BEAUPORT gave jockey Jordan Nailor a landmark success at Sandown a few years ago when the 28/1 shot , trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, won the Grade 3 European Breeders’ Fund Paddy Power ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Final, sporting the Grand National-winning colours of Bryan and Philippa Burrough associated with Corbiere.

It was the then 22-year-old rider’s first winner at Sandown and first graded or listed winner. Beauport has been good to Nailor and at the weekend they combined for the biggest win of both the horse’s and jockey’s career, taking home the bet365 Midlands Grand National Handicap Chase after defeating the Willie Mullins-trained challenger, Mr Incredible.

Now the winner of five of his 19 starts and out of the first four on just four occasions, Beauport is a son of the Boardsmill Stud stallion Califet (Freedom Cry). He was bred in Ireland by the Wiltshire-based Byerley Stud Ltd out of the unraced Byerley Beauty, a daughter of Brian Boru (Sadler’s Wells). Sold as a foal for €28,000 at Tattersalls Ireland to Gatterstown Stud, he more than doubled in value at the Derby Sale in 2019 when purchased by Gerry Hogan for €60,000.

Beauport is the first foal of his dam, followed immediately by this year’s chase winner Divine Inspiration (Malinas), the only finisher when he won his point-to-point two years ago. Last year, Byerley Beauty’s third produce, Pride Rock (Westerner), was runner-up over hurdles, the only glimpse of ability he has shown in five starts, while waiting in the wings is the unraced Changeyourstars (Shirocco).

A bargain

Byerley Beauty is a daughter of I Can Imagine (Husyan), a bargain buy who graduated from the point-to-point field where she was successful and won four chases. Bred in Galway by Michael Clancy and Esther Feeney, I Can Imagine gained her biggest success when she beat The Bunny Boiler to land the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown, while her placed efforts included chasing Hedgehunter home in the Grade 3 Grand National Trial at Punchestown.

I Can Imagine only travelled once out of Ireland, Robert Tyner sending her to Cheltenham for the Kim Muir Chase with Davy Russell in the plate, but that outing ended when the pair parted company. At stud I Can Imagine, who was the first winner of note in her family for a couple of generations, did well with three multiple winners, two of them mares, and through her daughters she is starting to form her own dynasty.

One of her daughters is Byerley Babe (Beneficial), and she carried the JP McManus colours when trained, like her dam, by Robert Tyner. A winning graduate also of the point-to-point sphere, she enjoyed a pair of blacktype successes, over hurdles and in a Grade 2 chase at Thurles, and she was runner-up to Foxrock at Leopardstown in the Grade A BoyleSports Chase. She is now at stud and responsible last year for the Grade 2 Navan novice chase winner Better Times Ahead (Walk In The Park).

Consistent sire

Califet died in 2021 and this Group 2 French winner was a consistent sire of quality runners, and to date he has been responsible for 27 blacktype winners. He made a flying start at stud and his first crop alone produced five horses who won at least one blacktype race. Little wonder that William Flood brought him from France to Trim in time for the 2014 season. Meanwhile the winners kept coming, and he was siring high-class winners over hurdles and fences, and outside France too.

In France his undoubted stars have been Blue Dragon, a dual Grade 1 hurdle winner, and Carriacou. The latter was a dual Grade 1-winning chaser, but most noteworthy was that they included the Grand Steeplechase de Paris.

Outside France, the late Califet has three winners at the highest level to date, the juvenile hurdler Adrien Du Pont, novice hurdler Cilaos Emery, and Clarcam, successful in a pair of Grade 1 novice chases and also winner of the Galway Plate.

Just wait until Castle Ivers eventually goes chasing

NOEL and Valerie Moran’s Bective Stud, managed by Michael Lynam, endured a frustrating Cheltenham when they kept hitting the crossbar without scoring, but they left with the winner of the concluding race at the Festival.

That winning feeling continued this week when their five-year-old Malinas (Lomitas) gelding Castle Ivers won a Wetherby bumper by an impressive seven lengths, carrying a penalty. He has now won two of his three starts for Bective Stud, and while trainer Olly Murphy will consider Aintree or Ayr for him, he says that the horse will be one for next season. Looking at his pedigree, it would be a safe bet that he will be at his best when facing a fence.

The J and J Lawlor-bred gelding sold as a foal for €21,000, realised a disappointing €25,000 at the Derby Sale, but having won a point-to-point on his only start between the flags, he was sold on by Tom Keating for £95,000 at the Goffs UK Spring Sale last year, Olly Murphy signing for him. Murphy was previously with Gordon Elliott, the Moran’s principal trainer.

Castle Ivers is a third racecourse winner for the unraced Made Easy (Rudimentary), though she is also responsible for another who won a point-to-point. The others include Max Ward (Milan), twice successful over hurdles and again over fences, but he was a long way behind the winner Altior when third of four in the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown. Should Castle Ivers go on to become a blacktype winner, it would be most appropriate as every generation of this female line gets at least one good winner. Made Easy is a half-sister to Made In Taipan (Taipan), the Grade 2 Flyingbolt Novice Chase winner at Navan who was just short of class to be a Grade 1 winner, though he did manage to gain a few places at that level in Aintree and at Punchestown.

Star Of Inch

Skip back a couple of generations to Castle Ivers’ fourth dam. She was Star Of Inch (Arctic Star), an own-sister to Arcticeelagh (Arctic Star) whose victory in the Beresford Stakes at two was enough to earn him the accolade of champion two-year-old in Ireland in 1957. When he retired to stud a few years later, and where he enjoyed success principally as a National Hunt sire, he had won seven times on the flat and twice over jumps.

Star Of Inch was well tried, but only managed a third-place finish in a six-runner maiden over a mile and five furlongs at Bellewstown as a three-year-old. Years later, as a 10-year-old in 1967, she appeared at the Goffs sales in Ballsbridge and was purchased for 230gns by Vincent Byrne from Kilmore, Co Wexford. It took a private sale to acquire her and at that time she had yet to produce a winner or placed horse from four foals of racing age.

Her fortune changed with the change of ownership, and after her move to Wexford the winners started to come. Five of Star Of Inch’s offspring won races, while three of her daughters bred National Hunt blacktype winners. Her first foal, the unplaced Bally Star (Ballyogan), bred the listed hurdle winner Eggnog (Hot Brandy) who finished second in the 1980 Irish Grand National as a novice.

Righthand Boy

Her second filly, Gleann Buidhe (Pampered King), won a couple of hurdle races, and the best of her progeny was the high-class Righthand Boy (Proverb), winner of the Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase, the 1984 Grade 3 Welsh Grand National and runner-up in the 1985 Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grade 3 Scottish Grand National. At Cheltenham he chased home Forgive ‘N’ Forget.

The last foal from Star Of Inch was Saltee Star (Arapaho), born when she was 22 years of age. She is the third dam of Castle Ivers. Retained for breeding purposes, Saltee Star continued the family tradition of breeding a good one, her best being the Grade 2 winning chaser On The Other Hand (Proverb). His biggest success was gained in the Arkle Chase at Leopardstown for John Mulhern.

Two of Saltee Star’s daughters have produced graded winners, while another is the grandam of one. No Easy Way (Mandalus) is the dam of Made In Taipan (Taipan), Righthand Lady (Buckskin) is grandam of the Grade 2 hurdle and chase winning mare Westerner Lady (Westerner), while Telstar (Montelimar) is dam of the Grade 3 Scottish Grand National winner, Win My Wings (Gold Well).