ON the breeding front, there was a win in Tuesday’s Grade 2 Maureen Mullins National Hunt Amateur Jockeys’ Novices’ Chase for the J.P. McManus-owned, Emmet Mullins-trained, Derek O’Connor-ridden Corbetts Cross.
The seven-year-old gelding, who has now won two chases, three hurdle races, a bumper and a point-to-point, is one of just two thoroughbred foals by Gamut out of the unraced Annagh Hill Lady. He was bred by Ballinasloe’s Gerry Murphy, who purchased his dam, a daughter of Amilynx, as a foal at Goresbridge for €450.
However, Annagh Hill Lady is dam also of four traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse foals by Watervalley Cool Diamond, who stands alongside Loughehoe Guy at Sean Lydon’s Watervalley Stud near Ballymacward.
The oldest of the quartet, a 2015 mare named Cranberry Grey, is in England, where she was for sale earlier this week, while a four-year-old gelding is in Scotland, where he is currently being broken. Lydon now owns the three-year-old filly, who he describes as “big and blood and looks every inch an eventer” and Murphy has retained the last of Annagh Hill Lady’s foals, a two-year-old filly.
Sam Ewing after Stellar Story won the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle \ Healy Racing Photo
Stellar Story
Friday’s Albert Bartlett Grade 1 Novices’ Hurdle was won by the 33/1 shot Stellar Story, trained for Gigginstown House Stud by Gordon Elliott and a first Festival winner for his jockey Sam Ewing, who show jumped for one season in 128cm classes before going pony racing. The seven-year-old Shantou gelding was bred by Rowena Cotton in partnership with Stephen Lanigan O’Keeffe, breeder of the great Irish Sport Horse stallion Puissance, among others.
Disappointingly, the now J.P. McManus-owned Its On The Line failed to justify favouritism, and give Derek O’Connor a third win in the three amateur races at the Festival, when going down by three-quarters of a length to Sine Nomine in the St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase later that afternoon. Trained by Emmet Mullins, the 2017 Presenting gelding, who also filled the runner-up slot in last year’s renewal, was bred in Co Wexford by John and Catherine Roche.
Only nine British-trained runners were successful at the Festival, but among those who greeted four of them in the hallowed winner’s enclosure was dual Olympic team and individual show jumping gold medallist, Nick Skelton.
His sons, Dan (trainer) and Harry (jockey), combined to win the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) for the second year running with Langer Dan, the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) with Unexpected Party, the Grade 1 Turners Novice Chase with Grey Dawning and the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase with Protektorat.
The last-named, a nine-year-old French-bred gelding by Saint Des Saints, who beat the Rachael Blackmore-ridden favourite Envoi Allen by four lengths, is owned by Sir Alex Ferguson and Ger Mason, plus well-known show jumping owners, John Hales and his daughter Lisa.