this season. 

O'Brien is sticking loyal to Ten Sovereigns (Ire) in his prediction for first-season sire championship honours while Bastard, who broke and pre-trained Too Darn Hot (GB), has reported striking similarities between the unbeaten champion 2-year-old and his stock.

Meanwhile, Dick Brabazon, one of the finest horsemen in Ireland who has had Snow Fairy (Ire) (Intikhab) and Exultant (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) through his Curragh base, has taken a swing on Study Of Man (Ire) to come up trumps with a top-notcher.

Welcome to this year's earliest predictions to what the next Mehmas (Ire), Cotai Glory (GB) or Havana Grey (GB) will be. Each opinion is right until proven otherwise and, for starters, Bastard, McCabe and Hoban are in agreement that the bookmakers have found the right favourite in Blue Point (Ire), priced up as a general 5-2 market leader by most firms.

McCabe, who pre-trains for Rabbah Bloodstock, Simon Crisford and Charlie Appleby among others, is particularly keen on Blue Point's stock and said, “I think he will make a big splash. I think that bookmarkers are barking up the same tree as I am with Blue Point as I think he will go well in the first-season sire championship. In fact, there was a very smart Blue Point colt I was dealing with, and he's gone into Simon Crisford's. He was the smartest Blue Point I had and, if he is not winning up at the July Course at Newmarket, I'd be very surprised.”

Bastard agrees.

Malcolm Bastard | Racingfotos.com

He said, “We have six or seven Blue Points and they are nice solid horses who are very good in their minds. They all have nice action about them. They are only just cantering away nicely at this time of year, so it is difficult to say, but the Too Darn Hots and the Blue Points stand out a little bit at the moment. The Blue Points are definitely not early horses, not ours anyway.”

But it's the Too Darn Hots who have set the temperature at Bastard's Wiltshire operation with the renowned handler of young stock particularly impressed by the progeny of the young sire.

“I have about a dozen Too Darn Hots and they are very similar to him. From day one, he cantered like an old pro–he was a beautiful-moving colt–and his progeny seem to be the very same. I think they will be late summer horses, if not autumn horses, like he was. They will be seven furlongs plus and they are not going to be sprinters so he's probably priced right [at 14-1]. You'd expect him to have a really good number of winners by the end of the season and quality horses out of that number as well.”

Hoban may be one of the newest names on the Irish scene but he has made a major impact already. The professional jockey has had two Classic winners, Magical Lagoon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Sonnyboyliston (Ire) (Power {GB}), through his hands and has built up an impressive portfolio working with Barnane Stud, Yulong Investments, Johnny Murtagh, Eddie Lynam, Jessica Harrington and Paddy Twomey.

Along with the progeny of Blue Point, Hoban nominated Invincible Army (Ire) to throw down an early marker this spring, and said, “I have a very nice Invincible Army colt. He'll be going to one of the breeze-up sales and he seems to be doing everything well. He's the only Invincible Army I have but I'd be keen to recruit more of them at the sales as everything about him is promising. He just has a lovely way of going and nothing seems to phase him. I'm very interested in the sire.”

Hoban added, “I don't have a Ten Sovereigns but there seems to be a bit of chat about them, which is interesting, and the couple of Blue Points that I have are really nice. They are forward-going, are strong and seem to have good minds. I've had a couple of Phoenix Of Spain (Ire)s as well and, while they won't be that precocious, they are well-balanced horses who have great attitudes. They will be more for the second half of the year.”

One man who has his fair share of Ten Sovereigns to work with is O'Brien and he likes what he sees.

“It's early days, obviously, but we've been lucky enough to have accumulated quite a few by Ten Sovereigns and we really like what we are seeing from them,” the trainer said.

McCabe has the biggest sample size to choose from given he has broken in the best part of 100 yearlings to go into training for this year and, while he admits a certain amount of luck is needed for a stallion to break through, he identified a broad spectrum of young sires whose stock has impressed him.

Blue Point: favourite for the first-season sire championship | Racingfotos.com

He said, “I'd be very keen on the Masar (Ire)s and the Too Darn Hots as well. The Blue Points are a sharp bunch and they look as though they will be 2-year-old types and the Too Darn Hots are just beautiful horses. They are lovely to deal with and are all very good-looking horses. We like them a lot.

“The Masars are very similar to the first Night Of Thunder (Ire)s. They're very honest horses and I'd imagine he will be pretty successful. Masar won over seven furlongs as a 2-year-old and was no slouch. He'd a great constitution as a racehorse and, like Night Of Thunder, they come in all different shapes and sizes. They seem to have good minds and are easy to work with.

“I only had one Magna Grecia (Ire) colt but I liked him a lot. He looked like he would be a runner. I have a little filly by Intrinsic (GB) and she goes very well. Intrinsic won a Stewards Cup and his trainer Robert Cowell said that, if he didn't get injured, he'd definitely have been a group horse. He's only had a handful of runners and he's had winners, with one of them [Intrinsic Bond (GB)] achieving an RPR of 101 so he may not be a bad sire at all. I know he's not a first-season sire but we've a lovely Kodi Bear (Ire) as well and I'd be a fan of him as a sire.”

On the championship as a whole, he added, “I used to ride Kheleyf and nobody would have predicted he'd have done what he did at stud. You get horses who you think will do well at stud and they don't do it for whatever reason and then you get others who you think will be basement level and they come up with the goods. It's very hard to predict but, if I was a betting man, I'd be rowing in behind Blue Point to get rocking and rolling early. You need a lot of luck.”

One stallion who is a longer shot at ending the year as the champion first-season sire is Study Of Man but, for different reasons, the stock of the impeccably-bred French Derby winner has impressed Brabazon.

He explained, “We deal more with the owner-breeder type of horse, the one that will be slower to mature, but still, when I go through my list, we've got a nice filly by Magna Grecia and another by Phoenix Of Spain. But if I was to nominate one sire that I am particularly interested in the progeny of, it would have to be Study Of Man, as the two that we have by him are very athletic, hardy and tough types. He could be a very interesting sire and it would be great if Deep Impact (Jpn) had a major influence over here given what he achieved in Japan. He's a horse I will follow with great interest this year. His granddam is Miesque so it is one hell of a pedigree. Saxon Warrior (Jpn) has got going in Ireland so it will be really interesting to see how Study Of Man gets on. Now, it's only February, and I might be talking nonsense at this early stage in the year, but these two Study Of Man fillies have really caught our eye.

“We've only just started out on the Curragh gallops with our 2-year-olds now. I am beside the Old Vic gallop and we've only just started with the colts cantering up the Old Vic now. We'll get the fillies going now soon. It's all about education for me. I am not the trainer, so I let the trainer train them and I only educate them. I am always shouting at the riders to remember they are only babies. Sometimes they start scooting around on them if they start showing a bit but I always try to mind them and turn the horses into a career horse for their owners. I am not going to win any Brocklesbys, I am afraid! I have accepted that at this stage in my life. My aim is for the horse to last. I just lay the foundation for the trainers and then follow the horses' careers with great interest.”

He added, “The riders are so important. Tim Carroll is my main rider and he's just super. He just has a natural feel for a horse and can tell exactly how well each horse is going. If he says this is nice, I take note of what he says. He has picked a few already and he is a fan of the Study Of Mans. They don't all go on the right way but you'd have a fair idea at this stage.”

Similarly, Bastard has seen enough from the progeny of Land Force (Ire), Inns Of Court (Ire) and Ten Sovereigns to suggest that their 2-year-olds can achieve good things on the track this season.

He concluded, “We've had a few Land Forces and they've been quite nice to deal with as well. They've got a bit of size and scope about them and plenty of strength. They have good bone, are nice in their minds and are quite forward-going and they look okay. He might be a bit of a surprise package. He could do well. Inns Of Court is another worth mentioning. I must say, we only had one by Inns Of Court, but he was very nice and I expect him to do very well. We have a few by Ten Sovereigns, who go well but, again, the ones we have seem as though they will want a bit of time. There is nothing really early amongst them but they are nice horses. They are quite scopey.”

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Charles Byrnes Has Dubai Gold Target For Irish Leger Winner Sonnyboyliston

Widely regarded as one of the best dual-purpose trainers in Ireland, Charles Byrnes has taken over the training of classy Flat stayer and 2021 G1 Irish St Leger scorer Sonnyboyliston (Ire) (Power {GB}), who could make his debut for his new connections in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup on Mar. 25.

Sonnyboyliston has not been seen since finishing second in a valuable handicap at Riyadh almost a year ago for Johnny Murtagh, who guided the gelding to six career wins, including an epic in the valuable Sky Bet Ebor before plundering Irish St Leger glory in that same memorable season.

However, the 6-year-old, who carried the colours of the Kildare Racing Club on all 15 of his career starts and won over €1 million in prize-money, has been sold privately to continue his career with Byrnes.

Speaking to What's The Craic DubEye, a new Irish-run website in Dubai, Byrnes explained how the Gold Cup at Meydan could be Sonnyboyliston's first port of call, and said, “Definitely, Dubai would be a possibility if it doesn't come too early for him.”

He added, “We got Sonnyboyliston. It's very exciting to get him with his profile–an Irish St Leger and Ebor winner. We're very fortunate to get him. We're very excited.”

The Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot-winning trainer, who sent out Run For Oscar (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) to take the Cesarewitch at Newmarket in October, also revealed that Sonnyboyliston's new owner has also sent him a half-sister to the star stayer.

Byrnes said, “We also have his half-sister [by Starspangledbanner (Aus)] and she'll be starting off early in the Flat season. She's very exciting, too. Hopefully she'll go the right way.”

His Flat string may be growing but Byrnes will forever be associated with plundering big-race riches over jumps and is charting a path towards this year's Cheltenham Festival with leading Pertemps Final hope Shoot First (Ire) (Westerner {GB}) and Stayers' Hurdle candidate Blazing Khal (Ire) (Kalanisi {Ire}), who the trainer admitted was only 50-50 to make it to the race.

Byrnes said, “We had a great day in Cheltenham already with Shoot First when he won the qualifier in October. He's owned by a great bunch of lads. He's qualified for the Festival now so hopefully he goes there with a chance.”

On Blazing Khal, he added, “We're 50-50. We didn't have a great run with him all along but I think we are getting back on track to some degree. Whether Cheltenham will come too soon for him is debatable. We'll try and get a run into him within the next month and go from there. You've Aintree and Punchestown. You also have France, which could be an option for him further down the road.”

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The Weekly Wrap: Like A Hurricane

It's a childish game but I've long amused myself by seeing how many song titles can be weaved into headlines and this weekend's results provided an open goal for a Neil Young classic, not once but twice. 

Two hurricanes blew across Town Moor on Saturday at the opposite ends of the distance spectrum. Hurricane Ivor (Ire) (Ivawood {GB}) is an admirable sprinter who has bounced back from a blistering debut for Fabrice Chappet and subsequent illness that ruled him out of much of his juvenile season. He has been creeping up the ratings this year on the back of some consistent performances for William Haggas, culminating in his gutsy Portland H. win under top weight. Like his sire Ivawood, Hurricane Lane races in the purple and green-starred silks of Fiona Carmichael, and he surely deserves another shot at some black type.

Of far greater significance at this stage, however, is the hugely impressive winner of the Cazoo St Leger, Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Within the space of an hour, he and St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) became the 24th and 25th horses to have won Group 1 races in Britain, Ireland and France in the same year since the Pattern was devised 50 years ago.

Already proven to be highly effective over a mile and a half, Hurricane Lane's hoped-for next start in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe should see him try to reverse the Derby form with his stable-mate Adayar (Ire). Debate will rage about which son of Frankel is better, but these two Godolphin colts have lit up the middle-distance division for the Classic generation with their consistency at the highest level. 

Adayar's defection from the G2 Qatar Prix Niel was a disappointment, as was the late scratching on a vaccination error of Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and while the latter has claimed the GI Belmont Derby this season, he still has something to prove on European turf.

One thing is for sure, the Cartier Champion Three-Year-Old Colt title will be one of the hottest contests of the year, with Adayar and Hurricane Lane facing stiff competition from the outstanding St Mark's Basilica, who is surely the odds-on favourite for this honour, as well as the boldly campaigned Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}). In another year, any one of the quartet would be a worthy winner.

The Ger and Jessie Show

Aidan O'Brien may have this year's star package in the Irish Champion S. winner St Mark's Basilica but the Group 1 honours on Irish Champions Weekend were shared around pretty fairly, with five different stables winning the six top-level races. 

Jessica Harrington was queen of both Leopardstown and the Curragh, winning the G1 Coolmore America Matron S. with No Speak Alexander (Ire), who delivered an important first Group 1 winner for Shalaa (Ire), as well as for Dandy Man (Ire) as a broodmare sire.

Bred by Mount Armstrong Stud and raced by Noel, Charles and Paul O'Callaghan, No Speak Alexander is the first foal of their listed winner Rapacity Alexander (Ire), who is a full-sister to Dandy Man's Hong Kong Group 1 winner Peniaphobia (Ire).

Another first was notched for the Harrington team in the following race, the G2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang Mile when Real Appeal (Ger) became the first European group winner for the former shuttler Sidestep (Aus), a son of Exceed And Excel (Aus) who spent three years at Haras du Logis.

Bought as a €9,000 foal by Con and Theresa Marnane, Real Appeal won three races in France as a juvenile, including the listed Prix La Fleche, and was subsequently sold for £265,000 to Zhang Yuesheng at the Goffs London Sale.

Sidestep stood his first three seasons in Australia for Darley but is now leased to Telemon Thoroughbreds in Queensland. He made an eye-catching start in the southern hemisphere where his first crop included the 2019 G1 Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi (Aus).

Perhaps the most satisfying of four wins over Irish Champions Weekend for Harrington was that of the Niarchos family's Discoveries (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. This is a family which has really helped to raise the profile of her stable on the Flat, with full-sister and erstwhile stable star Alpha Centauri (Ire) and half-sister Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) having each landed Group 1 races for Harrington in recent seasons. 

Huge interest will doubtless be paid to the full-brother of Discoveries and Alpha Centauri who is consigned to the Goffs Orby Sale as lot 347 by Camas Park Stud. His was a page which hardly needed an update–only two dams fit as it is, leaving off his mighty great grandam Miesque–but it has been given another dose of proper black type nonetheless.

Harrington's quartet of wins on Irish Champions Weekend was matched by Ger Lyons, who was a welcome sight back at the races for the first time since the pandemic struck. He timed his run well as he was present to enjoy the success of Atomic Jones (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who remained unbeaten when winning the G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S. The same ownership trio Sean Jones, David Spratt and the trainer's wife Lynne Lyons, was celebrating again later in the afternoon when Camorra (Ire) (Zoffany {GB}) led home a one-two for the stable in the G3 Paddy Power S.

Breeders Behind The Stars

The breeding plaudits for the weekend must be split equally between Bob Scarborough and Philippa Cooper, who were each responsible for two group winners at Leopardstown and Doncaster respectively. 

When Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) won the 2000 Guineas, Melbourne-based Scarborough could have been forgiven for thinking that he'd hit the heights as a breeder, but little did he know that the best was yet to come from his Galileo mare Cabaret (Ire). Two years after foaling Magna Grecia, she produced St Mark's Basilica, who is now the winner of five consecutive Group 1 races in three countries. But he was not the sole highlight on Saturday for Scarbrorough's northern hemisphere breeding operation, which is based at Norelands Stud in Co Kilkenny. No sooner had the dust settled on a dramatic Champion S., than Camorra bounced out to give the breeder another boost in the following race, the G3 Paddy Power S. The 4-year-old is the top-rated runner of Mauralakana (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), who won the G1 Beverly D S. in Scarborough's colours in 2008.

Cooper also enjoyed a group double in consecutive races, with Hurricane Lane's St Leger victory following yet another win for the admirable Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). The 6-year-old has now won eight races, six of them at group level, the latest coming on Saturday in the G2 Park S.

Lynams Pinpointing Success

'Fast Eddie' Lynam will be paying close attention to the notes in the foal sales catalogues of his wife Aileen and daughter Amy this season after Romantic Proposal (Ire) (Raven's Pass) became the second group winner for the stable to have been pinhooked by the duo. The first was Soffia (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), who won two group races at the Curragh for Lady O'Reilly.

Winner of the listed Dubai Duty Free Dash in June and also twice group-placed this season, Romantic Proposal beat a strong field in the G1 Flying Five S. to give Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics a memorable weekend and another valuable future broodmare prospect for his Yorkshire-based Branton Court Stud.

Originally bought as a foal from breeder Julie Lynch of Fastnet Stud for €25,000, Romantic Proposal returned to Goffs for the Orby Sale, where she was bought by Parkin's bloodstock advisor Joe Foley for €55,000.

The Breeders' Cup Classic winner Raven's Pass now boasts a strike-rate of 8.4 stakes winners to runners and has never had a foal crop larger than 80, which was the tally from his first year at stud in 2010. He has now had a Group 1 winner in Japan, Dubai, France and Ireland and is also having some success as a broodmare sire, notably through Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and the G2 Mill Reef S. winner Kessaar (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), whose first yearlings are now at the sales.

There is much to recommend Romantic Proposal beyond her sire, however, as her dam Playwithmyheart (GB) (Diktat {GB}) is a winning half-sister to the G1 Prix de la Foret winner Toyslome (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}). Some stouter influences are also found in the presence of Ascot Gold Cup and St Leger winner Leading  Light (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), whose grandam River Jig (Irish River {Fr}) is Romantic Proposal's third dam.

Blazing A Trail

There was a disappointing lack of British runners in the Irish Champion S. but Charlie Appleby ensured that Champions Weekend was not an entirely domestic affair when sending out Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) to land an upset in defeating Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Ebro River (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S.

It was a notable first Group 1 success for breeder Jose Delmotte of Haras d'Haspel, who bought Native Trail's dam Needleleaf (GB) (Observatory {GB}), a full-sister to G1 Sprint Cup winner African Rose (GB), from Juddmonte for 60,000gns through his friend and advisor Marc-Antoine Berghgracht.

Native Trail has already been through the sale ring three times, initially when sold by his breeder for €50,000 to Sam Sangster as a foal and most recently when consigned by Norman Williamson at the Craven Breeze-up Sale. There he was sold to Godolphin for 210,000gns, having been bought at Tattersalls as a yearling for 67,000gns. 

His two previous victories, including the G2 Superlative S., gave an important boost to his Kingman half-sister when she went through the Arqana August Sale the following month. Unsurprisingly, it was Anthony Stroud who signed for the filly, as he had done for Native Trail, but this time at €950,000.

Varian The Party-Pooper

Charlie Appleby wasn't the only British trainer responsible for spoiling the fun for Ballydoyle over the weekend as the Roger Varian-trained Teona (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) sprang quite a surprise when getting the better of odds-on favourite Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille.

There's something rather satisfying about seeing Derby winners feature as sire and broodmare sire of top-class horses, and Teona's dam Ambivalent (Ire), also trained by Varian, is one of six Group 1 winners for the somewhat overlooked Authorized (Ire). Both mother and daughter have carried the colours of Ali Saeed.

Varian may also have caused a bit of consternation in the palace on Saturday when his Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) halted the upwardly mobile progression of the Queen's Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) by winning the G2 Champagne S. by a head.

Bred by Ballylinch Stud, Bayside Boy had previously been runner-up in the listed Denford S. to Masekela (Ire) (El Kabeir), who in turn was beaten a short-head by Native Trail in the Superlative S.

David Egan was on board Bayside Boy and notched a double at Doncaster for his boss when also winning on Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Title (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Not far away at Chester the same day, we were reminded of a different type of sire power when John Egan, David's 53-year-old father, rode a double of his own, including in the day's feature race, the listed Tote+ Stand Cup. There's life in the old dog yet.

Double Bubble

The first of the Arc Trials at ParisLongchamp went the way of Bubble Gift (Fr) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who completed a notable double within eight days for owner Zak Bloodstock and trainer Mikel Delzangles. The previous Sunday his three-parts-sister Bubble Smart (GB) (Intello {Ger}) had won the G3 Prix Gladiateur.

Both horses were bred and are raced by the Hakam family under a breeding operation established by the Moroccan-born Zakaria Hakam, who died 10 years ago. His children Ali and Amina and their mother Mouna Bengeloun have carried on the tradition, now racing their homebreds, which are raised at Haras de Maulepaire, under the name of Zak Bloodstock.

It has been a successful season for the family, with 4-year-old Bubble Smart having notched a hat-trick of wins, and the year-younger Bubble Gift adding the Niel to his victory in the G2 Prix Hocquart in the spring. He was just over nine lengths behind Hurricane Lane when sixth in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris.

Their dam Bubble Back (Fr) (Grand Lodge) remained winless in her five-start racing career but she has proved a worthy broodmare, with her earlier offspring including Bubble Chic (Fr) (Chichicastenango {Fr}), who was runner-up to Reliable Man (GB) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and won the G3 Darley S. at Newmarket before being sold to race on in Hong Kong, where he won two listed contests.

It is pleasing to see the talented Mikel Delzangles back in the limelight this season, and his group-race success continued on Sunday when the Aga Khan's Sagamiyra (Fr) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) landed the G3 Qatar Prix du Pin. The 4-year-old filly was beaten just a head by Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) on her previous start in the G1 Prix Rothschild in August.

Raiders Of The Lost Arc

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe has long represented something of a holy grail for Japanese owners and trainers and the latest of their raiders to put his name in the reckoning for Europe's richest race is Deep Bond (Jpn). The 4-year-old is a member of the first crop of Japanese Derby winner Kizuna (Jpn), the champion freshman sire in Japan in 2019 and a son of the late Deep Impact (Jpn). 

Both Deep Bond's sire and grandsire staked their own claim to the Arc, with Deep Impact finishing third in 2006 and subsequently being disqualified when a banned substance was detected in his post-race sample. Kizuna beat Derby winner Ruler Of The World (Ire) to win the G2 Qatar Prix Niel of 2013 before finishing fourth in the Arc behind Treve (Fr), with his fellow Japanese-trained runner Orfevre (Jpn) taking second that day.

Deep Bond, who is inbred 4×4 to Halo, may not be the only Japanese contender for this year's Arc as the highly regarded treble Grade 1 winner Chrono Genesis (Jpn), a 5-year-old daughter of the 2004 Arc winner, Bago (Fr), is also an intended runner. The presence of Japanese runners in any race internationally always adds some spice and they are usually accompanied by a large throng of supporters, though that will sadly be scuppered this year by ongoing travel restrictions.

Pat Smullen Remembered

Wednesday, Sept. 15 marks the first anniversary of the passing of Pat Smullen. We were fortunate to have had Ireland's multiple champion jockey as a TDN columnist throughout the 2019 season and one thing that stood out in his weekly missives was how pleased he was to see his fellow jockeys do well, even though he had been forced to curtail his own brilliant riding career through illness.

It is doubtless this generosity of spirit that made Smullen so popular along his peers and so revered by the young jockeys on their way up, many of whom would ring him regularly for advice and feedback on their own burgeoning careers.

It was hard not to have a lump in the throat watching and listening to his weigh-room colleagues pay tribute by singing Stand By Me with the Newbridge Gospel Choir during Sunday's broadcast from the Curragh. Two years earlier the racecourse had been the scene of an equally emotional occasion when Smullen raised €2.5 million for Cancer Trials Ireland, predominantly through the Pat Smullen Champions Race.

One of the nine retired champions in that race was his former arch-rival Johnny Murtagh, who won the last of eight Group 1 races over the weekend, the Irish St Leger, with the Ebor winner Sonnyboyliston (Ire) (Power {GB}).

Reflecting on their competitiveness in the saddle back in April 2019, Smullen said, “I think our relationship is a lot better since both of us have not been riding. I genuinely feel that his ability to train horses is unquestionable.”

On this and many other things he was unquestionably right.

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