JUST before last weekend, John and William Flood in Boardsmill Stud made the announcement that their son of Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer), Court Cave, had died suddenly at the age of 23. He had been standing at Boardsmill since 2004.

Amongst his many stakes winners were Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 winners Willoughby Court and City Island, both of whom won the Neptune Investment Novices’ Hurdle, and the multiple graded winners Court Minstrel, successful in the Grade 2 Scottish Champion Hurdle, and Champion Court, winner of four Grade 2 races over hurdles and fences. His most recent high-profile winners included Grade 2 Lightening Novices’ Chase winner JPR One, the Kerry National winner Desertmore House, and Paddy Power Chase winner Meetingofthewaters.

William and John Flood issued a statement after the bay’s passing, and said: “We are sad to announce the passing of Court Cave this week. He died suddenly in his stable. Court Cave was a wonderful servant to us and had just completed his 21st covering season here since we acquired him from Juddmonte Farms as an unraced three-year-old in 2004.

“He was in rude health right up to his passing, and his death came as a big shock to everyone here as he was a real character and a yard favourite. Right up to his passing, many visitors to the yard were amazed at his wellbeing, despite his advancing years.”

Humble beginnings

Court Cave really proved himself the hard way, having started out covering small books of mares. He quickly proved to everyone that he had the ability to upgrade his mares, and though never covering overly large books of mares, he was one of the most consistent sires around, and built a strong reputation for siring sound horses. He regularly featured among the top 10 leading sires.

For a horse who often had limited opportunities, Court Cave had a great record at the Cheltenham Festival. From relatively few runners, his winners at that great meeting included the previously mentioned Grade 1 winners City Island and Willoughby Court, as well as Mister Whitaker, a battling winner of the Listed Close Brothers Novices’ Chase, and another chase winner in Premier Magic.

The father and son Flood team added: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many loyal breeders who continued to use Court Cave throughout his career, and to all who looked after him. In particular we should mention John O’Connell who was here throughout his entire stud career.”

From one of the great Juddmonte female lines, Court Cave was a full-brother to Beat Hollow (Sadler’s Wells) and the unraced Wemyss Bay (Sadler’s Wells). The latter bred Allmankind (Sea The Moon), a Grade 1 winner over hurdles and fences, while Beat Hollow was a multiple Group and Grade 1 winner, and a successful sire. In France, Beat Hollow won the Grand Prix de Paris, and in the USA he added the Arlington Million and the Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park.

Court Cave was by a champion and out of one too. His dam Wemyss Bight (Dancing Brave) won the Group 1 Irish Oaks. While this is the female family of the leading flat sires Oasis Dream (Green Desert), New Bay (Dubawi) and Kingman (Invincible Spirit), it is also that of three brothers who made a significant impact as stallions.

Wemyss Bight is a half-sister to the winning Coraline (Sadler’s Wells), and she has a young son standing in Ireland who, like Court Cave, never raced. He is Pillar Coral (Zamindar). Coraline is also responsible for Martaline (Linamix), Reefscape (Linamix) and Coastal Path (Halling). Reefscape won the Group 1 Prix du Cadran but had fertility problems, sired only a handful of foals and just one winner, the Grade 1-winning hurdler L’Unique.

Martaline’s top win came in the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil over 14 furlongs at Maisons-Laffitte, where he beat Westerner by three-quarters of a length, before excelling as a National Hunt stallion. The former Haras de Montaigu horse has supplied Disko, Dynaste, Kotkikova, Very Wood, Terrefort, We Have A Dream, Vanillier and Mighty Potter, to name just a few of his many Grade 1 stars. Then there’s dual Group 2-winning stayer Coastal Path, the sire of Asterion Forlonge, Bacardys, Franco De Port, and Saint Roi, among others of note.

Sussex Stakes winner making waves

THIS week sees the running of the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, and it is apt that a recent winner of that feature is enjoying a run of success. With four winners already, it is even more impressive that Shadwell’s Mohaather (Showcasing) has just notched his first stakes winner in Yah Mo Be There.

A lightly-raced 110,000gns yearling purchase by Shadwell, Mohaather won the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury shortly after landing his maiden over six furlongs at Nottingham, two of his three juvenile starts. He was placed on his debut. He added the Group 3 Greenham Stakes, back at Newbury, on the first of just two starts at three, before going on to be rated 129 by Timeform as a four-year-old.

In his third season racing for Sheikh Hamdan, trained by Marcus Tregoning, he trounced San Donato by almost four lengths to take the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, and this was just 18 days before beating Circus Maximus and Siskin in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes over the same trip at Goodwood, a performance that drew rave reviews, and was achieved in a faster time than that recorded by Kingman to win the same race. It was a vintage Sussex.

Ya Mo Be There was one of the fancied contenders for the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, despite being a maiden, but he was disappointing. He showed that run to be all wrong when he finally got one in the bag, winning the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes over six furlongs at Newbury. Highflyer Bloodstock purchased the colt for Phil Cunningham for £95,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale.

Bred with Nigel Kelly by Stuart McPhee, Yah Mo Be There is out of an unraced Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) mare, Shurakaa. He is her only foal to date. Shurakaa was bought by McPhee for 13,000gns as a three-year-old, some markdown from her 200,000gns yearling price. He bought her from Shadwell, so it was fair that he would use one of their stallions on her, and hey presto, a stakes winner.

The pedigree got another big boost last year when Shurakaa’s full-sister Ornellaia (Night Of Thunder) won as a two-year-old and placed third in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.

It might even get better, as Lakers (Pinatubo), the two-year-old half-brother to Shurakaa, is a winner already, having placed on his debut. He runs for Amo Racing, as does Ornellaia. These latest winners are out of the Group 3-plasced Namhroodah (Sea The Stars).

Intriguingly, Yah Mo Be There is the first stakes winner in the family in four generations, but it looks like that will change in the not-too-distant future.