THERE were an anxious few minutes for William Flood at Galway on Sunday, waiting to see if his homebred debutante Alliteration (Poet’s Word) would keep the concluding nine-runner bumper.

The race has been won in the past decade by some smart fillies, including Grade 2 bumper winner Grangee, Grade 3 bumper winner The Model Kingdom, graded-placed hurdler Global Equity, and Jelan. While the latter’s sole success came in this race, she is making her mark at stud as the dam of this year’s Grade 2 hurdle winner Jetara.

Hopefully Alliteration will go on to better things on the racecourse, while she has a wonderful dam line to make her a valuable breeding prospect.

Boardsmill Stud’s William Flood was inducted into the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Hall of Fame in 2023, and this accolade was truly well-deserved. Few people have made a contribution on the scale that he has to both racing and breeding, and he continues to do so. At the time of his award, I wrote that “he has done more for National Hunt breeding and racing than most, and still had time to develop his family’s Boardsmill into one of the best independent stud farms.”

I highlighted his work for the National Hunt Fillies’ Scheme, which was driven by him in his role as chairman of the ITBA’s National Hunt Committee, and followed his success in increasing the fillies’ race allowance to seven pounds. He still serves as chairman of that committee today. As a member of Horse Racing Ireland’s programmes’ committee for years, his contribution to the National Hunt calendar has been without equal.

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For this reason alone, I would love to see Alliteration, trained by Philip Demspey, go on to win some of the races that William has been instrumental in getting on to the National Hunt programme. The filly is also acting as yet another advertisement for Poet’s Word (Poet’s Voice), the current Boardsmill flagbearer under the stewardship of William and his son John. They continue a tradition started by William’s father Jack 90 years ago this year.

Alliteration is from the first Irish-conceived crop by Poet’s Word, and if the progeny by the sire live up to how his trainer Sir Michael Stoute described him, they will do well. Stoute said of Poet’s Word that he was a “very consistent, brave horse” after he won the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Group 1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in a five-week period, beating Cracksman and Crystal Ocean respectively.

Boardsmill benefit

Poet’s Word retired to Nunnery Stud for a season (that crop is just five), but flat breeders did not support him in good enough numbers, something that was to benefit Boardsmill who could then get him for stud duties. He has made an impressive start, his first runner over hurdles, Pacini, winning at Fairyhouse and being Grade 2-placed. Poetic Sound won twice at three last year, and this year was two lengths behind Kyprios in third in a listed race at Navan.

In every sphere Poet’s Word’s produce are making waves; point-to-point handlers are delighted with their winners, flat performers include multiple winners Lady Of Arabia (six wins), One Of Our Own (five) and Zabbie (four), while Alliteration joins Poetisa and Babs, debut winners in bumpers at Cheltenham and Stratford this year, as horses to watch for this season.

Alliteration is from a family that has been delivering for William for some four decades. It is also associated with another great name from the past, Tom Nicholson. Alliteration’s fourth dam was the great Lady Artist II (Artist’s Son). That mare was born in 1954, won on the level as a five-year-old, and went on to have 14 foals, all of which made it to the races, something highly unusual for the time. A dozen of them won on the track, while another did so between the flags. What an amazing achievement.

People of a certain age, this writer included, will remember Bigaroon (Bowsprit), three-time winner of the Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh despite having plenty of issues. His half-brother Artifice (Master Owen) won 21 races, including the Grade 2 Black & White Gold Cup at Ascot, and he placed twice in the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase.

A bargain

Back to Alliteration’s more immediate family. Ciaran Murphy’s Charlestown Racing might well have secured themselves a bargain at this year’s Goffs Arkle Sale, paying €27,000 for a three-year-old daughter of Court Cave (Sadler’s Wells). That filly is a half-sister to Alliteration and they are the first two offspring of Caravation (Presenting). She, like her daughter, was trained for William Flood by Philip Dempsey, and was the ideal racemare for her owner-breeder.

Caravation won her only point-to-point, won a bumper and was listed-placed, twice won over hurdles and ran Relegate to half a length in a maiden, and also won over fences. Had she been racing now, she would have won three big bonuses for Flood. William bred seven winners from a winning daughter of Lady Artist II, Last Princess (Le Prince), the best of which was Strath Royal Furry Glen). He won 20 of his 57 starts, notably the Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase.

Finally, Alliteration is the granddaughter of Juresse (Jurado), a hurdle winner whose best runner was Caravation’s full-brother, Niche Market (Presenting). A point-to-point winner, he won twice on the track, the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse and the Listed Silver Cup Chase at Ascot.