AN amazing 2017-18 National Hunt season, and an even more remarkable Punchestown Festival meeting, drew to a close last Saturday. Surprise, surprise, both Grade 1 races on the day were won by Willie Mullins, in each case with a well-related French-bred. Both winners are owned by Susannah Ricci.

The Grade 1 EBF Annie Power Mares Hurdle saw the seven-year-old Benie Des Dieux (Great Pretender) add to her Cheltenham success in the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle and she was winning these races having come back to hurdling from a chasing career that saw her land blacktype races at Naas and Carlisle.

Benie Des Dieux is out of the placed Cana (Robin Des Champs) and two of her half-sisters have each bred a pair of blacktype winners over jumps.

The winning Cardounika (Nikos) bred multiple Grade 3 winner Ceasar’s Palace (Voix Du Nord) and the listed hurdle winner and sire Cokoriko (Robin Des Champs).

Their half-sister Cardamine (Garde Royale) was placed over jumps in France and is dam of the multiple Grade 3 winner Corscia (Nickname) and last year’s listed hurdle winner Calotin (Martaline). Cana, Cardamine and Cardounika are all daughters of the listed-placed hurdler Cardoudalle (Cardoudal) and her dam Easy Horse (Carmarthen) was an own-sister to two smart performers in Funny Horse and Dazzling Horse.

Their half-sister Sweet Virginia (Tapioca) was also a very smart hurdler and chaser in France and her best winner was the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle hero Sweet Duke (Iron Duke). He won 15 times over hurdles and fences when trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies. Sweet Virginia is also fourth dam of the Punchestown Grade 1 winning hurdler in 2011, Grandouet (Al Namix).

Great Pretender (King’s Theatre) was a smart hurdler but he has become a far better sire, his Grade 1 winners also including Ptit Zig, the Punchestown Grade 1 winner chaser Great Field, and Grand D’Auteuil. He stands for €7,000 at Haras de la Hetraie.

The four-time Group 1 winner Soldier Hollow (In The Wings) is one of many stallions nowadays who has proven to be equally adept at getting Group/Grade 1 winners on the flat and over jumps. His Group 1 winning sons and daughters on the level include his young sire son Pastorious, while his National Hunt Grade 1 winner Arctic Fire has now been joined by the very promising Saldier. Soldier Hollow stands for €25,000 in 2018.

From a top-notch flat family, Saldier is not the first smart jumper to emerge. He is the fourth foal but first known runner for his dam Salve Evita (Monsun). She is a half-sister to a pair of good winners, but under different codes. Her sibling Duty (Rainbow Quest) died as a four-year-old, the year he won the Grade 3 Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle at Fairyhouse from J’y Vole.

A few years later another sibling enjoyed plenty of success on the flat. Sri Putra (Oasis Dream) was a Group 2 winner in England and France and was second and third in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes, to Twice Over and So You Think. He was trained by Michael Jarvis and his successor Roger Varian and his first crop are three-year-olds.

Sri Putra and Duty are out of the unraced Wendylina (In The Wings) and she was the only progeny of her dam Dinalina (Top Ville) not to race. The 10 that ran produced nine winners and the best was the Group 1 French Oaks winner Caerlina (Caerleon) and she produced a smart hurdler in King Of Queens (Dalakhani).

This is the immediate family of last year’s Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Al Wukair (Dream Ahead), Tam Lin (Selkirk), winner of the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap, and Group 2 winner Curren Mirotic (Heart’s Cry).