William Quinn

Hewick (Ire), 2015 g. by Virtual out of Ballyburn Rose, by Oscar

FEW horses have captured the imagination more than the bargain-buy Hewick. He kept the fairytale alive with his success in the Grade 1 King George VI Chase at Kempton the day after Christmas. Hewick sold at Goresbridge in October 2017 for €850, and he has now won well over £600,000. What a bargain he was and what a selection by Rachel O’Neill on the day.

Hewick is out of the unraced Ballyburn Rose who also sold at Goresbridge, for €300 as a foal and €1,400 five years ago. Hewick was bred by William Quinn in Castledermot, Co Kildare, and the mare now has a two-year-old son of Affinisea who was bought by Shark Hanlon for €25,000 as a foal, and a yearling colt by Jet Away who cost Hewick’s owner TJ McDonald €20,000 at Goffs in December.

The Group 1 Lockinge Stakes winner Virtual stood at Cheveley Park Stud before moving to stand in Galway. Hewick is his best runner. On the dam side of the family, the Galway Plate and American Grand National winner comes from a female line cultivated by Jim Mernagh over many years.

Ballyburn Rose is a daughter of three-time hurdle winner Bramble Fair, one of two winning offspring from Gold Label. The only offspring of her dam not to race, that mare bred a couple of winners and is third dam of Martello Tower, winner of the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. Hewick’s fourth dam Bardicate, a twin, produced Deep Bramble who won the Grade 1 Ericsson Chase.

JP (above) and Leonard King

Grangeclare West (Ire), 2016 g. by Presenting out of Hayabusa, by Sir Harry Lewis

JP and the late Leonard King in Castlewellan bred Grangeclare West who was a three-time sale ring visitor. Richard Frisby spent €29,000 at Goffs to buy him as a foal, he resold as a three-year-old at the Derby Sale from Glenwood Stud to Joey Logan Bloodstock for a profitable €62,000, and finally Denis Murphy sold him to Cheveley Park for £430,000.

It is all eyes on Cheltenham now after Grangeclare West won the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Fort Leney Chase at Leopardstown. He has a smart race record overall to date, winning his only start between the flags, his sole bumper start at the Punchestown Festival, and two of his four starts over hurdles..

The dam of Grangeclare West was bought by JP King for €6,000, carrying Coeur Joyeux (Beneficial). The breeder got his money back when that gelding sold as a yearling for €15,000, and he went on to win over fences and be placed in Grade 2 chases at Punchestown and Naas.

Hayabusa is the dam of three winners, while her sons Ashton Court and Hands Of Stone were placed eight and seven times respectively. Hopefully the twice-placed Grangeclare North, a full-sister to the Grade 1 winner, can give the mare a fourth winner.

Hayabusa’s half-brother Gunner Welburn won the Listed Rowland Meyrick Chase and placed in the Grade 3 Welsh Grand National, and their dam Vedra was a half-sister to the Cheltenham Festival winner Celtic Giant, successful in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase.

Michael Keaveney, Corrib Racing

Captain Teague (Ire), 2018 g. by Doyen out of Dancingwithbubbles, by Supreme Leader

A €19,000 foal purchase at Tattersalls Ireland by Levittstown Farm, and a successful €70,000 pinhook as a three-year-old at the Goffs Land Rover Sale when selling to Milestone Bloodstock, Captain Teague won his only start in a point-to-point and joined Paul Nicholls. Successful on his bumper debut, he was third in the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

On his hurdling debut he won the Grade 2 Persian War Novices’ Hurdle at Chepstow in outstanding fashion, giving the trainer his fourth win in the race in the past decade. Surprisingly beaten by Minella Missile at Cheltenham in November, Captain Teague put things right in the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury, giving Nicholls a sixth win in the feature.

It was at Cheltenham that Captain Teague’s half-brother, Sky Pirate, won the Grade 3 Grand Annual Chase. Both graduates of the point-to-point field, Captain Teague and Sky Pirate are out of a three-time winner who was placed in a listed bumper and hurdle race.

Dancingwithbubbles is a daughter of Cheltenham’s Grade 1 Cleeve Hurdle winner Kate’s Charm. That versatile mare, who went on to win over fences, bred two blacktype horses among her three winners.

Thomas Fahey

Found A Fifty (Ire), 2017 g. by Solskjaer out of Fillmein, by Gone Fishin

SOLSKJAER stood for two seasons at David Stack’s Coolagown Stud after his importation from South Africa. There his son Shogunner was runner-up in the Group 1 Sansui Summer Cup.

Now he has finally made the breakthrough and his son Found A Fifty made up for his defeat at the hands of I Am Maximus in the Grade 1 Drinmore Chase at Fairyhouse when he landed the Grade 1 novice chase at Leopardstown at Christmas. Found A Fifty won his only point-to-point at four in the silks of Maureen Fahey, trained by Mark Fahey, and he was then sent to the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale the following month where he was unsold at £180,000.

When he made his bumper debut a year later, Found A Fifty was in new silks and trained by Gordon Elliott. He was placed that day, won over hurdles and was graded-placed, and now he has won two of his three chases. Mark Fahey partnered the dam of Found A Fifty to her three victories, a point-to-point and a couple of hurdle races at Ballinrobe and Sligo. Fillmein is also the dam of a point-to-point winner, but she had been a little disappointing at stud until the emergence of Found A Fifty, now the best winner in the family in four generations.

That said, there are plenty of winners on the pedigree page, and Fillmein’s siblings include Rathmuck Native, a bumper winner and a Grade 3-placed dual hurdle winner.