THE Galway Plate winner Early Doors, also successful over hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival, and the ill-fated Grade 1 juvenile hurdle winner Mega Fortune have been two of the flagbearers to date for the Group 1 Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune (Galileo), but maybe his best is yet to come.

On Easter Monday, Soldier Of Fortune’s seven-year-old son Soldier In Milan ran away with the Irish Grand National on just his fifth start over fences, and given the ease with which he won this iconic contest, owner Paul Byrne and trainer Emmet Mullins will have a lot to consider in the future.

While the trainer’s immediate reaction was to suggest this was a step on the path to a challenge in 2027 for the £1 million Randox Grand National, many observers feel that he should be given an opportunity to seek possible Gold Cup glory at Cheltenham.

Bred by Ger Coleman, Soldier Of Fortune was twice sold at Tattersalls Ireland, as a foal for €26,000 to Tom Hore of Mount Eaton Stud, and at the Derby Sale to Monbeg Stables for €68,000. He made his sole start between the flags at Monksgrange in a five-year-old maiden, easily accounting for the field by 16 lengths and more after being saddled by Cormac Doyle. It was 13 months before he was seen in public again, when he readily beat the recent Cheltenham Grade 1 winner King Rasko Grey on his sole bumper start.

That was at last year’s Punchestown Festival and trainer Mullins, who called him “a big unit”, was thrilled with his performance, and predicted a bright future. No better tactician when it comes to preparing a horse for a specific race, in cahoots with the gelding’s shrewd owner, Mullins and Byrne had the Fairyhouse feature as a target for Soldier In Milan, and how well they executed the plan.

Needing four runs to qualify to start, Soldier In Milan pulled up at Leopardstown at Christmas, was fourth in a blanket finish to a beginners chase at Gowran Park, won at Punchestown in mid-February and was fourth in a Grade 3 at Thurles, with the weekend’s Grade 1 winner Fleur In The Park a long way back in fifth. The plan to peak at Fairyhouse was achieved, and plenty knew of it as Soldier In Milan was eventually despatched as favourite.

Time In Milan

A full-brother to Royal Soldier (Soldier Of Fortune), a winner over hurdles at Gowran Park last month and a faller at the last when in the lead at the weekend in Fairyhouse, Soldier In Milan is the best of four winners produced by the unraced Time In Milan (Milan). Their older half-sister Time To Rocco (Shirocco) won once between the flags, in a bumper, over hurdles and over fences, and she has some blacktype, thanks to being a well-beaten third of four runners in a listed chase at Wexford.

Time In Milan had four winning siblings, all of them sired by Oscar (Sadler’s Wells). The headline act among that quartet was Oscar Time, and 16 years ago he ran second in the Irish Grand National to Bluesea Cracker. A year later, he took the well-worn route of contesting the Aintree Grand National, and finished just over two lengths behind the winner Ballabriggs in second place. In 2013, he got around again and finished an honourable fourth, his final start in the care of Martin Lynch.

Robert Waley-Cohen then took him point-to-pointing ad hunter chasing, successfully, and in the month before he was due to turn 14, Oscar Time won the Grade 3 Becher Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree. He ran in the Grand National for a third time, the oldest runner in the race, and completed the course, finishing fifteenth of the 19 who got round.

Golden Friend

Oscar Time’s dam was an unraced daughter of Phenic (Menelek), a listed stayers hurdle winner. A graduate of the point-to-point sphere where she was successful, she won nine times over hurdles and fences, her successes over the bigger obstacles outnumbering her hurdle wins by one. Phenic was two years older than her half-brother Golden Friend (Deep Run), a Grade 3 chase winner who was a smart performer, running second in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and third in the King George VI Chase at Kempton.

Golden Friend was a great favourite during his career, winning two bumpers, the same number of hurdle races, but he was in the winners’ enclosure 16 times after landing chase wins. Phenic was also an own-sister to Big Brown Bear (Menelek). He won three chases and placed in the Grade 2 Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park.

The globetrotting Soldier Of Fortune, bred by Jim Bolger, was a nine-length winner of the Irish Derby in 2007, and went on to become a very successful sire in South America, as he shuttled from his base at Haras du Logis Saint Germain where he stood before joining the ranks at The Beeches Stud. On a number of occasions he was the busiest stallion standing in Ireland or Britain.

Racing in Ireland as a two-year-old and trained by Aidan O’Brien, Soldier Of Fortune won at Navan and was second in his other two starts, namely the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud and suffering a short-head defeat on his debut. He started the next season by scoring in the Group 2 Prix Noailles at Longchamp from Spirit One, later a Grade 1 winner in the USA. He followed this by carrying top weight to victory in the Group 3 Chester Vase. Those wins made him one of Aidan O’Brien’s team for the Group 1 Epsom Derby and he was fifth to the impressive winner Authorized.

Irish Derby

The next outing for Soldier of Fortune was the Irish Derby at the Curragh and he really appreciated the soft ground that day, drawing steadily away from his stablemates to win by an astonishing nine lengths. In September he returned to Longchamp to win the Group 2 Prix Niel by a length and a half, setting a new record time for the race, and he ended the season with a close fifth to Dylan Thomas in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, just over two lengths off the winner, with Authorized further back.

Making his reappearance at four in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom, Soldier Of Fortune won by three-parts of a length from Youmzain. However, Youmzain took revenge by half a length in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and then they finished second and third in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, beaten by the brilliant Zarkava. Soldier Of Fortune ended his career running fourth to Conduit in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, taking his earnings to £1,341,073.

Ger Coleman and his wife Fidelma farm in Clonpriest, outside Youghal, and breed from a small band of mares. In addition to Soldier In Milan, Ger also bred Oscar Time, and raced Time To Rocco, trained by Colin Motherway, a family relation. Another family relative, Edmund Coleman, bred Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Lord Windermere.