WHATEVER Carrigmoorna Beech goes on to achieve in her racing career, she is assured of a special place in the hearts of the team at Glenview Stud, the National Hunt arm of Rathbarry Stud, where her sire, Blue Bresil (Smadoun), resides.

The four-year-old Carrigmoorna Beech is from the first Irish-conceived crop by Blue Bresil, and she is the first runner and winner for that same cohort. Bred by Michael Veale, she comes from an excellent female line, one that could well get another major boost this weekend at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Trained by Declan Queally, Carrigmoorna Beech ran out an impressive 12-length winner of the P.J. Foley Memorial I.N.H. Flat Race ay Gowran Park on Thyestes day, and there was a lot to like about the manner of her success. The victory means that she becomes the third bumper-wining daughter of the unraced Carrigmoorna Holly, and that mare is by Beat Hollow (Sadler’s Wells).

The first was Carrigmoorna Queen (Walk In The Park). She was trained by Willie Mullins and made just four starts, winning a bumper and over hurdles and being placed second on her debut.

Next to taste success was the Declan Queally-trained Carrigmoornaspruce (Diamond Boy). Last September she made a promising debut at Listowel, finishing second, but since then has won bumpers at Naas and Leopardstown, and she will be a leading fancy for the Grade 2 mares’ bumper tomorrow, back at Leopardstown. She holds an entry for the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

Sole male

That trio are among the first four of the seven offspring to date from their dam, and all but one of them have been fillies. The sole male, Minella Storytime (Shantou), was beaten a length and a half on the last of his four starts in point-to-points. There are three and two-year-old own-sisters to the Gowran winner waiting in the wings, alongside a yearling filly by Crystal Ocean (Sea The Stars). Last year Carrigmoorna Holly was covered by Jukebox Jury (Montjeu).

Most members of the family which include the name Carrigmoorna in it spell the word with oo, but a few had just a single o, and one of these was the recent winner’s grandam, the unraced Carrigmorna Flyer (Bob Back). It didn’t matter a whit when it came to her becoming a successful broodmare anyway, and the seven winners out of Carrigmorna Flyer include three graded hurdle or chase winners, and another who placed at that level.

Shantou Flyer (Shantou) stands tall as he won a Grade 2 novice chase at Punchestown and a Grade 3 chase at Cheltenham, and they are among 11 chases he has won. You can add to that total a Downpatrick maiden hurdle win, while more recently he racked up some eight successes in point-to-points in England, interspersed with a couple of hunter chase victories. His race record shows that he was second in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase, and that day he was some 15 lengths behind the winner, Cue Card.

Fillies excel

Shantou Flyer had a pair of older half-sisters that won Grade 3 races, and emphasising the fact that this is a family in which fillies excel.

Mrs Mac Veale (Karinga Bay) won a Grade 3 hurdle at Naas and has bred a couple of winners, while the point-to-point winner Carrigmoorna Rock (King’s Theatre) graduated from being successful between the flags to winning five times under rules, notable a listed hurdle race at Newbury and a Grade 3 mares’ hurdle at Leopardstown.

Blue Bresil started his stud career in France, spending four years there, and moved to Yorton Farm in England for another four. This year is his sixth at Glenview. His 21 blacktype winners include a number who were victorious at the highest level, namely Constitution Hill, Blue Lord, Royale Pagaille, L’Autonomie, Redemption Day, Inthepocket, Good Land and Mick Jazz.

MY friend Anne Cowley died just after Royal Ascot last year, a meeting she enjoyed immensely. She had a box at the racecourse, sponsored a Group 2, mile race in honour of her late husband Fred, and she raced and bred horses with some notable successes.

I first met Anne on a trip to Qatar, and there her Dark Angel (Acclamation) colt Tip Two Win won the Al Rayyan Stakes, a listed race. That was February 2018, and the colt had shown at two that he was well above average as a racehorse. A winner on his debut, his next success came on his fourth start in a listed race over seven furlongs at Doncaster, sponsored by Weatherbys Bank.

Less than a fortnight later Tip Two Win was runner-up to Elarqam in a Group 3 at Newmarket, after which trainer Roger Teal kept him on the go and sent him to Doha for a mile race for two-year-olds which he won. A second win there encouraged connections to have a go at the Group 1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, and there he showed that his odds of 50/1 were ludicrous, and he finished second to Saxon Warrior.

Just consider the quality of the field that day. The subsequent Derby winner Masar was third, Roaring Lion was fifth, and the unplaced runners included Gustav Klimt, James Garfield, Expert Eye and Rajasinghe. On his next start Tip Two Win was denied third place in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot by a head.

Tip Two Win went to stud in England, but this year joins the veteran, but very sprightly, Mores Wells (Sadler’s Wells) at Killisk Stud in Co Wexford, at an incredible introductory fee of €500, Tip Two Win is deserving of consideration for breeders in search of a quality racehorse at a fee that is almost guaranteed to give you a return.

Young couple

Nickey Murphy and his wife Niamh bought Killisk Stud three years ago and the young couple are combining running the stud with full-time work, Niamh with Aer Lingus and Nickey selling motor cars. If you are in the market for a Volvo, Ford or Hyundai, and can get yourself to Wexford, Nickey will sell you one, and perhaps a nomination too!

Tip Two Win has come to Wexford from March Hare Stud in England, while Mores Wells did not have so far to travel, moving from James Hannon’s The Old Road Stud in Co Waterford. Mores Wells is covering sport horse mares as well as thoroughbreds at a fee of €350.

With Dark Angel being crowned the champion sire in 2024 for the first time, and with a number of his sons also coming to prominence as stallions, Tip Two Win is certainly worth consideration. The stallion business is hugely competitive and anyone starting out in it is to be commended. It takes guts and determination to succeed, and Nickey and Niamh deserve everyone’s best wishes. Nickey can be contacted at 087-6606007 or nickey@killiskfarm.ie