Jim Bolger

Mac Swiney (Ire), 2018 c. by New Approach out of Halla Na Saoire, by Teofilo, and Gear Up (Ire), 2018 c. by Teofilo out of Gearanai, by Toccet

THE only person to win the Connolly’s Red Mills/The Irish Field Breeder of the Year twice, Jim Bolger is back in contention again – and what a reason to be nominated.

In the space of 10 minutes this month be bred a pair of Group 1 winning two-year-old colts, training and owning one of them with his wife Jackie. Less than 10 days later he also bred a third Group 1 winner in Twilight Payment, an achievement that will have rarely been attained.

More remarkable still is the fact that Jim Bolger trained the sires of both juvenile Group 1 winners, Teofilo and New Approach, and has had associations with both female families, to differing degrees, going back some time.

Mac Swiney won the Group 1 Vertem Futurity, adding to a prior victory in the Group 2 Galileo Futurity. He is the second runner and winner for his dam who is a full-sister to Group 2 winner and classic-placed Light Heavy and a half-sister to the dam of Group 1 winner Parish Hall (Teofilo).

Gear Up added the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud to the Group 3 Acomb Stakes he won earlier this year. Sold to Mark Johnston for €52,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale, Gear Up is the second group winner for his dam after his own-brother Guaranteed who landed the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown.

Rowena Cotton and Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe

The Storyteller (Ire), 2011 g. by Shantou out of Bally Bolshoi, by Bob Back

STEPHEN Lanigan-O’Keeffe and Rowena Cotton bred last weekend’s Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase winner The Storyteller. Nearly three decades ago Stephen purchased the gelding’s third dam Betty’s Girl from Hugh Williams. A point-to-point winner who went on to win two chases, she was at the time carrying a filly, Moscow Money, who was unraced and produced a few winners, one of whom was Bally Bolshoi.

Stephen sold her to his friend Rowena Cotton and she won a couple of hurdle races in England before returning to Kilkenny where she has been a hugely successful broodmare for Rowena and Stephen in partnership.

Her first six foals have seen five make the racecourse and four of them are winners. The Storyteller is the standout.

Rowena and Stephen sold then then three-year-old The Storyteller to Kevin Ross Bloodstock for €67,000 at the Goffs Land Rover Sale. That investment has been well rewarded since and the nine-year-old was winning for the eleventh time when successful at Down Royal, and the second time at Grade 1 level. He previously won the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown, while two years ago he was victorious at the Cheltenham Festival when winning a Grade 3 chase.

Three of the four winners out of Bally Bolshoi are by Burgage Stud’s Shantou. Bally Bolshoi is now a 20-year-old and safely in foal to another Burgage sire in Sea Moon, while this spring she foaled a filly by a sire Stephen has great faith in, Burgage’s Jukebox Jury.

H.H.Aga Khan

Tarnawa (Ire), 2016 f. by Shamardal out of Tarana, by Cape Cross

TARNAWA doubled her Group 1 tally when she won the Prix de l’Opera on Arc weekend at ParisLongchamp. Prior to that she won the Prix Vermeille and in the process gave her owner-breeder, His Highness the Aga Khan, his eighth victory in the race.

Last year the Dermot Weld-trained Tarnawa, who runs this weekend at the Breeders’ Cup, won the Group 2 Blandford Stakes and she has also been successful in three Group 3 races. Tarnawa is the one of 26 Group 1 winners for her sire.

Tarnawa is the first foal of Tarana who won a Moyglare Stud-sponsored maiden over a mile at two, was runner-up in the Listed Trigo Stakes at three and, kept in training with John Oxx at four, justified the decision with victories in listed races at Galway and Limerick. This year Tarana was covered by Frankel and she has a filly foal by Siyouni who stands at the Aga Khan Studs in France.

Tarana is a daughter of the Listed Galtres Stakes winner Tarakala and the best of her four winners, while Tarakala was the best of nine winners from her dam Tarakana who was runner-up at Galway in the listed race won by her granddaughter. This is a family that has a long association with the Aga Khan, while some branches have produced winners such as Group 1 winners Damson and Gilt Edge Girl for others.

Dermot Dwan, Kellsgrange Stud

Tiger Tanaka (Ire), 2018 f. by Clodovil out of Miss Phillyjinks, by Zoffany

BARGAIN yearling Tiger Tanaka, sold for €6,500 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale, won for the sixth time this year, annexing the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac. She was previously a Group 3 winner at Deauville and her only defeats in eight outings saw her finish third in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin and fourth in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. She now has winnings of well over €200,000. Tiger Tanaka was claimed after winning her first outing for €23,789. She was bred by Dermot and Catherine Dwan at Kellsgrange Stud in Callan, Co Kilkenny and is the first foal of a mare that they purchased from Nicky Hartery for just €3,500 carrying Tiger Tanaka. The dam of Tiger Tanaka is Miss Phillyjinks, a two-year-old winner. .

Miss Phillyjinks is one of four winning offspring from the $160,000 yearling purchase Smoken Rosa, a placed half-sister to multiple Grade 3 winner Snowdrops who was herself the dam of the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes winner and Group 2 Hungerford Stakes and German 2000 Guineas-placed Tawhid. A half-sister to Miss Phillyjinks bred this year’s stakes winner Stormy Girl.

Miss Phillyjinks has a colt foal by the Irish National Stud’s Dragon Pulse and is in foal to the sensational first season stallion Mehmas, already a Group 1 sire. The mare and her foal are catalogued for the Tattersalls December Sale later this month.