THE historic Galway Plate. What a race to win your first chase, and on only your fifth outing over fences. Early Doors, the French-bred son of Soldier Of Fortune (Galileo) and Ymlaen (Desert Prince) did just that when he landed the spoils in the Tote-sponsored feature recently.

Bred by Derek Clee at Haras du Petit Tellier, Early Doors was sold as a yearling at Arqana for €6,000 and resold from Shanaville Stables as a three-year-old at the Goffs Land Rover Sale for €36,000 to Joseph O’Brien. Winner first time out and third in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper, he took to hurdling and won a Grade 3 at Naas.

However, he delighted connections even more when, last year, he won the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, making up for finishing third in the same race 12 months earlier. He twice finished runner-up at Grade 1 level over hurdles, to Mengli Khan in the Royal Bond Hurdle at Fairyhouse and to Apple’s Jade in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Half-brother to a listed winner in France in Landym (Lando), Early Doors is the best of five winning offspring from his two-year-old winning dam. One of that mare’s non-winning offspring is Yauthym (Authorized) and she was placed in a listed fillies’ juvenile hurdle back in January on just her second outing for Fergal O’Brien, having placed a number of times on the flat in France.

Early Doors’ dam Ymlaen won over six furlongs on her two-year-old debut and she is one of eight winners out of the Irish and American stakes-placed Dathuil (Royal Academy). Two of the eight earned blacktype over hurdles, while another bred the Group 3 winner and Group 1 Matron Stakes third Tobann (Teofilo), now a winner-producer in Japan.

This is a female line which has the imprint of Jim Bolger on it. The third dam Smaoineamh (Tap On Wood) was a dual listed winner and bred Luminata (Indian Ridge), herself a listed winner, runner-up in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and third in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac. Another daughter of Smaoineamh bred a trio of Group 1-placed winners, 1000 Guineas runner-up Cuis Ghaire (Galileo), Moyglare Stud Stakes runner-up Scintillula (Galileo) and the Coronation Stakes second and 1000 Guineas placed Gile Na Greine (Galileo). Smaoineamh is also the third dam of 2017 Group 1 winner Verbal Dexterity (Vocalised).

The first Irish crop by Group 1 Irish Derby and Coronation Stakes winner Soldier Of Fortune are three-year-olds and Early Doors is his second Grade 1 or Grade A winner over jumps, joining Mega Fortune. What is often overlooked is that the stallion used to shuttle to South America and there he is responsible for seven Group 1 winners on the flat.