WINNING a Class E fillies’ handicap at Wolverhampton was the pinnacle of Eoz’s racing career, far from the dizzy heights expected when the daughter of Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) was sold as a yearling at Goffs in 2001 for £500,000. In nine starts, and with four placed efforts, she earned just about £7,600!

As a seven-year-old, and carrying a filly by Dubai Destination (Kingmambo), her value had dropped to 25,000gns when Stephen Hillen snapped her up. Her first two foals had not won at the time – they did subsequently – and the purchase now looks inspired as she is the dam of five winners and a couple of placed horses, while she has a number of young stock who could add further to her record in time.

The most recent of these is a colt foal by Mount Nelson who sold to Hugh Bleahen’s Clifton Farm last month at Tattersalls Ireland for €46,000.

How pleased Hugh will have been to see the colt’s best sibling Charbel add to his already impressive record last weekend when he was an impressive front-running, eight-length winner of the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon. A listed bumper winner and placed twice at Grade 1 level over fences, this could well be a season to remember for the son of Iffraaj (Zafonic).

Offered for sale as a yearling at the Goffs February Sale in 2012 by his breeders Peter and Sandra McCarthy, Charbel did not sell at €10,000. Trained by Tom Mullins for his sister Sandra, and ridden to his first two victories by their nephew Patrick, the McCarthys then sold Charbel for a tasty €280,000 at the Goffs Punchestown Sale three years ago. The now seven-year-old transferred to Kim Bailey who has trained him to win back a sizeable amount of that outlay.

Eoz was one of three winners from the unraced Greek Moon (Shirley Heights) and that Ballymacoll-bred mare is the grandam of another blacktype jumps winner in Monsieur Playboy (Muhtathir) who landed the Listed Prix Achille Fould Hurdle at Auteuil in 2014.

While this is one of the best flat female families in the stud book, there is yet another high-class National Hunt performer in the immediate removes. Greek Moon is a half-sister to Landing Light (In The Wings) who won a couple of Grade 1 hurdle races, notably the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.

Charbel is by some distance the best runner under National Hunt rules for Iffraaj who will command a fee of £35,000 next year.