“THERE’S no such thing as a French horse.”

So says Gerry Aherne of Coolmore Stud, who is still buzzing following the remarkable success of The Mighty Celt in the first three-year-old hurdle of the year at Auteuil last Saturday.

Trained in France by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, and owned by Mrs Sue Magnier, The Mighty Celt is an Irish-bred son of Walk In The Park who was bought by Aherne as a weanling at the Goffs February Sale for €56,000.

Still a colt, he was broken and pre-trained by point-to-point handler Damian Murphy in Mallow before being sent to France last October.

Last Saturday’s race at Auteuil has a reputation for producing top-class horses and, adding further intrigue to the contest, this year’s edition also featured a fancied French-bred runner sent over by Willie Mullins.

In the event, none of the 13 French-bred runners could live with The Mighty Celt, who won by a comfortable four lengths. He will now be aimed at a Grade 1 race in the autumn which has been won in the past by Long Run and the stallions Jigme and Nirvana Du Berlais.

Aherne says it is possible that The Mighty Celt, still an entire, could have a future at stud himself.

“It’s been extraordinary, the reaction to it,” Aherne told The Irish Field on Thursday. “It’s a real talking point with Irish breeders, and French breeders. This proves we can compete with the French if we adopt their system of breaking in National Hunt horses earlier and putting on races for them as three-year-olds.”

Bred by Martin O’Sullivan, The Mighty Celt is one of four three-year-old Walk In The Park colts Coolmore has in training with George and Zetterholm. Another, named Wild Bill Hickok, has already won first time out in Compiegne. A third named Joly Swagman is due to run soon and the fourth, out of Grade 1 winner Shattered Love, is said to be going very well in schooling.

Pre-trained here

“We sent them over to France last October,” Aherne explained. “Damian pre-trained a few for us, as did Ciaran Murphy in Mullingar. The only reason they went to France is because we don’t have the races here. But this shows that it can be done. We have the horses, we have the trainers. We have all the ingredients.

“The standard of National Hunt stallion we have in Ireland is incredible. Horses like Luxembourg and Hurricane Lane, who were at their peak as three-year-olds, are ready-made for this programme. Coolmore outbid a French farm to get Hurricane Lane in what was a multi-million euro deal.”

Aherne says the French juvenile hurdles plan was hatched by John Magnier. “He is the most forward-thinking man in the business and he was finding it difficult to believe that stores and young racehorses sourced in France, and by relatively unknown sires, could be better than Irish-bred horses by top-class stallions.”

Incredibly, on what was a prestigious day in the Auteuil calendar, there were two more winners sired by Coolmore National Hunt stallions in Crystal Ocean and Maxios. The Maxios winner was a three-year-old filly named Manlaga, who was bred in Ireland by George Clohessy and sold for €35,000 as a foal at Goffs. She has now been bought privately by J.P. McManus for a rumoured €400,000 and will be trained by Nicky Henderson.

Crystal Ocean’s winner, Saint Crystal, won a four-year-old listed hurdle race by seven lengths.

“Our French agent says the results have caused a real ripple with breeders over there,” Aherne reported. “Maybe the French will start buying more Irish National Hunt foals. Our stallions are way above the French standard. We have brought down the fees, so the value is there, and the stallion is next door to you.

“All that has to change here is the timing of breaking in and training these horses. Some people will be resistant to that and the culture won’t change overnight. But we think a different system will help breeders and owners. They will all find out earlier how good their horses are.”