MOUNTAINOUS became just the second horse to win the Coral Welsh Grand National twice when he added to his 2013 victory in the race at Chepstow on Saturday.
The 11-year-old son of Milan was bred at Glenbevan Stud in Croom by Lady Melissa Brooke.
She sold him as a foal for €28,000 at Tattersalls Ireland and he returned to the same venue three years later for the Derby Sale where, consigned by Martin Cullinane, he was knocked down for €50,000.
He won his point-to-point for Eoin Doyle before joining Jonjo O’Neill but he never raced for the master of Jackdaws Castle. He has also been trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, Richard Lee and now by his daughter Kerry.
Mountainous is now a six-time winner on the racecourse, twice over hurdles and four times over fences, He is easily the best offspring of the unraced Glacial Storm mare Mullaghcloga and three of her four winning siblings were performers at Grade 1 level.
The two Grade 1 winners were both trained by Christy Roche and both were sons of Good Thyne. Bannow Bay won nine hurdle races and his principal victory was in the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Fairyhouse where he beat Catch Ball and Limestone Lad.
Far from trouble
Far From Trouble carried the J.P. McManus colours to success a decade ago in the Galway Plate with Roger Loughran in the saddle.
The third Grade 1 performer was Might Moss, a son of Moscow Society and surely one of the unluckiest horses not to win a blacktype race.
He won two bumpers, three hurdle races and three chases and was ridden throughout his career by the amateur Fred Hutsby, son of the horse’s owner Ken.
His finest hour was at Cheltenham when he ran Istabraq to a length in the Grade 1 Royal Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle. Previously he was also placed in the Grade 1 bumpers at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals.
The third dam of Mountainous is the winning point-to-pointer Funicular and she is the fourth dam, through another branch of the family, of the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Spa Novices’ Hurdle winner Berties Dream.