GRADE 1 DOUBLE HEADS OUTSTANDING SPELL FOR SADLER'S WELLS LINE
Altior's unbeaten record over timber culminated in a seven-length defeat of Min in the Grade 1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March and the Nicky Henderson-trained star has also won his only races since then, both over fences.
An effortless defeat of a single rival over two and a quarter miles at Kempton last month was followed by a six-length defeat of Charbel in the Grade 1 Racing Post Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown on Saturday.
The six-year-old was bred by Paddy Behan, he made €60,000 as a three-year-old at the Goffs Landrover NH Sale in Kill, and he is the best of three multiple winners out of the blacktype-winning hurdler Monte Solaro (by Key Of Luck).
His half-brother Key To The West (by Westerner) has won three times over hurdles and once over fences, and his half-sister Princess Leya (by Old Vic) won a Grade B two-mile handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse two years ago.
Indeed, she is a slightly closer relation than just half-sister to Altior (by High Chaparral) as both are by sons of the great Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer).
Dual Derby and dual Breeders' Cup Turf hero High Chaparral stood at Coolmore Stud, he was only 15 at the time of his death, and his long list of top-class flat winners is headed by Group 1 standouts such as Free Eagle, So You Think, Toronado and [It's A] Dundeel, each in the early years of their own stallion careers.
Apple's Jade (by Saddler Maker) also provided the line with Grade 1 success when she short-headed Vroum Vroum Mag in the Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Sunday.
This is a third victory at the highest level for the exciting four-year-old, who is now trained by Gordon Elliott having been based with Willie Mullins last season.
Gigginstown House Stud's bay was bred in France by Ronny Coveliers, she is a full-sister to the winning mare Apple's Maelys, and she is out of Apple's For Ever (by Nikos), a full-sister to the chase and dual hurdles scorer Apple's Andrea.
Saddler Maker (by Sadler's Wells) stood at Haras de Cercy and was only 18 when put down after sustaining a serious leg injury in early May.
Two of the other blacktype events on Sunday's Fairyhouse card also went to grandsons of Sadler's Wells, as did one of the main races at Aintree on Saturday.
Landofhopeandglory (by High Chaparral) extended his unbeaten record to three in the Grade 3 Bar One Racing Juvenile Hurdle, and Forever Gold, another winning favourite, took the Grade B Bar One Racing Porterstown Handicap Chase.
Landofhopeandglory was bred by Chuchtown House Stud and he is out of Wurfklinge (by Acatenango), a full-sister to Wurtaube, who is the dual Group 2-winning dam of Group 1 Deutsches Derby scorer Waldpark (by Dubawi).
That classic winner's first progeny are foals, as are those of his Group 1 St Leger-winning relation Masked Marvel (by Montjeu).
Edward Cawley owns, trains and bred Forever Gold (by Gold Well). The nine-year-old is by a full-brother to Montjeu, he is a half-brother to the staying hurdler Never Said That, and he is out of Clonbrook Lass (by Lord Americo), a full-sister to the Grade 1 Royal & SunAlliance Chase winner Lord Noelie.
Many Clouds, the Grade 3 Grand National hero of 2015, made a winning seasonal debut at Aintree on Saturday, beating Le Mercurey by three and a half lengths in the Listed Betfred Lotto “£100k Cash Giveaway” Chase over three miles, one furlong.
The star son of Group 1 winner and Old Road Stud stallion Cloudings (by Sadler's Wells), the Oliver Sherwood-trained gelding was bred by Aidan Aherne, who sold him for just €6,000 in Fairyhouse as a foal.
The nine-year-old carries the famous colours of Trevor Hemmings, he is out of a mare called Bobbing Back (by Bob Back), and that makes him a slightly closer than half-brother to The Tullow Tank (by Oscar).
That Alan Fleming-trained eight-year-old was most recently seen in action when out of the frame behind Lord Scoundrel in the Grade A Galway Plate in July, but his prior form includes win in the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle, both in December 2013.
Ballyvooney (by Salluceva), the grandam of Many Clouds, won a bumper, twice over hurdles, to chases, and three point-to-points, and she was out of a half-sister to the talented staying chaser Inishowen (by Bargello).
I reviewed the pedigree of Many Clouds in the 6th December 2014 edition of The Irish Field, noting his potential then as a future Grand National candidate.
Four of the seven winners at Huntingdon on Sunday also represented the Sadler's Wells sire line, with Grade 2 success for Josses Hill (by Winged Love) in the Betfred Peterborough Chase and a listed bumper victory for Oscar Rose (by Oscar).
The former comes from the family of the high-class hurdler King Credo (by Kinglet) and the latter is a half-sister to Haydock's Grade 3 Grand National Trial winner Lie Forrit (by Subtle Power).
---
GRADE 1 DOUBLE FOR ALLEGED SIRE LINE
This week's string of winners for the Alleged (by Hoist The Flag) sire line featured a Grade 1 double at Fairyhouse on Sunday.
Airlie Beach, who has an unnamed three-year-old son (inbred 4x3 to Alleged) of the now gelded hurdle winner Miguel Angel (by Enrique), extended her unbeaten record to seven with victory in the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle over two miles.
The Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old was bred by Jackie Mullins, she is a daughter of the Group 1 St Leger winner and Burgage Stud stallion Shantou (by Alleged), and she is the best of four multiple winners out of Screaming Witness (by Shernazar).
Her half-sister Screaming Rose (by Darsi) won two bumpers last season, won twice over hurdles at Killarney this summer, and has been listed-placed at Limerick and Cork in her two most recent starts.
Half-brother Valerian Bridge (by Heron Island) won all three of his bumpers in 2014, and half-sister Dr Machini (by Dr Massini) won a Fairyhouse bumper and Sligo maiden hurdle two years before that.
Crazy Rose (by Son Of Silver), the unraced grandam of Airlie Beach, is also the grandam of the Grade 3-winning hurdler Our Girl Salley (by Carroll House), she is a half-sister to the Auteuil blacktype scorers Heliophanie (by Carmarthen) and La Tarasque (by Labus), and out of Vieille Phoebe (by Gag).
The blacktype siblings of that mare, herself a listed winner over hurdles in France, include Mary Long Grass (by Dancing Lad), third dam of the Grade 1 star Saphir Du Rheu (by Al Namix).
An hour and a half after Airlie Beach's big win, Coney Island made it a Grade 1 double for the line with victory in the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase over two and a half miles.
The son of Beeches Stud stallion Flemensfirth (by Alleged) was bred by Pat Tobin, he is trained by Eddie Harty, and this two and a quarter-length victory came on just his second start over fences.
He is a €34,000 graduate of the foals section of the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale, he is out of Millys Gesture (by Milan), and his full-brother Give Me A Minute was also in action at Fairyhouse last week, unplaced in a maiden hurdle on Saturday.
His unraced dam is a half-sister to the Grade 1 stars Rhinestone Cowboy (by Be My Native) and Wichita Lineman (by King's Theatre), and her half-sister Rare Gesture (by Shalford) is the unraced dam of the blacktype-winning chase mare Me And Ben (by Revoque).
The family goes back to horses such as Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle scorer Rare Holiday (by Caerleon) and Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes winner Relaxed Gesture (by Indian Ridge).
---
AQPS STAR WINS TINGLE CREEK CHASE
The French AQPS (autre que pur sang) breeding programme has been a phenomenal success and its many Grade 1 stars include Un De Sceaux (by Denham Red), the Willie Mullins-trained gelding who beat Sire De Grugy and God's Own in the Grade 1 Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday.
He was bred by Haras de la Rousseliere and partners, his late sire was a Grade 1-placed Grade 2 scorer over hurdles, and his dam is Hotesse De Sceaux (by April Night), a mare whose great-grandfather was an Anglo-Arab whose progeny included showjumpers and dressage horses.
I reviewed Un De Sceaux's pedigree in detail in the 31st January 2015 edition of The Irish Field, identifying him then as potentially one of the most brilliant AQPS representatives to date.
---
NEW BLACKTYPE WINNER FOR KALANISI
Group 1 star and Boardsmill Stud stallion Kalanisi (by Doyoun) added to his blacktype tally when Brain Power won the Listed Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts December Handicap Hurdle over two miles at Sandown on Saturday, the race run between the two Grade 1s on that card.
Third in the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown in April, the lightly-raced five-year-old is trained by Nicky Henderson and he was bred by David Harvey, who sold him for €30,000 at the 2014 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.
His half-brother Degooch (by Gamut), who has won a point-to-point, a bumper, twice over hurdles and four times over fences, narrowly missed out on putting his own name into bold type when a close fourth in a listed handicap chase at Wetherby in late October.
Their dam, Blonde Ambition (by Old Vic), won two point-to-points, and she is a half-sister to Oilpainting (by Welsh Term), dam of the Grade B Cork Grand National winner Vics Canvas who, at the age of 13, finished third, at 100/1, to Rule The World in the Grade 3 Grand National at Aintree in April.
Titian Blonde (by Callernish), who won once over fences, two bumpers, and was a blacktype-placed triple winner over hurdles, is the grandam of Brain Power and she is out of an unraced half-sister to the Grade A Irish Grand National hero Perris Valley (by Le Bavard).
---
AINTREE STAR FOR SABIANGO
Vieux Lion Rouge short-headed Highland Lodge in the Grade 3 Betfred Becher Handicap Chase over three and a quarter miles at Aintree on Saturday, his first start since finishing a distant seventh behind Rule The World in the Grade 3 Grand National at the same venue in April.
The David Pipe-trained chesnut is only seven years old and has run just eight times over fences, which suggests that improvement is likely and that he could take a more prominent role in the world's most famous chase in 2017.
He was bred by Francois Cottin and he is a son of Gestut Fahrhof's Sabiango (by Acatenango), the triple Group/Grade 1-winning half-brother to dual Grade 1 winner and leading South African sire Silvano (by Lomitas), whose Group 1 Deutsches Derby-winning son Lucky Speed stands at Sunnyhill Stud and will have his first foals in 2017.
Vieux Lion Rouge's siblings include the listed hurdle-winning mares Reflexion (by Discover D'Auteuil) and Azza (by Great Pretender), and his dam is the 12 and a half-furlong winner Indecise (by Cyborg).
She is a half-sister to the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle star and dual Grade 2 winner Marcel (by Bateau Rouge) and to the blacktype-placed pair John (by Son Of Silver) and Novacella (by Beyssac).
---
ART FILLY REMAINS UNBEATEN
Evening Hush's only win from seven starts on the flat was a runaway success over an extended 12 furlongs at Tipperary in May, but the daughter of Excellent Art (by Pivotal) is now unbeaten in two starts over obstacles.
She made a winning debut over two miles, one furlong at Exeter last month and followed that with a wide-margin victory in the Listed Betfred TV Fillies' Juvenile Hurdle over the same trip at Aintree on Saturday.
The Patrick Byrne-bred bay was bought by her current trainer, Evan Williams, for £55,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Premier NH Sale shortly after her flat success, and with a blacktype win to her name she has given her future paddocks value a tremendous boost.
Evening Hush is the second foal out of Applause (by Danehill Dancer), which makes her a half-sister to the Joseph O'Brien-trained two-year-old Arcada (by Rip Van Winkle), who finished third in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes and in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes this year.
Their older half-brother Awjab (by Bahamian Bounty) won over six furlongs at Nottingham as a three-year-old, and the mare's next in line is a first-crop son of dual Derby hero Camelot (by Montjeu), who made 270,000gns from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
Dual winner Applause is a half-sister to the Group 2-placed stakes winner Snippets (by Be My Guest) and to listed scorer Need You Now (by Kheleyf), and she is out of Sniffle (by Shernazar), who is a half-sister to the Group 1 Prix Vermeille heroine Pearly Shells (by Efisio) and to Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Handicap scorer Frenchpark (by Fools Holme).
Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes winner Excellent Art spent five seasons at Coolmore Stud before moving to India.
---
NEW BLACKTYPE WINNER FOR PRESENTING
Peoples Park added to the blacktype tally of Glenview Stud's multiple champion sire Presenting (by Mtoto) when coming home a six and a half-length winner of the Grade B EasyFix Handicap Chase over two miles, one furlong at Fairyhouse on Saturday.
The Tom Taaffe-trained seven-year-old, now a dual winner from seven starts over fences, is a €27,000 graduate of the foals section of the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale and he was bred by Roger Ryan.
The gelded son of Lambourne Lace (by Un Desperado) is a half-brother to several winners, most notably Ballyoptic (by Old Vic), who won the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle over the extended three miles at Aintree in April.
That Nigel Twiston-Davies trained six-year-old made a winning seasonal reappearance in the Grade 3 totepool Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle at Chepstow in early October, was a faller at Wetherby three weeks later, but then chased home Unowhatimeanharry in the Grade 2 bet365 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury late last month.
Chicago Outfit, an 11-year-old full-brother to Ballyoptic, got the most recent of his six wins when a 10-length scorer over three miles at Hexham in April, his fifth course and distance success.
Lambourne Lace, who was unplaced in bumpers and in a single start over hurdles, is a full-sister to several multiple winners and also a half-sister to the talented three-mile chaser Storm Damage (by Waajib), who was trained by Paul Nicholls.