BURNING VICTORY (FR), 2016 f. by Nathaniel (Galileo) out of M’Oubliez Pas (El Corredor)

Bred by Sarl de Chambure and Sarl Riviera Equine

A second winner of the week for Newsells Park Stud’s Nathaniel, and what a record he is compiling for siring top-class fillies and mares, and being equally adept at getting them on the flat and now over hurdles.

Burning Victory sold for €80,000 at the Arqana October Yearling Sale, giving a fair idea of what a good looking individual she must be. A mile and a half winner on the flat in France, she is now unbeaten in two starts over hurdles for Willie Mullins, the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle the undoubted highlight. She again demonstrates Mullins’ talent training fillies and mares, and this is another example of the females getting one over on the males this week.

The dam of Burning Victory won twice at two and was listed-placed, and she is a half-sister to Riviera (Kris) who improved when sent from France to the USA. His 10 wins included a trip to Canada to annex the Grade 1 Atto Mile Stakes at Woodbine. Third dam Maximova (Green Dancer) was a Group 1 winning juvenile and dam of two Group 1 winners.

SAINT ROI (FR), 2015 g. by Coastal Path (Halling) out of Sainte Vigne (Saint Des Saints)

Bred by P E Guilloux, J Thomas and B Dasque

From another excellent Juddmonte Farms family, Coastal Path won a pair of Group 2 races and ran third on the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup. His first crop included Bacardys and what a servant he has been for Willie Mullins, landing a few Grade 1s and this week running a blinder to finish third in the Stayers’ Hurdle. Mullins also trains another son in Grade 1 winner Asterion Forlonge.

No surprise that the trainer would like another and Grade 3 winner Saint Roi, the third blacktype winner for the sire in Ireland or England, is the latest star for the Closutton trainer. This gelding’s dam is a half-sister to Lesoquera (Lesotho), a Grade 2-placed chaser who is dam of Italian Grade 1 chase winner L’Estran (Linda’s Lad) and grandam of Protektorat (Saint Des Saints).

MONKFISH (IRE), 2014 g. by Stowaway (Slip Anchor) out of Martovic (Old Vic)

Bred by Cyril O’Hara

Well done to Westmeath native Cyril O’Hara, Ennel Bloodstock, to land a winner of a Grade 1 race at Cheltenham as a breeder. A winner second time out in point-to-points, he has now won three of his four starts over hurdles and was runner-up on his only bumper start. This gelding’s rise to fame has been quite meteoric.

Sold for €12,500 as a foal at Tattersalls Ireland to Furziestown Stables, he made a nice profit when selling for €36,000 to Monbeg Stables at the Derby Sale. His point-to-point win in East Galway saw handler Cormac Doyle benefit tremendously when at the 2018 Cheltenham May Sale he sold to Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins for £235,000. He is now starting to repay that faith.

The best produce so far from Martovic who was placed a few times, Monkfish is grandson of the very smart racemare Martomick (Montelimar), and this nine-time winner, the majority over fences, was runner-up to Monsieur Le Cure in the Grade 1 Sun Alliance Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham and to Merry Gale in the then Grade 2 Martell Cup Chase at Aintree. A listed chase winner, she was a winning graduate too of the point-to-point sphere.

Monkfish continued the great week for his sire Stowaway, once the busiest sire in Ireland during his time at Ronnie O’Neill’s Whytemount Stud.

AL BOUM PHOTO (FR), 2012 g. by Buck’s Boum (Cadoudal) out of Al Gane (Dom Alco)

Bred by Emmanuel Clayeux and Jacky Rauch.

What a moment for Al Boum Photo, an historic back-to-back winner of the Gold Cup, his owner, jockey and for trainer Willie Mullins, producing his fourth successive winner on the day. Al Boum Photo failed to sell at €70,000 when offered as a three-year-old at Arqana. He is the star so far for his sire who is a brother to the great hurdler Big Buck’s.

A winning hurdler and Grade 1 runner-up, Buck’s Boum stands at Haras d'Enki where his fee this season is €7,000. Other well-known runners include Grade 1 Arkle Chase winner Duc Des Genievres, Grade 1 chase winner Dynamite Dollars and Grade 2 hurdle winner Enrilo.

Al Boum Photo is the first foal of his unraced dam and now one of three winners. His third dam bred the Grade 3 Scottish Grand National winner Al Co (Dom Alco) and is grandam of a pair of Grade 1 winners in Grands Crus (Dom Alco) and Le Richebourg (Network).

IT CAME TO PASS (IRE), 2010 g. by Brian Boru (Sadler’s Wells) out of Satellite Dancer (Satco)

Bred by Edmond Coleman

This is a horse whose pedigree entitled him to be in the winners’ enclosure at Cheltenham, Sold for just €12,000 as a yearling to Jim Culloty, this was before the emergence of his half-brother Lord Windermere (Oscar) who went on to credit Culloty with victories in the Grade 1 RSA Chase and later in the Grade 1 Gold Cup. Culloty trained It Came To Pass to win a couple of point-to-points and a hunter chase. It Came To Pass’s full-brother Sub Lieutenant almost made it three for the family, finishing runner-up in the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase. He won at Grade 2 level over hurdles and fences.

All of these winners are out of a mare who showed little in three starts over hurdles, but she is da of six winners on the track and another between the flags. The family connection extends back to It Came To Pass’s third dam who bred Rathgorman (Super Sam) and the best of his 23 victories over fences included the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Brian Boru is at Longford House Stud and is responsible for eight blacktype National Hunt winners.

CHOSEN MATE (IRE), 2013 g. by Well Chosen (Sadler’s Wells) out of Norwich Star (Norwich)

Bred by Matthew Fogarty

Sold as a Loughbrickland point-to-point winner by owner-trainer Colin McKeever for a mere £32,000 at the Cheltenham Sale in November 2018 to Aidan ‘Mouse’ O’Ryan and Gordon Elliott, Chosen Mate has shown what value he was by winning almost four times that in prize money and collecting the Grade 2 Johnstown Novice Hurdle at Naas on the way.

Chosen Mate is the first of just two offspring from Norwich Star for breeder Matthew Fogarty, but those with long memories will remember the best horse in the family’s fifth generation, and he was a Cheltenham hero. Bannow Rambler won the Lloyds Bank Champion Novice Hurdle, while in Ireland his biggest successes included the Goffs Champion Novice Hurdle, Harold Clarke Leopardstown Chase and the Thyestes Chase.

Well Chosen does so well with his limited opportunities, and the Kedrah House stallion is also responsible for Grade 2 winners Jury Duty and Goulane Chosen, as well as Grade 3 winners Carefully Selected and Mallards In Flight.

INDEFATIGABLE (IRE), 2013 f. by Schiaparelli (Monsun) out of Spin The Wheel (Kalanisi)

Bred by John B O’Connor

When Indefatigable won her bumper at Southwell for Paul Webber she was sent off favourite on the basis of her previous third-placed finish on her debut at Punchestown to Grade 1 Cheltenham Bumper winning mare Relegate when she was trained by Sam Curling. She was bred by John O’Connor and he also bred her dam.

In fact that day she dead-heated with Sweet Adare and this was an incredible coincidence - both mares were born in the same stable! Elizabeth Grant of Lismortagh Stud bred Sweet Adare and she also foaled Indefatigable. Now a Cheltenham Festival winner and the winner of a couple of listed hurdle races, Indefatigable joins Grade 2 winning hurdler Ronald Pump as the best offspring of the five-time Group 1 winner Schiaparelli who stands for £1,500 this year at Overbury Stud. Three of his Group 1 wins were in Germany, the remainder in Italy.

Indefatigable is the better of two winners for her unraced dam, herself a daughter of the US stakes winner Stem The Tide (Proud Truth).