IT would be easy to dismiss a 50/1 debut winner of a maiden at Dundalk as something of an aberration, and likely to be a horse we will not hear a great deal more about. In the case of Calm The Jets, that might be a mistake.

On the bare facts it is easy to understand why Calm The Jets would have been one of the long shots, but the manner of his victory, and the revelation that he had performed well in a barrier trial at two, would make me sit up and take some notice. Time will tell it he can go on from here, but you cannot fault the start he has made to his career.

Calm The Jets races in the colours of Douglas Taylor, breeder of Samcro and a successful owner whose best runner was Final Approach some years ago. The three-year-old son of Bated Breath (Dansili) is trained by Cormac Farrell who moved from Bunclody, Co Wexford to Copper Beech Stables in Kildare last year.

Farrell worked with Jim Bolger and Paul Webber, and then trained for five years before relocating to America in 2012 where he was based with leading jumps trainer Kathy Neilson in Maryland. On his return home in 2014, he renewed his licence and trained for 15 months before moving to England to pre-train yearlings for a year.

Calm The Jets was purchased by Farrell as a yearling for 25,000gns in Book 2 of the October Sale, sold by his breeder Lord Margadale. This looked to be great value when you consider that two winning full-brothers, Landshark (Bated Breath) and Faattik, had been sold for €210,000 and 290,000gns respectively, and another was an 80,000gns foal. Imagine the disappointment then when Calm The Jets went through the ring at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale last year, knocked down to Ridgewood Bloodstock for only €12,000. Thankfully, Farrell had the grey colt back in Bunclody to train, and has proven that the market was wrong.

Smart performer

The aforementioned Landshark was quite a smart performer when trained by Jessica Harrington. He won a Leopardstown maiden on his juvenile debut, and next time up was best of the rest when a respectful second to the high-class U S Navy Flag in the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh. He made just two more starts, both at three, but finished down the field in both the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Calm The Jets is the sixth winner from eight runners for his dam, Tremelo Pointe (Trempolino). One of the two non-winners was Tremwedge (Foxwedge). In spite of the fact that he never won a race, he earned blacktype when sneaking third-place finishes in a couple of graded juvenile hurdles. While Tremelo Pointe’s offspring have shown racing ability, with the majority being winners, Lord Margadale had the disappointment of failing to attract any interest at all in the now two-year-old filly by Land Force (No Nay Never) out of the mare when he offered her for sale last November.

Tremelo Pointe won on her racing debut at three, just like her son, and this was on the fibresand at Southwell where she carried the colours of Lord Margadale, racing in a partnership. She made five starts that season, and was beaten half a length on another occasion by a more fancied stablemate. Tremelo Pointe is one of the seven winners produced by the French stakes-placed Kapria (Simon Du Desert). That daughter of a largely unknown Group 3 winner was a smart broodmare.

Jeff Smith

The seven winners out of Kapria are headlined by Dream Eater (Night Shift) who raced for Jeff Smith of Littleton Stud, having been purchased for 40,000gns as a foal. When he retired to stud at the end of his racing career (the less said about his career as a stallion the better), Dream Eater had amassed an incredible £630,000 in stakes. A large part of that was gained from his victory in the Samsung £300,000 St Leger Stakes at two. He went on to win again at four and five, dead-heating in the Listed City of York Stakes.

Eighteen placed runs included twice finishing very close to Pressing in the valuable Group 2 Topkapi Trophy in Turkey, beaten less than a length by Paco Boy in the Group 2 Sandown Mile, and running an honourable third to Goldikova and Paco Boy in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, with Rip Van Winkle among the vanquished. In his years at stud, Dream Eater commanded a lowly fee of just £800.

Bated Breath is about to embark on his thirteenth season at Banstead Manor Stud, where he will be available for just £8,000, the fee at which he commenced his stallion career. If his stud record pales by comparison with his stud mates, Frankel and Kingman, Bated Breath has proven throughout his career to be a consistent source of winners, with 15 pattern winners and 11 others who won stakes races. His winner to runner ratio is some 60%, and almost one in 10 of his starters earn blacktype.