A FIRST Grade 1 victory for trainer Alex Hales in the first race of the Aintree three-day festival, the Manifesto Novices’ Chase, was made all the more special by the fact that the trainer was also the breeder of Millers Bank.

This was the eight-year-old’s second win over fences, and his first in a graded race. Over hurdles he won four times and his placed efforts included running third in a Grade 1, and that was in the Aintree Hurdle. Millers Bank is a son of the German Group 2 winner Passing Glance (Polar Falcon), and the sire’s second top-level winner over fences.

Dashel Drasher provided him with his first when landing the Ascot Chase, but it is often forgotten that Passing Glance’s second crop contained a Group 1 winner on the flat, his gelded son Side Glance capturing the Mackinnon Stakes in Australia.

Hales spoke afterwards about his ‘accidental’ foray into breeding: “Many moons ago [2008] I had an owner who wanted foal, so we went to the old Doncaster sales and bought the dam, then a Karinga Bay (Ardross) filly foal [4,800gns], and she came back to us. We reared her and she came into training.” She was named It Doesn’t’ Matter.

The breeder and trainer added: “She worked really nicely and I thought she’d be okay as a racehorse, but she injured herself behind. In a fit of stubbornness, I suppose, because I’d spent so much money and time on her, we decided to breed from her, and here we are, god knows how many years later.

Phenomenal

“We didn’t set out to breed. She’s the first mare that Sally and I had, and it’s a fairy tale because not only did she breed Millers Bank, but she’s bred Bourbon Beauty (Great Pretender) who won the Grade 2 at Newbury last year, and that’s from her only two foals to hit the track so far; so it’s been phenomenal.

“At home we’ve got a four-year-old half-sister to Millers Bank by Clovis Du Berlais (King’s Theatre), and then a yearling full-sister by Passing Glance. She [It Doesn’t Matter] was covered by Jack Hobbs (Halling) the other day. We’ve got the bug.”

It was a great day for Batsford Stud’s resident stallion Passing Glance (GB) as another of the sire’s progeny, Latenightpass, won the Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase. “He has to be the most underrated stallion, really,” Hales continued. “Bless him, he’s never covered that many decent mares, but he’s bred Dashel Drasher and he consistently seems to come up with the goods.”

The investment made in It Doesn’t Matter had already rewarded Hales even before her good winners appeared, as subsequent to her purchase 14 years ago her full-sister Lady Karabaya (Karinga Bay) came out, won a couple of hurdle races, and was placed in a listed mares’ hurdle at Newbury.

That success was needed, she being one of 11 foals from her dam Supreme Lady (Supreme Leader) who won four times over hurdles and once over fences.

This record at stud for Supreme Lady was in real contrast to that of the next dam in the family, the once-raced Tudor Lady (Green Shoon). She bred five racecourse winners and two others in the point-to-point sphere, and her best was Mounthenry (Flemensfirth), a Grade 2 winner over fences, at Punchestown, and also over hurdles, and he was placed a couple of times at Grade 1 level.