JUST before Christmas Douglas Taylor, breeder of Samcro (Germany), announced the death of the gelding’s dam Dun Dun, herself a daughter of Saddlers’ Hall (Sadler’s Wells). Dun Dun produced seven foals, with the Grade 1 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Deloitte Brave Inca Novice Hurdle winner being her fourth foal.

Samcro, a £335,000 purchase by trainer Gordon Elliott at the Goffs UK Aintree Sale in 2016, was initially raced by Taylor when trained by Colin Bowe. “Dun Dun has been a grand mare for us and we are sad to see her go,” Taylor said. “We have one last filly out of her, a four-year-old daughter of the young sire Jet Away.” That filly is, understandably, named Samcro’s Sister, and Dun Dun was in foal to Jet Away (Cape Cross) when she died.

Samcro’s Sister is her last offspring and she is from the first crop by Jet Away who was a Group 3 winner in Australia. Taylor has the filly in training with Cormac Farrell. He also owns the five-year-old sibling Overnight Success (Jeremy) and she was placed at Lisronagh last year for Taylor and handler Colin Bowe.

A year older than Overnight Success is another Taylor-owned runner, Think Positive (Jeremy), and he won a maiden hurdle at Tramore in August for Willie Mullins. Prior to Samcro, Dun Dun produced a multiple hurdle and point-to-point winner with her first foal, Cocacobana (Snurge). This is a female line that gets a good horse in every generation.

Dun Dun is an own-sister to Grade 2 Reynoldstown Chase winner Master Of The Hall (Saddlers’ Hall) and a half-sister to Pairofbrowneyes (Luso) who won the Grade 2 Tim Duggan Memorial Chase and was placed a few times in Grade 1s. They are all out of Frankly Native (Be My Native) and she is an unraced half-sister to the triple Grade 1 winning chaser Sound Man (Kemal).

Sound Man was the best of three winners out of Frankford Run (Deep Run). She showed some form in a bumper and over hurdles and was one of 10 foals from Golden Owen (Master Owen). Eight of them made a start but she still failed to breed a winner. However, her daughter Mandysway (Mandalus) bred a number of winners, the best of which was Roberto Goldback (Bob Back) who was a Grade 2 winner over hurdles and fences and runner-up in the Grade 1 Hennessy Gold Cup.