WEXFORD had many reasons to celebrate the victory of Corach Rambler in this year’s Randox Grand National at Aintree.

No, it is not because yours truly tipped Corach Rambler to win in a conversation on air with Alan Corcoran in South East Radio the day before the big race, though I hope some listeners took my advice. Rather, he was bred in Wellingtonbridge by Paul Hillis, a sponsor at Wexford Racecourse, raced in point-to-points for Paddy and John Joe Sinnott, and was handled by John Walsh before being sold for just £17,000 to Michael Scudamore at Goffs UK, buying on behalf of Peter Scudamore and Lucinda Russell.

Paul Hillis later bought a share back in the son of Jeremy (Danehill Dancer), who stood all too briefly, and until his death, at Denis Hickey’s Garryrichard Stud in Foulksmills. It was a memorable Aintree for the Hickey brothers, Denis and Michael who has Sunnyhill Stud. Michael’s stallion Doyen (Sadler’s Wells) sired the Grade 1 chase winner Banbridge, and the Grade 2 bumper winner Florida Dreams.

Corach Rambler was born the same year that Jeremy died, and was from the first of his two Garryrichard Stud-conceived crops. This happened just as the sire’s National Hunt success story was getting into stride, his son Our Conor being simply magnificent when winning the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. He was from Jeremy’s first crop, when he stood at the Irish National Stud.

600,000gns

That first crop also included the dual Group 3 winner Yellow Rosebud, later purchased by John Ferguson for Godolphin for 600,000gns. On the flat Jeremy sired seven stakes winners, at up to Group 2 level, and the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas-placed Princess Sinead.

However, it was to be over jumps that Jeremy excelled as a stallion. Winner himself from six furlongs to a mile, Jeremy was successful in the Group 2 Betfred Mile at Sandown, in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot, and his placed efforts included running second in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at the royal meeting, beaten a short head by Ramonti, and third in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes.

With his final crop now eight-year-olds, we cannot expect many more blacktype winners to emerge for Jeremy, but what a record he has compiled. Instead, the owners of his sons Success Days (Group 2 winner) and Kool Kompany (dual Group 1 winner) will be hoping that they can carry on his legacy.

Those stallions will do exceptionally well if they can come close to emulating their sire, whose 32 National Hunt blacktype winners in seven crops was quite something. More than half of his Grade 1 winners came from his two Garryrichard crops, Appreciate It and Reserve Tank from the same crop that had Corach Rambler as a member, while Belfast Banter and Sir Gerhard are from his last crop.

Only winner

Corach Rambler is the only winner for his dam Heart N Hope (Fourstars Allstar). She raced unsuccessfully in four starts for Paul Hillis, after he had purchased her through trainer John White at the Goffs Land Rover Sale 20 years ago for €10,500. She was then a loss maker for Jean O’Brien’s Derrygrath Stud, having cost IR£10,000 as a yearling at Tattersalls Ireland. Heart N Hope is a half-sister to the listed Southwell chase winner A Glass In Thyne (Glacial Storm).

Corach Rambler’s third dam Hi’ Upham (Deep Run) was placed many times over hurdles and fences, but failed to get her nose in front. She bred three winners, the best of which was Native Upmanship (Be My Native), winner of seven Grade 1 races, notably the Melling Chase twice and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on a couple of occasions.

Aintree features again and again in this female line, as Hi’ Upham’s son Tighten Your Belt (Phardante) was placed in a Grade 2 bumper at the track. Through her unraced daughter Hi Native (Be My Native), Hi’ Upham is grandam of the Grade 1 Power Gold Cup winner Gilgamboa (Westerner). Another member of the family who has shown a liking for Aintree, though he failed this time to build on two placed efforts in the Randox Grand National, is Any Second Now (Oscar). He appears in the fourth remove of the pedigree.

Noonan family

Long associated with the Noonan family, Hi’ Upham is a daughter of the winning hurdler Highly Acceptable (Immortality), and that mare’s son Glassilaun (Prince Hansel) won a listed hurdle race at Dundalk almost half a century ago, and was runner-up at Cheltenham in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Three of his siblings were successful broodmares, Hi’ Upham and the full-sisters Hourly Rate (Menelek) and Templenoe Forth.

Hourly Rate was a bumper and hurdle winner, and she bred the Leopardstown Chase winner Time For A Run (Deep Run), also a winner at Cheltenham when taking the Coral Cup. Time For A Run’s half-sister Fast Time (Be My Native) is the grandam of Any Second Now.

Templenoe Forth (Menelek) did not race and did not breed anything nearly as good as Time For A Run. However, she is the third dam of a quartet of blacktype winners, notably this year’s Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas Slaney Hurdle hero Champ Kiely (Ocovango) who was placed subsequently at Cheltenham.