THREE of the five Irish-trained winners on the opening day were bred in France. Their winning streak started with El Fabiolo in the Grade 1 Arkle Novices Chase.

By the sire of Grade 1-winning hurdler Laurina, El Fabiolo is his sire’s second winner at that level, previously successful in the Grade 1 Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase. The six-year-old’s sire, the Group 1 winning Spanish Moon (El Prado), is a grandson of Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer). The 19-year-old Spanish Moon stands at Haras d’Annebault and this year his fee is €5,000.

Bred by Francis Dunn, El Fabiolo failed to sell when offered as a two-year-old at the Arqana Autumn Sale in 2019. On his second start he tackled the Listed Prix Finot Hurdle at Auteuil, and he finished third. Nearly 17 months later he won a maiden hurdle at Tramore on New Year’s Day, 2022. Bypassing Cheltenham, he went to Aintree for the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle, going down by just a neck to Jonbon. He then won at Punchestown, and is now three for three over fences.

Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal) is the damsire of El Fabiolo. The latter’s winning dam Sainte Mante has the distinction of producing three winners to date, and all are blacktype winners. The first to do so was Cross In Hand (Silver Cross), followed by his full-brother Tommy Silver (Silver Cross), a listed hurdle winner for Paul Nicholls and a partnership that included Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mention of Saint Des Saints brings us to the concluding winner on the first day of this year’s Festival, that sire’s son Gaillard Du Mesnil. He added the Grade 2 National Hunt Chase to an already smart résumé. Now winner of £380,000, the Ecurie Cerdeval-bred Gaillard Du Mesnil started to make inroads into his €250,000 Arqana sale price when he won the Grade 1 Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2021. He then went to Punchestown where he added the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle.

Gaillard Du Mesnil won his first chase at Christmas when successful in the Grade 1 Fort Leney Novice Chase, though he has been placed in the Drinmore Chase, at the Cheltenham Festival, and in the Irish Grand National.

This is a family that Willie Mullins knows as he trained Gaillard Du Mesnil’s dam’s half-sister Calie Du Mesnil (Kapgarde) to win over hurdles and finish second in the Grade B William Fry Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Bred by the Magnien family, Jazzy Matty (Doctor Dino) won the Grade 3 Fred Winter Hurdle, and this was the first leg of a double for the four-year-old’s dam Robbe (Video Rock), Twenty-four hours later that mare’s son Delta Work (Network) also won. Jazzy Matty is a €130,000 graduate of the 2021 Arqana Autumn Sale.