I WONDER how many Irish stud farms have attempted to acquire Cokoriko, one of eight stallions set to cover at Haras de Cercy this year.

If they haven’t been trying to do so in the past, I am sure that they are sitting up and taking notice of him now. The son of Robin Des Champs (Garde Royale) commenced stud duties in 2014 at a fee of €1,700, had a small increase to €2,000 in 2018, jumped to €6,000 for the past two seasons, and now settles at €8,000 in 2021.

He has not lacked for support either, covering well over 100 mares in each of his first four years at stud, doubling to some 234 mares in 2018, while at his much bigger fee for the recent two seasons he has covered almost 400 mares. Breeders love him, and no wonder.

His first crop, which has just turned six, includes five blacktype winners already, and no fewer than three of them are well-known to us in Ireland.

A year ago the Willie Mullins-trained Five O’Clock won a Grade 3 novice hurdle at Thurles, while at the end of 2020, the Gordon Elliott-trained Fakiera did the same at Navan.

Now it is the turn of another Elliott runner, the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Coko Beach to make headlines, the six-year-old capturing the valuable Grade A Goffs Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park. A winner over hurdles at Nantes as a three-year-old, he added to that after moving to Ireland, and just missed out on a big race win over the smaller obstacles when he was runner-up in both the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle at Down Royal and the Grade 3 Fred Winter Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

This was the first of what is likely to be many victories over fences for Coko Beach, who comes from a female line that has produced plenty of good performers over jumps, and not only in France. Bred by Jean-Louis Berger, Coko Beach’s recent win will have been celebrated with gusto in Co Galway.

Bleahen celebration

A fortnight before the Thyestes Chase, John Bleahen spent €14,500 at the Osarus National Hunt Sale for a newly-turned yearling by Nickname’s full-brother Nom De D’La, and he now owns the youngest sibling to Coko Beach. Even before the recent win, that purchase looked something of value.

The colt is out of the four-time winning Take Risks (Highest Honor) mare Solana Beach, and she is already dam of four winners. Prior to the arrival of Coko Beach on the scene, her offspring included the listed hurdle winner Coastal Beach (Coastal Path).

Bleahen’s purchase, named Kentucky Beach, has a year older own-sister who sold as a foal for €31,000 to Ian Hanamy.

These big race winners under the first dam are just further examples of the quality of this family. Solana Beach is one of six winners from the unraced Lhotse (Sarhoob), and one horse stands out among that sextet. Top Of The Sky (Kahyasi) only won three times, but at the age of four he landed the Grade 1 Prix Maurice Gillois Grand Steeplechase.

Acclaimed

Back one more remove and Coko Beach’s third dam was the winning mare Acclaimed (Luthier). She has three winning daughters, including the Group 3-placed Kruguy (Try My Best), and though she came from a smart flat family, Acclaimed’s legacy is that she is now the taproot of a number of good quality National Hunt winners.

Acclaimed’s grandson Don’t Be Shy (Trempolino) was a Grade 2 winner in France before moving to Martin Pipe and winning the Grade 2 Game Spirit at Lingfield.

Kruguyrova (Muhtathir) is a granddaughter of Acclaimed and she moved from France to Charlie Egerton for whom she won a Grade 2 chase and was runner-up to Tidal Bay in the Grade 1 Arkle Chase at Cheltenham.

Other smart runners descending from Acclaimed include another winner of the Grade 1 Prix Maurice Gillois Grand Steeplechase, Halley (Loup Solitaire), Grade 2 hurdle winner in Ireland, Derrinross (Scorpion), and the Grade 3 Grand Annual Chase winner at Cheltenham, Solar Impulse (Westerner).

What of Cokoriko and his own race record? He won two of his four starts over jumps at the age of four, one of them being the Listed Prix Gerald de Rochefort Hurdle at Auteuil. He shares his sire, Robin Des Champs, with such Grade 1 luminaries as Blow By Blow, Quevega, Sir Des Champs, Under The Cieux, Un Atout and Vautour.

Gallic influence

The Gallic influence was felt at Naas at the weekend too. The 10-year-old Bachasson took his tally of wins to 14 with success in the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle, and he is also a Grade 2 chase winner. Just a neck denied him victory at Grade 1 level when he ran second to his brilliant stablemate Long Dog in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

Bachasson is a son of Voix Du Nord (Valanour) whose racing stars include the Champion Hurdle winner Espoir D’Allen, the top-class Vroum Vroum Mag, Triumph Hurdle winner Defi Du Seuil, and four-time Grade 1 winner Kemboy. You have to go back a few generations to find other good winners in the family, but the one who jumps off the page is Bristol De Mai (Saddler Maker), and his most recent victory was landing a third Grade 1 Betfair Chase in November.

Potential star

Catching the eye, and the attention of Cheltenham ante-post backers, at Naas was Eklat De Rire, the latest potential star to emerge from Henry de Bromhead’s yard at Knockeen in Waterford. The son of Italian and German Group 1 winner Saddex (Sadler’s Wells) was purchased for £110,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale in November 2019 by Alex Elliott after winning a point –to-point for Liz Doyle.

Beaten on his hurdling debut into second place, he made no mistake next time out last March. Put away for a chasing career, he has now won both his starts and his latest was in a Grade 3 at Naas. His victory came two days after his half-brother Damalisque (Linda’s Lad) was one of Mark Walsh’s four winners at Navan, passing the post in front in the Listed Navan Handicap Hurdle.

The pair are among the four winning progeny of Rochdale (Video Rock). She won five races in France, three of them over hurdles, and it was over hurdles that she earned valuable blacktype at Auteuil. Her half-brothers Ladalko (Kadalko) and Saying Again (Califet) were both blacktype chase winners, the former a Grade 2 winner over hurdles in England and a Grade 3 winner over fences.