WHEN Maisy Daisy, a daughter of Luso (Salse), won on her debut in a Limerick bumper, she did so in a decisive manner, and looked a bit above average.

This must have been exciting for her owner Brian Walsh, he of Silver Birch fame, and the investment of €56,000 made in her at the Goffs Land Dover Sale looked like it might pay off. Even if she did no more than win, she was from a rich female family, and her stud value was guaranteed.

Sadly, and despite persevering with her and even sending her to race in England, where she placed over hurdles, Maisy Daisy did not add to her record.

Brian took her home to his stud farm between Clane and Kilcock where, over a decade, she has had just five foals. From the first four she’s had two who raced, and one of the others was never named, having suffered a broken shoulder in training. Her first offspring was Cloudy Day (Dubai Destination), sold for a paltry €1,600 as a foal, but she won three point-to-points and was placed a number of times over fences. Her first offspring is a yearling colt by Galileo Chrome (Australia).

Showing ability

After the non-runner Common Law (Beneficial), who was showing ability before suffering a career-ending injury, along came a pair of sons by Court Cave (Sadler’s Wells). Brian sold both as foals, getting €13,000 and €18,000. While the first was never named, the second is Meetingofthewaters, and he was pinhooked, at a loss, by Mount Eaton Stud. However, his upbringing stood to him and he won a point-to-point and a hurdle race for Eugene O’Sullivan before finding his way to Willie Mullins.

Now, after four starts and carrying the colours of Paul Byrne, he has won twice, netting a pot of €110,000 for landing the Listed Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown. That injection of blacktype has been a boon to Brian Walsh, who still has the winner’s three-year-old half-sister by Elusive Pimpernel (Elusive Quality). He tells me that their dam, Maisy Daisy, is in good health and will be covered again in the spring.

Good old Court Cave is having a purple patch with his runners, and in the last two weeks or so has had six individual winners, including Tuckmill and Another Ocana in Ireland, while Follow Charlie, Court In The Act and Court At Ship got their heads in front in Britain.

John Flood in Boardsmill Stud tells me that he and his father William went to Ferrans Stud to look at Court Cave the week after Christmas in 2003. The sire, whose fee for 2024 is €4,000, is hale and hearty as he turned 23 on January 1st.

Consistent source

An unraced own-brother to Beat Hollow (Sadler’s Wells), Court Cave has been a consistent source of winners at stud, and two of his sons, City Island and Willoughby Court, won the Grade 1 Neptune Investment Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. His Grade 2 winners consist of Call Me Lyreen, Champion Court, Court Maid, Court Minstrel, Hurricane Georgie and Mister Whitaker, while he also sired three Grade 3 winners and a trio of listed winners over jumps.

Brian Walsh has enjoyed lots of success with the Boardsmill stallions, and other winners he bred include Pay The Piper, a son of Court Cave who won his bumper, three hurdle races and three chases, and was blacktype-placed.

Pim’s delight with emerging star for Vendangeur

ALASTAIR Pim has every reason to be delighted with the racing results over the festive period. His stallion Vendangeur (Galileo) looks to have a very smart runner from his first Irish crop in Loughglynn.

Already sire of the Grade 1 Aintree chase winner Arzal among his small French crops, he looks like he has another on the way, with Loughglynn being spoken of as a real hope for the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival. This comes on the back of his second win in two hurdling starts when he landed the Grade 2 novice hurdle at Limerick. Faugheen, Martello Tower, Penhill and Fury Road all won this race in the past decade.

Loughglynn twice sold at Tattersalls Ireland, bought by Timmy Hillman of Castledillon Stud as a foal for €30,000, and by Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins at the Derby Sale.

After winning his bumper at Naas he contested the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper last March and was a respectable ninth behind A Dream To Share. He is a horse going places, and he has the pedigree to match.

Bred by James Luttrell, Loughglynn is the first foal and only runner to date for the unplaced Thessalienne, a daughter of leading sire Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal). He is followed by his five-year-old full-sister Think It Through (Vendangeur), the four-year-old Lets Mingle (Walk In The Park), a three-year-old son of Poet’s Word (Poet’s Voice), and a yearling colt by Santiago (Authorized) who realised €22,000 in November.

Thessalienne is a half-sister to Shakervilz (Villez), winner of a Grade 2 hurdle race and chase, both at Navan, for Willie Mullins, and he was placed in the Grade 1 Powers Gold Cup.

Shakervilz is one of three winners out of the four-time winner Zamsara (Zino) and she has two blacktype-winning siblings. Prodiger (Nikos) won a listed race on the flat before adding three listed hurdle victories at Auteuil, a number of them notable successes, while Proscope (Nikos) also won a listed hurdle race at the venue.

High-class

Bred and raced by the Wildenstein family and trained by Elie Lellouche, Vendangeur was a high-class stayer who scored in a Group 2 event at Longchamp and was placed in three other blacktype races. He raced only as a three-year-old when he was never out of the money in seven starts. His first win came in the Prix Bend Or at Saint-Cloud, but he was soon racing in top company and he was second in both the Listed Prix Pelleas at Chantilly and the Listed Prix de Reux at Deauville.

In the Group 3 Prix de Lutece at Longchamp he was second to Getaway, but his finest hour came in the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay over 15 furlongs at Longchamp’s Arc meeting, when he beat a good-class field in the third fastest time recorded in that race, with Getaway third.

Among his French crops, his son Arzal led all the way to win the Grade 1 Manifesto Chase at the Grand National meeting by eight lengths, beating L’Ami Serge and the Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Sizing John. Gordon Elliott with Barra, and Willie Mullins with Chateau Conti also enjoyed early success with those crops, and the latter has remained loyal to the sire.

Ninth season

A son of the multiple leading sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), Vendangeur is about to embark on his ninth season at stud in Ireland. He comes from an outstanding female family. His dam Vahine (Alysheba) never raced but she is dam of six winners, including Three French Hens (Elnadim), whose four wins included the Listed Dallmayr Coupe Lukull in Munich.

Vahine was a half-sister to Vin De France (Foolish Pleasure), winner of the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, and also Vacarme (Lyphard) who won the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury and became quite successful as a stallion. Another sibling was the smart hurdler Video Tape (Cannonade).

Their dam Virunga (Sodium) was a high-class racemare who won the Group 3 Prix de Malleret, was runner-up in both the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Saint-Alary, and was third in the Group 1 Prix de Diane. Virunga is the ancestress of no less than eight Group or Grade 1 stars on the flat.