HUGH Suffern was delighted with the numbers who turned up to inspect Conduit at Tullyraine House during last Friday’s first session of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing’s Irish Stallion Trail.

“It’s very early in the season for us but it was a very good day and great value for money,” commented Suffern who, in a deal brokered by John Weld, purchased the now 13-year-old son of Dalakhani in the autumn of 2015.

“When you looked at the map of the Stallion Trail we stood out on our own up in the North but we were pleased to see breeders with some very good mares come up from Westmeath, Meath, Kildare and Wexford.”

Among the attendance, Suffern was particularly delighted to meet fellow veterinary surgeon Karen Dunne.

“Conduit’s dam (Well Head, by Sadler’s Wells) died foaling him and it was Karen who looked after him on the night he was born. It was great to see her take such an interest in the horse.”

Karen is now a lecturer in veterinary nursing in the Department of Applied Sciences at the Dundalk Institute of Technology so had a handy journey up to Banbridge.