WHEN the record books on racing are written, the name Munfallet will be hard to find. Yet, in the lives of the Coakley family and friends, he is a legend.

This week at Dundalk, when many had left to go home, the 11-year-old son of Royal Applause (Waajib) gained his tenth career victory and this, allied to a further 25 placed efforts from 82 starts, brought his winnings to more than £70,000. It is a hugely respectable tally for a horse who is embarking on his tenth racing season.

Ten seems to be a number that is central to the story of Munfallet. Ten wins, tenth season racing, and he is one of 10 winners for his dam, the Muhtarram (Alleged) mare Princess Mood.

She was placed a few times in Germany before selling for €10,000 as a four-year-old at Goffs in 2002 to the Lyons family. Princess Mood has not only proven to be a successful winner-producer, but her stock have generally sold well, mostly as foals.

Stakes level

Two of Princess Mood’s winners were successful at stakes level. Sunny King (Desert Sun) proved to be a bargain buy, selling for €9,500 as a foal and €13,000 as a yearling. He won almost £100,000 in England where his five victories included a pair of listed races.

Sold to Hong Kong, he failed to add any more stakes wins, but his four successes and multiple blacktype places put more than £1.35 million in his owners’ bank account. Sunny King also travelled to Dubai and was third in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen.

The second stakes winner from Princess Mood was Captain Ramius (Kheleyf) and he gained his blacktype win, one of eight victories in his career, at Dundalk. Other stakes performers out of the mare are Fortune’s Pearl (Harbour Watch), Smugglers Bay (Celtic Swing) and the maiden A Taad Moody (Awtaad). The latter was stakes-placed at two but recently returned from a break of more than 400 days to finish third at Dundalk on just her fourth career start.

Regular visitor

Munfallet was a regular visitor to the sales. Bred by Joann Lyons, he sold for €70,000 as a foal at Goffs and then jumped in value as a yearling when he was purchased by Shadwell for 220,000gns. Having failed to win in three starts as a juvenile for Richard Hannon, though he was in the money each time he ran, he was sent to the horses-in-training sale at Tattersalls and moved on for 42,000gns.

Munfallet joined David Brown and over the next few years compiled a record of six wins, though his new connections failed to sell him at 12,000gns after he had won as a three-year-old! Munfallet spent a short time, running on four occasions unsuccessfully, with Adrian Nicholls, and then joined Denis Coakley for whom he has won four races, all in the hands of his son Ross.

He is no world-beater, he is no racing star, but to the Coakleys and some loyal followers Munfallet is a legend. Give him an extra cheer the next time he runs.