LAST weekend Anngrove Stud’s Vendangeur (Galileo) was mentioned in a piece about the unbeaten I Am Max, and the sire has quickly followed up by siring his fourth blacktype winner.

Pinot Rouge, bred by Seamus O’Roarke, won a Dromahane point-to-point in November 2022, but was not seen again for some 440 days.

At the end of January, the now six-year-old was unconsidered for her racecourse debut, in a Newcastle novices’ hurdle, but she was less than two lengths off the winner when running third. Five weeks later and she was thrown in at the deep end, contesting last weekend’s Listed Doncaster Mares’ Novice Hurdle, and the 20/1 shot showed that she mustn’t be ignored in future, beating nine rivals for the £17,000 first prize.

Pinot Rouge has brought life back into a branch of a family that was in something of a hibernation. Her unraced dam Moanbaun Lady (Blueprint) had seven foals, but only three of them were ever named. All three won, the others being bumper and dual chase winner Bushmans Pass (Virtual), and bumper and hurdle winner Advantage Point (Germany). Moanbaun’s half-brother The Piper’s Son (Oscar) won five point-to-points.

After that, we find some very smart runners popping up. Bumper winner Canta Lair (The Parson) is Pinot Rouge’s third dam. She bred three winners, but she is also the third dam of Berties Dream (Golden Tornado). He won the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and four other hurdle races, a chase and 10 point-to-points.

Pinot Rouge’s fourth dam, the point-to-pointer Funicular (Arctic Slave), has spawned a number of quality winners. She produced four winners, and through one of them, the hurdle and chase winner Men’s Fun (Menelek), is ancestress of Broadway Boy (Malinas), a Grade 3 and listed chase winner at Cheltenham. However, it is a once-raced half-sister to Men’s Fun who has left the most lasting legacy.

Galway Plate

Derry Girl (Rarity) bred two Grade 1-winning full-brothers who were both trained by Christy Roche. Bannow Bay (Good Thyne) won nine hurdle races and his principal victory was in the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Fairyhouse where he beat Catch Ball and Limestone Lad. Far From Trouble (Good Thyne) carried the J.P. McManus colours to success in the Galway Plate with Roger Loughran in the plate.

A third Grade 1 performer from Derry Girl was Mighty Moss (Moscow Society), surely one of the unluckiest horses not to win a blacktype race. He won two bumpers, three hurdle races and three chases and was ridden throughout his career by the amateur Fred Hutsby, son of the horse’s owner Ken. His finest hour was at Cheltenham when he ran Istabraq to a length in the Grade 1 Royal Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle. Previously he was also placed in Grade 1 bumpers at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals.

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 at Saint-Cloud, but he was soon racing in top company and 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 was the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay over 15 furlongs at Longchamp’s Arc meeting, beating a good class field in the third fastest time recorded in that race, with Getaway third.

Talented

There have already been several talented jumpers in Ireland and Britain that were sired by Vendangeur. His son Arzal led all the way to win the Grade 1 Manifesto Chase at Aintree by eight lengths, beating L’Ami Serge and the Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Sizing John. Sadly, Arzal died soon after.

I Am Max and the Grade 2 hurdle winner Loughglynn are from the first Irish crop sired by Vendangeur.

Other smart performers include the French listed chase winner Doralou Des Bordes, the Gordon Elliott-trained Barra who was second in the Grade 2 Dawn Run Hurdle at Cheltenham, and the graded-placed hurdler Creation.

A son of the multiple leading sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), Vendangeur comes from an outstanding female family. His dam Vahine never raced but she is dam of six winners, including Three French Hens, whose four wins included a listed race 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. Their dam Virunga (Sodium) was a top class racemare who won the Group 3 Prix de Malleret and was third in the Group 1 Prix de Diane. Virunga is the ancestress of no less than seven Group 1 stars, including Quorto (Dubawi), winner of the Group 1 National Stakes.