FOR 10 minutes or so, the racing and breeding world belonged to Jim Bolger last Saturday. In France, a colt he bred, Gear Up, won the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud for trainer Mark Johnston, and then minutes later another colt he bred, owns with his wife Jackie and which he trains, Mac Swiney, gave him victory in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity at Doncaster. Both colts are two-year-old grandsons of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), the horse John Magnier has credited Bolger with being his first great supporter.

More remarkable still is the fact that Jim Bolger trained the sires of both juvenile Group 1 winners, Teofilo and New Approach, bred the former, and has had associations with both female families, to differing degrees, going back some time. As a story of continuing success and influence within the thoroughbred business, few can match the achievements of Jim Bolger who, rightly, has twice been accorded – among many accolades in his lifetime – the Connolly’s Red Mills/The Irish Field Breeder of the Year title.

The weekend was not just about Gear Up and Mac Swiney either. For good measure, Jim’s homebred two-year-old Flying Visit, again carrying the distinctive colours of Jackie, won for the second time, and in so doing displayed both his toughness and ability. Mirroring a Mark Johnston belief that horses are for racing, and that they enjoy it, Flying Visit was making his 10th start of the year and in just a 10-week period. It was also his first run in stakes company.

On his debut back in August, Flying Visit finished 11 lengths behind the winner Wuqood at Gowran Park in a maiden. Last weekend he beat that Dubawi runner by a head to land the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown. Only out of the first three twice in all his starts, Flying Visit’s next ‘outing’ is when he comes under the hammer at the Goffs online sale of horses-in-training next Thursday. He is sure to be one of the most sought-after offerings on the day.

Pride Of Dubai

Flying Visit made it a weekend to remember for Pride Of Dubai as that sire’s winners also included the unbeaten Group 2 Premio Dormello winner Telepatic Glances. That Irish-foaled two-year-old was sold at Goffs for €16,000 as a yearling and is now unbeaten in three starts over a six-week period and her winnings stand at over £120,000. She and Flying Visit are two of five stakes winners Pride Of Dubai has among his European juveniles this year, his first in the northern hemisphere. The stallion’s first Australian crop numbers two stakes winners.

Having stood for three seasons at Coolmore in Ireland, Pride Of Dubai did not return for this year, but the performances of his sons and daughters would indicate that he has a lot to offer breeders in this part of the world. As well as being an exceptionally fast son of Street Cry (Machiavellian), Pride Of Dubai is still the only horse to complete the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes and Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes double at two, and he is out of a half-sister to the dam of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) and Kodiac (Danehill).

One of three winners from the four-time winner Fionnuar (Teofilo), Flying Visit’s grandam was purchased by Ken Bolger for €52,000 at Goffs 14 years ago. She went on to produce nine winners and is a full-sister to Chief’s Crown (Danzig), the 1984 champion two-year-old colt in the USA, winner of eight Grade 1 races including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Travers Stakes, placed in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Preakness Stakes, and a leading sire.

Mac Swiney

By an incredible coincidence, Mac Swiney the horse, named after an Irish patriot, won the Group 1 Vertem Futurity one day before the 100th anniversary of his namesake’s death. Terence James Mac Swiney was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920 but was arrested by the British Government on charges of sedition and imprisoned in Brixton Prison. His death there on October 25th 1920, after 74 days on hunger strike, brought him and the Irish Republican campaign to international attention.

Mac Swiney was adding this latest win to a prior victory in the Group 2 Galileo Futurity. The colt is inbred 2x3 to the multiple champion sire. In 2006 and 2007 Bolger saddled Teofilo and New Approach to win back-to-back stagings of the Futurity Stakes. Mac Swiney is by the latter and out of Halla Na Saoire, a daughter of the former.

Mac Swiney is the second runner and winner for his dam and recently her Vocalised (Vindication) yearling colt was sold to bloodstock agent Alex Elliott for £50,000 at the relocated Goffs Orby Sale. Though unraced, Halla Na Saoire was guaranteed a place in the breeding shed. She was born a year after her full-brother Light Heavy (Teofilo) and her nephew Parish Hall (Teofilo). Light Heavy won the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial before finishing third to Camelot and Born To Sea in the Group 1 Irish Derby. Parish Hall won the Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.

New Approach was the champion European two- and three-year-old, his victories including the Group 1 Dewhurst and National Stakes at two and the Group 1 Derby and Irish and English Champion Stakes in his second season. He had the perfect start at stud when Dawn Approach, bred and trained by Bolger, also won the Dewhurst and National Stakes. At three he added the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes and 2000 Guineas.

Dawn Approach and New Approach stand under the Darley banner, as does another son of the latter, the Derby winner Masar. Mac Swiney is the eighth Group 1 winner for his sire.

Gear Up

Teofilo was unbeaten in five starts at two, his only year to race. His Group 1 victories were in the National Stakes at the Curragh and the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. Gear Up became his 19th Group 1 winner, a number of which were bred and trained by Jim Bolger. They include Parish Hall who was mentioned earlier, Trading Leather, Pleascach and Loch Garman.

This year may be forgettable for many but not so for Kildangan Stud’s Teofilo. Twenty-four hours after Gear Up’s victory, Subjectivist’s success in the Prix Royal-Oak gave the stallion a landmark 20th Group 1 winner. Teofilo’s fee for 2020 was €40,000 and he is a sire whose Group 1 winners come from just 10 crops of racing age.

Gear Up was sold to Mark Johnston for €52,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale, Bolger’s granddaughter Clare Manning handling the sale. The colt is out of the Toccet (Awesome Again) mare Gearanai, a $40,000 purchase at the 2008 Keeneland January Sale. She raced unsuccessfully but has atoned as a broodmare.

Guaranteed

Gear Up is her second group winner after his own-brother Guaranteed who landed the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown (won at the weekend by Flying Visit) on his final start at two, and was a listed winner and runner-up to Latrobe in the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes last year.

Gearanai is dam of five winners from her first six foals, all bar one of them by Teofilo. The latest addition to that list is the three-year-old Bolger-trained Assurance. Gearanai is a granddaughter of Dispute (Danzig) who numbered the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, Spinster Stakes, Beldame Stakes and Gazelle Stakes among her nine victories. Bolger enjoyed group-race success with another one of her granddaughters, Maoineach (Congaree).