THERE will be no shortage of honours at the year’s end for all connected with Marine Nationale, as the son of French Navy (Shamardal) ended his season by adding the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase to his success in the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.

In a dozen starts now, Marine Nationale has won eight and been placed three times, won twice at the Cheltenham Festival, and his victory this week was his fourth in a Grade 1. The eight-year-old is a credit to Barry Connell and his team.

With so many top-level wins under his belt, readers will be well versed in his pedigree. For now, a brief summary will have to suffice.

Bred near Cashel by John B O’Connor, Marine Nationale is a son of the former Kildangan Stud, now Indian-based French Navy, and the Champion Chase winner is his sole blacktype winner over jumps. He is out of a mare, Power Of Future (Definite Article), who was once trained by Sir Henry Cecil and raced by O’Connor. She won three times and Marine Nationale is the last of her five foals, one of which was never named. The others all ran and won.

A winning half-sister to Power Of Future, Power Again (Dashing Blade) is the dam of Draycott Place (Oscar), and this winning point-to-pointer went on to become a Grade 2 winner of 10 races over jumps, all but two of them over fences.

Marine Nationale’s grandam Pik Konigin (Konigsstuhl) is a winning own-sister to the Group 1 German Derby winner Pik Konig. Their dam Pikante (Surumu) earned blacktype when she won the Dujardin Steeplechase at Krefeld, an unusual route given she was born just a year before her Group 1 German Derby-winning half-brother, Philipo (Prince Ippi).

Champ Kiely

Two of the three Grade 1 contests on day one of Punchestown were captured by Irish-bred geldings. Champ Kiely was the least-fancied of the five Willie Mullins runners in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase, but crossing the line he had more than six lengths to spare over Ballyburn.

This Grade 1 victory can now be added to a previous one over hurdles, gained when the nine-year-old son of Ocovango (Monsun) won the Lawlor’s of Naas Slaney Novice Hurdle, carrying the colours of Margaret Masterson. Even then he was not the stable’s first choice! Champ Kiely unseated his rider on his only start in a point-to-point, won his bumper on his first outing from Closutton, and has now won three times each over hurdles and fences.

Breeder Ian Dullea sold Champ Kiely, through Cyril O’Hara’s Ennel Bloodstock, for €5,800 as a short yearling at the Tattersalls Ireland February Sale to Michael Murray. He is the second winner from his dam Cregg So (Moscow Society), and she had the rather dubious distinction of failing to finish on any of her four starts in point-to-points. The other winner she bred was Moscowsowhat (Definite Article), owned and trained by James Dullea to land a chase at Tramore.

This is a family that traces back to Champ Kiely’s fourth dam Highly Acceptable (Immortality). She bred the listed hurdle winner Glassilaun (Prince Hansel) who was second in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham. That was laudable, but through a number of her daughters she is ancestress of at least 16 blacktype winners. They include the many-times Punchestown Grade 1 winner Native Upmanship (Be My Native) and the Randox Grand National hero Corach Rambler (Jeremy).

It is interesting that Ocovango, who stands at Alne Park Stud, has just four blacktype winners, and all come from his first crop. All are very familiar names, with the other trio being dual Cheltenham Festival winner Langar Dan, the Galway Plate winner Pinkerton, and the Midlands Grand National winner Mr Vango.

THE future looks very bright for the Willie Mullins-trained, J.P. McManus-owned Irancy, bred by Guy Cherel in France. The seven-year-old is a son of Saddex (Sadler’s Wells), and out of a listed-placed chaser in Nassora, a daughter of Assessor (Niniski).

Mullins saddled four of the six starters for the Grade 1 KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle, and Irancy was the stable’s third choice in the betting. There was no fluke about his victory however, and this is a gelding who, should he go chasing next season, be a contender for the highest honours. He won the second of a pair of starts in French bumpers for Daniela Mele, finished a well-beaten third on his hurdling debut, albeit to Firefox and Ballyburn, and then was most impressive 11 months later when landing a maiden at Punchestown.

Seventh in the Supreme Novices’ at Cheltenham was the only real blot on Irancy’s copybook, and he bounced back to win a Mullins-dominated Grade 2 novice hurdle at Fairyhouse. This week was a further step up for Irancy, and his pedigree indicates that a career chasing will see him at his best.

J.P. knows the family well, having enjoyed lots of success with Irancy’s half-brother, Darasso (Konig Turf). Eight times a winner in Ireland, Darasso carried McManus’s colours to Grade 2 wins over hurdles and fences, and he was runner-up in the Galway Plate. Joseph O’Brien trained him in Ireland, and prior to that he was bred in partnership by, trained by and part-owned by Guy Cherel. For him, and later Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, he won four times over hurdles in France, notably landing a pair of listed handicaps at Auteuil.

Among four winners to date for their dam, Irancy and Darasso are half-brothers to the listed-placed chaser Eurasien (Kapgarde) and the 11-time winning mare Urallia (Califet). Nassora was no slouch herself and won twice over jumps at four, also running third in the Listed Prix Sytaj Mares Chase at Auteuil.

Nassora’s dam Debandade (Le Pontet) won four times over jumps in France and bred seven winners. Five of these earned some blacktype, and one in particular will be well-known in this part of the world. Ladalko (Kadalko) was a Grade 2 winning hurdler for Paul Nicholls, and was runner-up in the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle.

WHAT a start Goliath Du Berlais (Saint Des Saints) is making at stud. It would not be out of the way to say that he will surely, one day, be a champion sire. The Haras de la Tuilerie stallion is covering this year for €12,500, a remarkable fee given that his first crop are only four-year-olds, but the successes they are enjoying would suggest that the fee will be more in 2026.

On Tuesday at Punchestown, his first-crop daughter Wonderful Everyday made an impressive debut when she won the valuable Goffs Defender Bumper, and again she was the outsider of the four Willie Mullins challengers for the prize. This is a filly who made headlines from the start. Bred by Devon-based Yeo Barton Bloodstock, owned by Sarah and Nigel Faulks, she was sold as a foal at Goffs for €35,000 through Peter Molony to Lakar Bloodstock. She was one of the stars of last year’s Goffs Arkle Sale, and this was what I wrote in my report.

“I thought she was the star of the show” was how Harold Kirk described Manister House Stud’s daughter of Goliath Du Berlais, after he spent €120,000 to secure her for an owner in Willie Mullins’ yard. “We knew the dam was very good when she raced in France, and the sire is probably going to be a new sensation. She was all quality, and I took Willie to see her and he loved her too. The last horse that I bought off the vendor was Wicklow Brave. She is a beautiful filly and a great colour too.”

Cheltenham Festival

The filly is the third produce of the Al Namix (Linamix) dam Daring Rose who won twice on the flat and three times over hurdles, and she was placed in a Grade 3 contest at Auteuil.

Daring Rose’s first produce, the Saint Des Saints (Cadoudal) mare Just A Rose, sold for £175,000 to Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls in December 2023 after she won an English point-to-point for Tom Ellis. Just A Rose was a winner over hurdles first time up in January, but pulled-up in a Grade 2 at the Cheltenham Festival.

Fillies have always done well in this family. Wonderful Everyday’s grandam and third dam, Prime Rose (Video Rock) and Ile Rose (Le Riverain), won seven and five races respectively. Prime Rose’s seven runners have all won, with Guerrier Rose (Rail Link) and Histoire Rose (Saddex) winning Grade 1 and Grade 3 races, though these were races confined to AQPS horses. Ile Rose is the dam of Dame Rose (Network), and she won the Grade 2 Goffs Nickel Coin Mares’ NH Flat Race at Aintree a few years ago, and later added a listed hurdle race at Newbury.