OWNER Ian Gosden’s bravery was rewarded when his seven-year-old mare, Golden Ace (Golden Horn-Deuce Again, by Dubawi), netted more than £250,000 for her victory in the Grade 1 Unibet Champion Hurdle. The exits of Constitution Hill and State Man may have helped enormously, but this is a mare who loves Cheltenham.

This was only an eleventh career star for Golden Ace, and her fourth run at Cheltenham. Her liking for the track is shown by the fact that she has only lost once at Prestbury Park, on New Year’s Day this year, and all her victories have been in blacktype company there.

She was an easy winner of a listed mares’ hurdle 11 months ago, and that came after she beat Brighterdaysahead in the Grade 2 Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival.

Golden Ace’s single bumper win and six hurdle successes also include last month’s Grade 2 Kingwell Hurdle, beating Burdett Road by less than a length, but she had that runner nine lengths in arrears on Tuesday.

Operated on for her wind after her bumper career, Golden Ace has improved with every run since, and deserves more credit for her Champion Hurdle victory than she is likely to get.

Ian Gosden paid 12,000gns for Golden Ace as a three-year-old when she was sold by her breeders, Meon Valley Stud, at the Tattersalls July Sale. Even if she had never raced again, she was likely to prove to be a bargain, and since then two of her half-brothers have won.

Their dam, Deuce Again, trained by John Gosden, did not win until she was four, her three triumphs including a listed race and she was placed in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes.

Golden Ace’s third dam Top Of The League (High Top) won at two and bred 10 winners, the best of which was the Group 1 Prix du Cadran winner San Sebastian (Niniski). He later went on to win the New Zealand Grand National. Top Of The League is also grandam of the successful sire Alkaased (Kingmambo), successful in both the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and Japan Cup.

Originally at Dalham Hall following his retirement there nine years ago, Golden Horn joined the stallion roster at Overbury Stud after being purchased by Jayne McGivern from the Derby winner’s owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer. Golden Ace is his first Group or Grade 1 winner in any code.

RARELY does a day of four Grade 1 races at the Cheltenham Festival end without at least one Irish-bred success, but such was the outcome of Tuesday’s opening meet this year. Britain claimed the incident-packed Champion Hurdle, while French-breds nabbed the other three.

Two of these Grade 1 winners are trained in Ireland, Kopek Des Bordes (No Risk At All-Miss Berry, by Cadoudal) and the mare Lossiemouth (Great Pretender-Mariner’s Light, by Gentlewave) by Willie Mullins, while Nicky Henderson handles Jango Baie (Tiger Groom-Tenessee, by Kapgarde). They won the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle and the Arkle Chase.

Harold Kirk took home the highlight of the 2024 Goffs Arke Sale when he and Willie Mullins secured Leader Des Bordes (Tunis) at €210,000 from Niall Bleahen’s Liss House. This was a year after the same duo spent €130,000 at the Derby Sale for Kopek Des Bordes from Walter Connors’ Sluggara Farm. Kopek Des Bordes is now unbeaten in four starts, including the George Mernagh Bumper and a Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Kopek Des Bordes is one of seven winners from his unraced dam, five of which have been successful in blacktype races over jumps. The best of the rest is the Grade 1 French chase winner Utopie Des Bordes (Antarctique). What sets Kopek Des Bordes apart from his fellow siblings who won blacktype contests is that the others are all mares.

Lossiemouth took her haul of victories to 10 in just 13 starts, seven of them at Grade 1 level and three at the Cheltenham Festival. Bred by Elevage des Vallons and Ian Kellit, she was unsold as a yearling when a bid of €15,000 might have bought her. She won on her only start in France at three.

Great Pretender won listed races on the flat and over hurdles in France. He is well-known in Britain and Ireland for the likes of triple Grade 1-winning chaser Greaneteen, three-time Grade 1-winning hurdler Benie Des Dieux, Dortmund Park, Great Field, and Ptit Zig.

Lossiemouth is the fourth foal and second winner from Mariner’s Light, herself one of 10 winners out of Lady Glitters (Homme De Loi) who best offspring was Lord Glitters (Whipper). He was successful in four countries and 11 races. At Group 1 level he visited the winners’ enclosure following the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Jebel Hatta Stakes in Meydan.

Winner previously of the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle, Jango Baie was bred in France but sold in Ireland and England. Another to advertise the prowess of the Bleahen brothers, he was sold from John’s Lakefield Farm for €30,000 to Matt Gahan at the Tattersalls Ireland May Sale at three, and beaten less than a length on his sole point-to-point start for Michael Goff. He was then bought for £170,000 at the 2023 Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale by JP McGrath Bloodstock.

Jango Baie is one of just eight blacktype winners for his sire, a Grade 3 hurdle winner in France who is also sire of three other Grade 1 winners, also doing so over fences. Jango Baie’s dam Tenessee was unplaced in eight starts over jumps. From four runners she is responsible for three winners, the latest being last year’s dual winner Kador Baie (Tiger Groom), Jango Baie’s full-brother. Jango Baie was bred in partnership by André-Jean Belloir, Benoit Grosfils and Philippe Ouvry.

Roger-Yves, Valerie and Nicolas Simon bred the final winner on Tuesday, Haiti Couleurs (Dragon Dancer-Inchala, by Argument) in the Princess Royal National Hunt Chase completing a good day for France.

Bought through George Mullins for €7,000 at Arqana at two, he resold at Tattersalls Cheltenham after running second in a point-to-point, costing trainer Rebecca Curtis £68,000. This five-time winner is the best runner for some two decades in his female family.

MYRETOWN (Dylan Thomas-Miss Platinum, by Oscar) was bred by Longrove Stud, the trading name for John and Caroline Bourke in Golden, Co Tipperary. His win in the Grade 3 Ultima Handicap Chase puts him in the picture for a future tilt at the Aintree Grand National.

The eight-year-old sold as a foal at Tattersalls Ireland for €16,500 to Gerard Lowry’s Oneliner Stables, and following a point-to-point win at five he was sold again, for £135,000, when bloodstock agent Tom Malone got him with Lucinda Russell.

Myretown is the best of four winners for his unraced dam, and Miss Platinum is also grandam of the ill-fated Abuffalosoldier (Mahler). He won a Grade 3 chase at Cheltenham in November, but collapsed after the winning post and died.

Miss Platinum is a half-sister to Strong Platinum (Strong Gale), twice a Grade 1 chase winner at Punchestown and also successful at the highest level in Fairyhouse. This family traces back to Goldiane (Golestan), a mare who was born a year before this columnist.

Through different daughters she has been enormously influential on the breed, and her descendants include the full-brothers and Cheltenham legends Gaye Brief (Lucky Brief) and Gaye Chance, Artistic Prince (Indigenous), and the Irish Grand National winner Freewheelin Dylan (Curtain Time).

J.P. McManus enjoys his Cheltenham winners, whether they are in Grade 1 races or otherwise, and the six-length win for Puturhandstogether (Caravaggio-Round Of Applause, by Galileo) in the Grade 3 Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle was doubly pleasurable, given that the four-year-old was bred by the owner’s wife Noreen. The gelding is from a flat female line that in most generations provides a blacktype National Hunt performer.

Back in the 1990s, Arctic Weather (Montelimar) won a number of Grade 3 contests over hurdles and fences, and he is a son of the unraced Brigadiers Nurse (Brigadier Gerard), the fourth dam of the McManus winner on Tuesday.

Arctic Weather’s unraced half-sister Brigadiers Bird (Mujadil) bred the listed winner Miss Lahar (Clodovil) and the Group 3 two-year-old winner Lady Lahar (Fraam). The latter is grandam of Puturhandstogether.

Lady Lahar was a very smart racemare and two of her eight winning progeny made their mark on the flat in blacktype races. Jallota (Rock Of Gibraltar) won a Group 3 in France, a listed race in England and was runner-up in a Group 1 in Italy.

Meanwhile, Chelsey Jayne (Galileo), an own-sister to Round Of Applause, bred Group 3 winner Certain Lad (Clodovil), listed winner Gather Ye Rosebuds (Zoffany), and The Stateman (Zoffany) whose main claim to fame was winning a listed hurdle race in Australia.