IT is impossible to sum up 13 winners in 1,300 words, but such is my challenge in this piece.

Apart from the Gand National winner who is profiled separately, here is a synopsis of the other Aintree winners on Friday and Saturday of the three-day meeting. Seven of the races were Grade 1 contests, all the winners were sired by different stallions, and two of the seven were Irish-breds, the rest flew the French colours.

When Honesty Policy (2020 g. Jukebox Jury) won the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown in March, I suggested that plans would surely include making a challenge for the final of that great series at Punchestown. Instead, the Harry Fowler, Alex Frost and Charlie Longsdon-bred gelding won the Grade 1 Turners Mersey Novices’ Hurdle! Sold from the Fowler’s Rahinston Stud as a foal to Richard Frisby for €28,000, he left no profit when reselling as a store for €35,000 at the Derby Sale.

Honesty Policy is the third multiple winner for his dam Molo (Kalanisi), herself a Fowler-bred with the late Robert Chugg, and he joins the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper winner Bambino Fever to become a fifth top-level winner for his sire, covering this year at Burgage Stud for €12,500.

Bred by Pat Kinsella, Hiddenvalley Lake (2017 g. Sholokhov) was carried out on his sole start in a point-to-point, but still sold for £200,000 and joined Henry de Bromhead to race in the colours of Robcour. He beat Strong Leader to win the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle, having finished third to that runner a year earlier. He joins Shishkin, Don Cossack and Bob Olinger among the Grade 1 winners for his sire. Hiddenvalley Lake is the sixth racecourse winner for Coming Home (Exit To Nowhere), a three-time winner on the flat in France.

Raised eyebrows

What can one say about a horse such as Jonbon (2016 g. Walk In The Park). Winner of 18 of his 22 racecourse starts, and his only point-to-point, he was runner-up on the other four occasions (all at Cheltenham), though he did win twice in the Cotswolds, albeit a couple of four-runner races.

Bred by Lotfi Kohli, Jonbon sold as a store at the Derby Sale for €140,000, helped by being a full-brother to Douvan (Walk In The Park), and there were some raised eyebrows when he sold for a record £570,000 to J.P. McManus at the Goffs UK November P2P Sale in 2020, which was held at Yorton Stud in Wales.

Well, his winnings now are a bid or two short of £1.35 million, and Jonbon’s tally of Grade 1 successes is now in double figures. Four of those wins have been at Aintree, and in four different Grade 1 races. What a star he is. Jonbon is from the last French crop by Walk In The Park (Montjeu).

Jonbon’s sale price pales a little compared to the €740,000 paid in February 2024 at Tattersalls Ireland for Caldwell Potter (2018 g. Martaline), and he too was an expensive store, selling for €200,000 at the Derby Sale. He has finally come good for new connections, winning at Cheltenham and now adding the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

A son of Matnie (Laveron), Caldwell Potter was bred by Francois-Marie Cottin, and together with Brighterdaysahead (Kapgarde), French Dynamite (Kentucky Dynamite), his own-brother Mighty Potter (Martaline) and Indiana Jones (Blue Bresil), they are not only five winning offspring of their dam, but all have won at least one graded race. Four are winners at the highest level.

Salvator Mundi

Willie Mullins’ glorious Aintree included winning the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle with Salvator Mundi (2020 g. No Risk At All). This was just a sixth start for the gelding, and his third victory. The gelding has always been held in high regard at Closutton, and previously won the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Bred by Laura Lemiere, Salvator Mundi is the third and final foal out of the unraced Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal) mare Stacicaya, the other being young broodmares.

The Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle was won by Julius Des Pictons (2019 g Cokoriko) with a career-best performance. Bred in France by a farm called Marais Des Pictons, Julius Des Pictons is by the sire of Thyestes Chase winner Coko Beach and three Grade 1 winners in France. He is the first foal of an unraced dam, she is the only produce of a placed mare, and the third dam had two foals, one of which won.

As a complete contrast, the Grade 1 Maghull Novices’ Chase winner Kalif Du Berlais (2020 g. Masked Marvel) has an outstanding female line. He joins Teahupoo as one of three Grade 1 winners for his sire, and the Haras du Berlais-bred is the fourth foal and one of three winners for his dam. The others include last year’s Grade 2 Auteuil hurdle winner Kivala Du Berlais (Saint Des Saints). If you want to see more of the family, look up Lot 408 in last December’s National Hunt Sale at Goffs. This was Kalif Du Berlais’s half-brother by Bathyrhon (Monsun) who sold to Jerry McGrath for €27,000.

Boardsmill sires

Two former Boardsmill stallions sired winners at Aintree over the two days under review. Mount Nelson (Rock Of Gibraltar) is responsible for the Rowland Crellin-bred Green Splendour, winner of the Grade 2 bumper sponsored by Weatherbys that brought the meeting to a close, and provided another success for Team Willie Mullins. This son of an unraced Flemensfirth (Alleged) mare has Lady Bellingham (Montelimar) as his third dam. She bred the Grade 1 chase winners and full-brothers In Compliance (Old Vic) and One Cool Cookie.

Bred by Robert Allen, and sold at the Goffs UK Aintree Sale three years ago for £235,000, the Grade 3 Aintree Handicap Hurdle winner Deep Cave (2018 g. Court Cave) is a full-brother to dual Grade 2 chase winner and Grade 1-placed JPR One (Court Cave). Their Presenting (Mtoto) dam Lady Knightess won a bumper from three starts, and is the only winning offspring of the Auteuil listed hurdle winner Soupintette (Noblequest).

Another Grade 3 hurdle winner at Aintree was Wellington Arch (2019 g. Blue Bresil), and this Caroline George-bred is one of seven winners for his dam Moyliscar (Terimon). The others include a trio of blacktype-placed winners, notably Wellington Arch’s full-brother Pembroke (Blue Bresil), and this five-time winner was placed a number of times in Grade 2 races.

Saint Des Saints

One of the greatest National Hunt sires in France, the recently retired Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal) had three winners over the last two days of Aintree, and also featured as a successful damsire of two Grade 1 winners, Jonbon and Salvator Mundi. Already a dual Grade 1 winner, one of those victories coming at Aintree, the Grade 3 Randox-sponsored Topham Trophy was won by Gentleman De Mee (2016 g. Saint Des Saints).

Gentleman De Mee sold for €280,000 at the Arqana Mixed Sale in the autumn of 2018, and moved to Willie Mullins. This was six years after his half-brother As De Mee (Kapgarde) realised €200,000 and he went on to become a Grade 3 winner over hurdles and was placed a couple of times at Grade 1 level over fences. He also won the Grand Sefton Chase over the Aintree fences and carried the colours of The Stewart Family and Dame Judi Dench.

Cruz Control (2017 g. Saint Des Saints) won the Grade 3 Freebooter Handicap Chase for the second time, and he is the best offspring of En La Cruz (Robin Des Champs), a listed chase winner and Grade 2-placed at Auteuil. One of Cruz Control’s half-sisters bred the dual listed chase winner Saint Pair (Saint Des Saints). En La Cruz’s half-brother Voy Por Estades (Villez) numbered among his five Grade 1 wins the Melling Chase at Aintree twice, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham.

To conclude, the final winner of the week to be mentioned is She’s A Saint (2017 f. Saint Des Saints), but she is actually an Irish-bred, with renowned Westmeath breeder Cathal Ennis being responsible.

This Grade 2 hurdle runner-up has won three times over the smaller obstacles, and also landed a point-to-point. She is a half-sister to the Grade 2 Scottish Champion Hurdle-placed Equus Amadeus (Beat Hollow). Their placed dam Charade (Danehill) is a half-sister to the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper second Sophocles (In The Wings).