MONALEE announced his arrival among the elite of our novice chasers with his victory in the Grade 1 Flogas Novice Chase at Leopardstown. Among the crowd there to see him do so was his breeder Aidan Aherne.

Aidan, best known recently as the breeder of Many Clouds, sold Monalee as a foal for €18,000 at Tattersalls Ireland from his Windward House Stud. Tom Fitzgerald was the purchaser and he won a point-to-point with him on his only start between the flags. The son of Milan (Sadler’s Wells) then joined Henry de Bromhead and started to race for Barry Moloney.

Runner-up on both his starts in bumpers, he had his attention turned to hurdling and finished in the first four all five times he raced over the smaller obstacles. The best of his efforts in that sphere was his runner-up finish to Penhill at Cheltenham in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Spa Novices’ Hurdle last year.

A faller at Leopardstown at Christmas, he has won his two other starts over fences and is set fair for a notable career in chases. He has amassed almost €150,000 in earnings and is easily the best of the three winners to date for the unraced Tempest Belle (Glacial Storm).

Tempest Belle is a half-sister to a pair of Grade 2 winners and to the dams of a quartet of blacktype National Hunt winners. Worth a special mention is the Grade 2 Lismullen Hurdle winner Rose Of Inchiquin (Roselier), a half-sister to Tempest Belle. She went on to become a smart chaser and her three successful offspring include the Grade 1 Leopardstown Chase winner Empire Of Dirt (Westerner) and the Grade 3 winning chaser and Thyestes Chase placed Panther Claw (Old Vic).

Be My Belle (Be My Native), another half-sister to Tempest Belle, was a dual Grade 2 winning chaser and those victories included the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park. Her sole successful offspring Snake Eyes (Oscar) was a listed winner over hurdles.

Another member of the family to make her mark is the unraced Carnbelle (Electric) and this half-sister to Tempest Belle is another to successfully cross with Oscar (Sadler’s Wells).

By that sire she bred the Grade 3 novice chase winner Hold The Pin who was placed in both the Midlands Grand National and the Troytown Chase.

Tempest Belle, Be My Belle and Rose Of Inchiquin are all daughters of Boreen Belle (Boreen) who recorded a couple of black type victories over hurdles at Naas among her five wins. She was following in the racing hoofprints of her own dam Chestnut Belle (Even Money) who won the Listed Sean Graham Handicap Hurdle at Naas 41 years ago.