DOYEN is among the few, a horse who sired winners at the highest level on the flat and over jumps. The son of Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) won the Group 1 King George Vi and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, one of five victories, and the now 22-year-old holds court at Michael and Sheelagh Hickey’s Sunnyhill Stud outside Kilcullen.

The German Oaks winner Turfdonna is the best of his 18 stakes winners on the flat, while Beacon Edge and Battleoverdoyen head his list of National Hunt winners of note. Doyen got the last winner of Cheltenham 2022 when Banbridge won the tough Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle. Bred by Dan McSorley, the six-year-old failed to win a point-to-point but has been a different dish on the racecourse, winning a bumper and four hurdle races,

Yet another Cheltenham Festival winner sourced by Ian Ferguson, Banbridge cost €36,000 as a yearling at Tattersalls Ireland. He is the first winner for his Presenting (Mtoto) dam whose winning siblings include the Midlands Grand National runner-up Major Malarkey (Supreme Leader).

The third dam of Banbridge is the winning pointer Pineway VII (General Ironside) and she bred the multiple Grade 2 winning hurdler and chaser Valley Henry (Step Together).