‘SHE is a four-year-old to watch out for in the months ahead” was my advice after Light Up The Dark won on her racecourse debut at Naas, and she is already making my punditry look good as she added the Listed Kevin McManus Bookmaker Champion Flat Race at Limerick to her record on her second outing.

In between the two runs she changed ownership to that of J.P. McManus, and so she was a most appropriate winner of the race. She has been impressive on both outings, and it would be no surprise to see her complete her first season racing with an outing at the Punchestown Festival at the end of April. If not, she is a most exciting prospect.

Joseph O’Brien no doubt took on the training of Light Up The Dark, a daughter of Camelot (Montjeu), with a different career path in mind, and it would not be a shock if he were to consider trying her on the flat at some stage. She was purchased in the name of Equispirit for 95,000gns in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, usually a source of classic prospects. The Michelle Morris-bred Light Up The Dark was catalogued for sale again the following July, but withdrawn. Just as well.

Light Up The Dark is now one of four winners for her stakes-placed, winning dam, Tiptree (Duke Of Marmalade), and the second winner this year for that mare. Two days before she won for the first time, her three-year-old half-brother Chartwell Jock (Churchill) was placed for Andrew Balding, and he has now gone and earned his winning bracket.

Tiptree, who recently foaled a colt by Modern Games (Dubawi), is a half-sister to two stakes winners, Troubadour (Danehill) who won a listed race at the Curragh, and the Listed Qatar Derby winner Roman Legend (Holy Roman Emperor). Their dam, the once-raced Taking Liberties (Royal Academy) is a full-sister to Equal Rights, about whom more anon.

The next two generations of the family are best known for producing high-class performers in New Zealand and Australia. Light Up The Dark’s third dam is Lady Liberty (Noble Bijou) and she won the Group 1 South Australian Oaks four decades ago. Two of her three stakes winners were born after she was imported to Ireland from New Zealand, with her son Equal Rights (Royal Academy) being sent over to Ireland by Peter Chapple-Hyam to win the Group 3 Futurity Stakes for Robert Sangster.

Camelot, who stands for €75,000 this year, has 63 group and listed winners on the flat, a dozen at the highest level. With Light In The Dark’s success, he is sire of a further 14 blacktype winners over jumps, and these successes have been gained in Ireland, Britain, France, the USA and Australia. Another eight have been placed in such races.

Canal End

Kieran McManus, son of J.P., was doing the shopping at the 2021 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale when he spent €62,000 to purchase a son of Walk In The Park (Montjeu) and the Indian Danehill (Danehill) mare Aladiyna. Sold from Evergreen Stud, the gelding had left no profit as he cost €50,000 as a foal, also at Fairyhouse.

In the year of his purchase as a foal, Canal End’s half-brother Jenkins (Azamour), trained by Nicky Henderson, won a Grade 3 handicap hurdle at Ascot, but that proved to be the highlight of his career. He won again afterwards, his sole success over fences, but that was a match race at Stratford, and Jenkins started at the prohibitive odds of 1/25. Canal End has joined Jenkins as the second blacktype winner from Aladiyna, with his first chase victory coming in a competitive listed novice handicap chase at Navan, where he had previously been placed in a listed handicap hurdle.

Named after an area at Croke Park, now known as the Davin Stand, Canal End becomes the 46th blacktype National Hunt winner for his sire, who sired a single stakes winner on the flat.

Bred by Larry and Anne Gleeson, Canal End is out of a mare that Anne purchased as an unraced three-year-old at Goffs from the draft offered by the Aga Khan Studs. The plan was plainly to breed a good flat horse, but as can happen with the Aga Khan families, they prove equally adept at giving up smart performers over jumps. Aladiyna is a very good example.

Seven of Aladiyna’s siblings won, three of whom are worth mentioning. Alayan (Sri Pekan) looked a live classic hope after winning the Group 3 Leopardstown 2000 Guineas Trial. He was born two years before Alarazi (Spectrum), runner-up in the Group 2 Royal Whip Stakes but winner of the Listed Imperial Cup at Sandown Park. They were followed by Alaivan (Kalanisi), a listed flat winner who went on to become a Grade 2-winning hurdler who placed in the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle.

All of these winners are sons of Alaya (Ela-Mana-Mou) who won and placed on both her starts, and her half-brother was the European champion Alamshar (Key Of Luck). His biggest successes were in the Group 1 Irish Derby and Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Siog Geal

British race commentators are having trouble pronouncing Siog Geal, which translates as fairy light, and the six-year-old mare, runner-up in a listed bumper at Cheltenham, graduated to winning a Grade 2 mares’ novices’ hurdle at Newbury. Fergal O’Brien trains the daughter of Malinas (Lomitas) who has run just seven times, finishing first or second on six occasions.

Bred by John Noel McGivney, Siog Geal was sold as a short yearling for €3,250 at Tattersalls Ireland, and next appeared in public when she won a mares maiden at Belharbour in February last year. This was quickly followed by an appearance at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale that same month, and there she realised £80,000. She is worth every penny of that now, and could well add to her Grade 2 win in the future.

The unraced Milan (Sadler’s Wells) mare Seoighe is the dam of Siog Geal, and she was picked up by McGivney for €1,250 as a five-year-old. He sold the mare’s now two-year-old gelding by Affinisea (Sea The Stars) for €24,000 as a foal, and has a yearling filly by the same stallion.

Siog Geal is only the third blacktype winner in four removes of the female family. The Grader 2 winner’s grandam She Runs (Sheyrann) is a half-sister to Troque (Enrique), and he won listed races on the flat and over jumps, the latter coming at Auteuil. The other blacktype winner is Panjo Bere (Robin Des Pres), the Grade 2 Lightning Novice Chase winner at Ascot.

A Group 2 winner in Germany and second in the Group 1 Deutsches Derby, Malinas has for different homes during his career at stud, and was standing at the Cashman’s Glenview Stud when Siog Geal was conceived. His final crop are two-year-olds. His 34 graded and listed winners include just a single runner who was successful in a Grade 1, Master McShee winning the Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick.