JUST under nine months after the first of his offspring made their initial appearance in the point-to-point fields, Affinisea enjoyed a notable four-year-old maiden double at Lingstown on Sunday.

The Whytemount Stud resident sired his third four-year-old mares’ maiden winner of the calendar year when Only By Night took the opening race at the Wexford venue for the Gary Murphy stable, who had incidentally produced the first winner between the flags by Affinisea when he saddled Affordale Fury to win on debut at Ballycahane in March.

That bay has since won a bumper and maiden hurdle at Galway and was in front when coming down at the last in the Grade 3 Monksfield Novices’ Hurdle at Navan on the same afternoon that Murphy saddled his latest four-year-old winner.

That was followed by the impressive debut success of Donnchadh Doyle’s Brook Bay in the first division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Lingstown, and he is a horse who will likely feature to the fore on many bloodstock agents lists when he comes up for sale at this afternoon’s Goffs UK Tingle Creek sale.

That Lingstown brace brings to six in all the number of four-year-old maidens won by Affinisea’s progeny this year from his first crop, and notably they have come from horses whose dams had not set the world alight in their own racing careers.

Of the six winners, five of their dams had previously raced themselves, one of which won a pair of point-to-points, a second won once over hurdles to achieve a peak mark of 105, whilst the other trio remained maidens when they retired from racing. The early racing evidence certainly bodes well for his upcoming crops.

In all 20 different stallions have been responsible for at least one four-year-old maiden winner already this term, with the trio of Court Cave, Flemensifrth and Walk In The Park leading the way on four winners apiece within the age division.

The last-mentioned also shares top spot in the overall stallion winners list for the season on seven winners tied with fellow Grange Stud resident Getaway.

Quite a feat

While Getaway has already been crowned champion point-to-point sire in 2019, it would be quite a feat if Walk In The Park was able to maintain his position at the top of the table by the season’s end, given that his first Irish crop are only five-year-olds, with few older horses competing in open and winners races which can prove key in swinging the champion point-to-point sire title one way or another in the spring.

But with his last two four-year-old maiden winners, Bioluminescence and Flash In The Park, having both won their respective races by 20-length margins, his youngsters are making quite the impression at present.