WE all need plenty of luck when it comes to horses, no matter what sector of the industry we’re in, and I’ve always thought that breeders need even more.
The most beautiful mare, mated to a handsome stallion can produce an ugly duckling, the most talented parents can produce a talentless racehorse. I suppose when it goes the other way, that’s the whole fun of it – the chances of defying the odds and breeding a superstar from humble means.
All the while, you’re hoping to make some money from your venture, whether it be your livelihood or a hobby, and this has become increasingly difficult for breeders as costs continue to rise.
The added challenge for National Hunt breeders is the longer time period between choosing a mating and selling the resulting three-year-old at the store sales, should they choose to skip the foal sales.
During this time, a stallion’s popularity can vary hugely. The importance put on four-year-old maidens, and perhaps three-year-old hurdles in coming years, has brought forward the ‘make or break’ deadline for stallions, much to the stress of breeders, as well as stallion owners.
Greater challenge
When I profiled flat stallions I considered good value last week, I found it a much easier task than this week’s feature, as there seem to be so many jumps sires of similar profiles.
For most, the average prices for their stock, particularly foals, wouldn’t inspire many to get into National Hunt breeding, but I’ve tried to highlight those capable of a strong return with the right mare, or those potentially approaching a change in fortune.
A large number stand for private fees, but I’ve informed myself of their fees off the record, as to better my understanding and in order to feature only those standing for less than €10,000.
I have concentrated on stallions with runners and, hopefully, the facts and figures I’ve unearthed will make the task of choosing a stallion that little bit easier.
It comes as no surprise that Walk In The Park is the clear leading sire of blacktype horses in the UK and Ireland so far this season, but it is perhaps news to some that his studmate Getaway (€3,000, Grange Stud) is responsible for the next-best tally at 13.
Getaway has always been a reliable stallion, siring between eight and nine graded horses in each of the last seven seasons. This term, he has sired a career-best of four graded winners so far.
They include Scilly Isles Novices Chase victor Handstands – his sixth Grade 1 winner - whose full-brother sold for €100,000 at last year’s store sales, where a full-brother to Tripoli Flyer fetched €60,000, while fillies sold for up to €60,000 and €58,000.
The Cashman family could not have timed their purchase of Jeu St Eloi (POA, Glenview Stud) any better, as the promising French import sired his first Grade 1 winner just before the 2024 covering season – his first in Ireland.
Kargese kept the momentum going with two seconds at the highest level, before landing the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival. She was one of six graded performers by Jeu St Eloi that season, but he is already responsible for a new career-best of seven this term.
His first Irish foals arrive this spring, but last year’s imported foals sold for up to €58,000, while his 2024 stores averaged €45,157.
Mr Popular
This year’s Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival provided a maiden Grade 1 success for another exciting young stallion in Harzand (€8,000, Kilbarry Lodge Stud), as his son Hello Neighbour extended his unbeaten record.
Gavin Cromwell’s dual graded winner hails from the same crop as Yannick Fouin’s Grade 1-placed hurdler Six Figures and Caught U Looking, a dual stakes winner on the flat. The latter sold for 1.8 million guineas in December, a month before four-year-old maiden winner Starzand fetched £230,000, while Harzand was also responsible for the highest-priced Irish-bred offering at the Derby Sale at €180,000.
This smart start at stud brought large books of mares in 2023 and 2024, and it comes as no surprise that Harzand is reportedly inundated at the moment.
French fancies
Diamond Boy (POA, Kilbarry Lodge Stud) has also justified Con O’Keeffe’s belief, having sired his first two Grade 1 winners, Impaire Et Passe and L’Homme Presse, since arriving in Co Waterford.
They and Grade 2 heroine Diva Luna were among seven blacktype horses by Diamond Boy last season, when he also sired the most expensive Irish-bred store at the Arkle Sale at €150,000. Demand carried through to the foal sales, where his stock sold for up to €60,000.
Majborough’s Grade 1 breakthrough in the Triumph Hurdle brought his sire Martinborough (€4,000, Capital Stud) to Ireland, and Willie Mullins’ recruit has further boosted his profile with a Grade 1 win over fences.
The dual Grade 1 winner is a clear standout for his sire, the next-best National Hunt performers being two listed winners, but it remains early days.
Martinborough’s first two crops totalling 89 foals produced six blacktype horses, while a third crop of 33 foals features Majborough and Group 3 flat winner/ Group 1 runner-up Elusive Princess, who sold for €480,000 in December.
A numbers game
Martinborough’s last four crops have numbered between 24 and 21 foals, so he will be up against it numbers-wise until his presumably larger Irish crops make it to the track.
The first Irish crop of Feel Like Dancing (€3,000, Whytemount Stud) numbered a career-high of 50 foals, who are now four-year-olds this season. They sold to “all the right people” last summer – Baltimore Stables, Ballycrystal Stables, Rob James, Warren Ewing, etc.
His numbers have dipped since, but the success of Dancing City saw the son of Galileo cover 68 mares in 2024, up from 30 the previous year. There were just 15 foals recorded in 2024, but they included a €40,000 purchase by Timmy Hillman.
Workforce (POA, Knockhouse Stud) made the unusual trip from Japan to Co Kilkenny at the end of 2016, and it has proven worthwhile. He covered relatively small numbers in his first seasons at Knockhouse Stud, but a smart start by his first four-year-olds in point-to-points saw the dual Group 1 winner well-rewarded, with 141 two-year-olds and 154 yearlings now on the ground.
That first Irish crop includes Workahead, an impressive winner at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival, who is currently 12/1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The Joe Walsh-bred bay holds added significance for Knockhouse Stud, as it’s there that he was raised between selling for €32,000 as a foal, until joining Colin Bowe, for whom he impressed on debut.
The same crop produced listed winner Man O Work and Galway Festival victor Volantis, while the next includes impressive debut winner Aqua Force. Recently sold to J.P. McManus and sent to Willie Mullins, she is currently 14/1 for the Champion Bumper.
Against the odds
Cheltenham could also prove a turning point in the career of Snow Sky (POA, Ballycurragh Stud), whose daughter Sixandahalf is a leading fancy in the Grade 2 Mares’ Novices Hurdle, following her hugely impressive hurdle debut at Fairyhouse in January.
An impressive bumper winner as a four-year-old before scoring twice on the flat, she earned a rating of 94 on the flat after finishing third in the Irish Cesarewitch. What’s more impressive is that she is one of only seven starters under rules from her sire’s current crop of five-year-olds.
The previous year’s crop includes the progressive Disco Dancer, who just missed out on blacktype at the Dublin Racing Festival, a neck separating her from Qualamita in third. Horses to look forward to include Show In The Sky, an 11-length winner of a four-year-old maiden at Tinahely in October.
Class prevails
Another stallion quietly making a name for himself despite smaller numbers is Sea Moon (€2,000, Burgage Stud). He has been responsible for at least one blacktype performer in each of the last four seasons, from runners numbering between just 10 and 26 each term.
I Ain’t Your Mate selling for £120,000 was a commercial highlight last year, and while €43,000 wouldn’t have hit headlines at the store sales, it’s impressive compared to Sea Moon’s covering fee. The well-bred son of Beat Hollow may have a chance of further success, with a career-high crop of 52 foals reported in 2023.
Storm The Stars (€3,500, Coolagown Stud) has also enjoyed an increase in numbers, his first season in Ireland yielding 50 foals last spring. From one less foal in his second crop, he sired two blacktype horses, including Grade 1 runner-up Storm The Stars, who finished second in a listed hurdle on his belated return.
Fellow five-year-old and stablemate Funiculi Funicula became Willie Mullins’ fourth winner by the sire when boltin up on his Irish debut, earning him entries in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Turners Novices’ Hurdle.
Affinisea (POA, Whytemount Stud) is at a crucial stage in his career, as his larger numbers hit the track. The produce of the 227 mares he covered in 2019 are now five-year-olds, followed by 220 in 2020, 324 in 2021, 382 in 2022, 268 in 2023 and 246 in 2024.
This significant support was mostly due to two factors; his ability to sire good-looking stock which sold well, and an impressive start with his first crops in point-to-points.
His first crop yielded six four-year-old maiden winners, and his momentum continued in 2024, when he was responsible for seven, earning him the second spot alongside Order Of St George.
His first three crops, which total 138 runners from 279 foals, include six blacktype horses, led by Grade 1 performer Affordale Fury and three Grade 2 winners.
Maxios (€4,000, Castlehyde Stud)has also entered a new phase, as his first Irish crop, and largest to date, turn four. He moved to Co Cork after his flat-bred progeny, conceived at Gestut Fahrhof, made a promising start over obstacles, and he has justified the move with a steady stream of smart horses.
Last season, his 38 runners included six blacktype performers, most notably Grade 1 victor Gaelic Warrior. He and former Grade 1 winner Quilixios have both placed at the highest level this season.
Maxios’ first Irish crop sold for up to €90,000 at last year’s store sales, but it was €6,000 bargain buy Cooltobecareless who led home a 1-2 for Maxios in the second division of last week’s four-year-old maiden at Lisronagh.
The first Grange Stud-conceived three-year-olds by Vadamos (€4,000, Grange Stud) will make their store sale debut this summer, representing his biggest numbers since his first crop of foals, when he stood at Tally Ho Stud.
His foal crop grew in 2022 and averaged a healthy €20,490, perhaps influenced by impressive wins by Matata and King Of Kingsfield in four-year-old maidens earlier that year. The former has developed into a graded chaser, while the latter has placed in three Grade 1s.
Order Of St George (€6,000, Castlehyde Stud) looks excellent value, considering his 12 lots sold at the Derby Sale averaged €48,250, while 10 averaged €51,000 at the Arkle Sale. Neither Mighty Bandit nor Buckna have justified their prices of €420,000 and £350,000, but Future Prospect may yet live up to her £150,000 price tag.
An impressive debut winner, she disappointed in a Grade 2 next time, but Willie Mullins later said: “She’s a lot better than she looked.” Another talented mare is Seo Linn, who ran out a five-length winner of a listed mares’ bumper at Cheltenham in November.
Wings Of Eagles (€4,000, The Beeches Stud) is another whose promising start yielded some eye-catching results at the 2024 store sales. His geldings sold for up to €88,000, and his fillies for up to €62,000, with buyers including Frank Berry, Monbeg Stables, Crawford Brothers, Ballyboy Stables and Highflyer Bloodstock.
Trading places
They were his second crop since moving to Ireland, having stood his first season in France, where a crop of 37 foals featured four stakes horses on the flat. His first Irish crop include listed bumper winner Churchfield Sunset and blacktype hurdler The Great Nudie.
Poets Word’s (POA, Boardsmill Stud) stallion career began in a similar fashion, covering a small book in the UK, before moving to Ireland. His only runner under National Hunt rules last season was maiden hurdle winner and Grade 3 second Pacini.
Pacini has lost his way since, but his sire is already on a roll. His first Irish crop of four-year-olds numbers 196, with 175 foals recorded the following year, 221 the next, and 192 last year. His stock have proven popular at the sales all the way along, including a pair of six-figure geldings at the 2024 Derby Sale.
His very first runner between the flags, Taurus Bay, delivered on debut and subsequently sold for £155,000, suggesting the only way is up for Poet’s Word.
Beautifully-bred Derby winner Masar (€4,000, Sunnyhill Stud) has proven disappointing on the flat, but would appear to have a bright future in the National Hunt sphere. His first crop are now four-year-olds and his first four runners over jumps include three winners, led by Grade 2 runner-up Stencil.