THE Wertheimer brothers, Alain and Gérard, are two of France’s wealthiest men, and are the men behind the Chanel brand. They are the third generation of the family to lead Chanel brand, founded in the 1920s by their grandfather.

The siblings are among the most successful owners and breeders in the world, and their main focus is on racing in their native country. This year they have posted a bakers’ dozen of stakes wins there, 10 of them earned with home-breds. On Sunday, they won a ParisLongchamp listed, Group 3 and Group 2 on the same card, and had the first two over the line in the Listed Prix Ridgeway, a race won last year by the subsequent Arc hero, Daryz.

As you might imagine, all three of their wins were with bluebloods. I will start with the Group 2 Prix Paul de Moussac winner Nighttime (Wootton Bassett), whose only copybook blot was to finish a three-length sixth to Rayif in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas. He has won half of his eight starts, and chased Puerto Rico home last October in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardare. Here is a three-year-old colt with a future stallion career already assured.

Nighttime is a half-brother to Group 3 winner Halfday (Lope De Vega); you will see a theme with the names of the best runners in the family. Their dam Daytime (Frankel) is a daughter of six-time Group and Grade 1 winner Midday (Oasis Dream), the best of whose three stakes-winning progeny is the English and Australian Group 3 winner Midterm (Galileo). Midday is a daughter of the stakes-placed Midsummer (Kingmambo).

Nitoi’s Group 3

Ten years ago the brothers Wertheimer spent $2,350,000 at Fasig-Tipton for Lady Zulu (Dynaformer). This was close to double her value as a yearling, and while she was a smart racemare she only won once at two, and was placed in a couple of graded stakes at Churchill Downs. She was sold carrying her first foal, the filly Warzuzu (War Front) who won for her breeders before being sold on.

A colt by Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) followed - and won - before Lady Zulu had her best runner to date, Junko (Intello). He was last seen in November after a season that was winless, but included being denied a Group 1 win in Germany by Rebel’s Romance. The gelding’s eight victories number wins in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase and the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Bayern.

The weekend winner out of Lady Zulu is the four-year-old Nitoi (Siyouni), and it came in the Group 3 La Coupe, a race won most recently by Goliath and Calif. Connections will be hoping that Nitoi can hit the heights they both did and become a Group 1 winner. This was a fourth victory for Nitoi, which includes two listed successes. Lady Zulu is a half-sister to multiple graded winner Optimizer (English Channel) who twice was runner-up at Grade 1 level.

Their dam Indy Pick (A P Indy) is a winning daughter of Grade 1 winner Fantastic Find (Mr Prospector) and she is a half-sister Finder’s Fee (Storm Cat). The latter was one of the best of her generation in the USA where she won the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes and Matron Stakes, both at Belmont. She is third dam of the outstanding Flightline (Tapit).

Overnight success

Victory in the Listed Prix Ridgeway continues a brilliant flat season for Night Of Thunder (Dubawi). Overnight is one of 14 stakes winners this year for the 15-year-old Kildangan Stud sire, and one of these was his third top-level winners of the year who emerged at the weekend, Portfolio Duration. He landed the Grade 1 New York Stallion Stakes at Saratoga.

Overnight is a horse to watch, and it would come as no surprise were he to go on to even reach the levels of last year’s winner of the same race, Daryz. Overnight was winning the same race captured by his half-brother Hamavi (Dubawi), and that five-year-old has recently returned to winning ways after a year and a half off the track. They are out of Baahama (Anabaa).

A listed winner in the Wertheimer colours, Baahama has done well at stud, and four of her seven winners to date have large blacktype. Apart from the two mentioned above, she is dam of two Group 3 winners, Akihiro (Deep Impact) and her full-sister Bartaba. Their half-sister Last Gold (Gold Away) bred Group 3 Blandford Stakes winner and Group 1-placed Lumiere Rock (Saxon Warrior).

The late John Connaughton (left) bred Bay City Roller, with his son Darragh at the 2025 TBA National Awards \ carolinenorris.ie

FOR many years now I have been the master of ceremonies at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association National Awards, and over that time there have been many memorable moments.

For those in attendance, or watching online, there was an encounter I had with an award winner that looked to have all the signs of a likely car crash moment, but turned into an interview that brought guests to their feet. It happened in 2025, and was with John Connaughton. He was unable to get to the stage, so I chose to go to his table and have a chat.

What looked to be a stuttering start had most hoping that I would give up and return to the stage. I didn’t, and we ended up with some wonderful quotes from Johnny. In February in this, Johnny went to his eternal reward. Following his passing, the family said they were indebted to the ITBA for the memories they have, and that was reinforced recently when I met his daughter Liz.

Johnny would have enjoyed watching racing from Epsom when a colt he bred, Bay City Roller (New Bay), enjoyed the best win of his career in a star-studded Group 1 Coolmore Coronation Cup. The now four-year-old won the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at two, and last year had his first win at the highest level when taking the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Bayern.

Now in the silks of Victorious Forever, his five wins have netted €1.1 million in winnings, second only to Bay Bridge among the offspring of New Bay (Dubawi). Bought as a yearling by Clive Washbourn at Goffs for €320,000, Bay City Roller was undoubtedly a profitable sale when Clive parted with him after his debut win. The colt’s present owners have no reason to regret their purchase. This is yet another win at the highest level for a horse descending from Bay City Roller’s third dam, Rahaam (Secreto). The third and best foal out of Bloomfield (Teofilo), named after the family’s hotel near Mullingar, Bay City Roller is a half-brother to stakes-placed Botanical (Lope De Vega), and her multiple-placed full-sister Bloom Vega.

Goffs sales

Bloomfield’s three-year-old daughter Blooming Rose (Blue Point) sold for €850,000 at Goffs, and her year-younger full-brother Rogue River (Blue Point) was one of a number of high-profile purchases by John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock at Goffs last year, costing €675,000. Bloomfield died after foaling that colt.

A three-year-old maiden winner on her debut at the Curragh, Bloomfield was runner-up on her only other starts that year, a listed Oaks trial at Naas and the Group 3 Munster Oaks in Cork. Connaughton chose to race on at four, and Bloomfield won listed races at Cork and Gowran Park, before finishing second again in a Group 3. She only raced eight times.

The Connaughton connection with this family started with a purchase by Johnny’s great friend, Ted Naughton, at the Tattersalls December Sale in 2002. He spent 58,000gns on the unraced Ramona (Desert King), a half-sister to Group 2 King’s Stand Stakes winner Cassandra Go (Indian Ridge) and the Group 3 Coventry Stakes winner and Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up Verglas (Highest Honor). Look what Cassandra Go alone has done since.