VICTORY for Harry Senior (Oscar) in the Grade 2 Ballymore Classic Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham means that every one of his first four dams has bred a graded National Hunt winner. That is some unbroken sequence in the family of the gelding who was bred by Cian Warren and sold through Coolroe Stud as a foal at Goffs for €28,000,

Harry Senior is the first foal of the once-raced Surf Like A Lady and her second produce, the unraced four-year-old Coolroe Lady (Milan), was unsold at €14,500 when she was offered at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland August Sale. How fortuitous that has now proven to be. Surf Like A Lady’s third produce is a yearling filly, also by Milan (Sadler’s Wells).

This is really an outstanding female family. Surf Like A Lady is a half-sister to Foxrock (Flemensfirth), trained by Ted Walsh to win the Grade A Leopardstown Chase and be placed in three Grade 1 chases, notably the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Lexus Chase.

Their dam was the unraced Midnight Light (Roselier) and she was a full-sister to Grade 3 hurdle and Listed Rehearsal Chase winner Direct Access (Roselier).

Spanish Fame (Spanish Place) is the third dam of Harry Senior and she too was unraced. However she was assured of a place at stud as her half-sister Shannon Spray (Le Bavard) was a great dual-purpose performer and placed at Grade 1 level over hurdles, while her half-brother Renagown (Pragmatic) was a listed chase winner at Leopardstown. All of these were sons and daughters of Midnight Oil (Menelek).

In the intervening years Midnight Oil’s many daughters have been prolific winner producers, and one of them, Midnights Daughter (Long Pond),bred the Grade 1 Royal and SunAlliance Chase winner One Knight (Roselier).

Other descendants include Grade 1 hurdle winner Commander Of Fleet (Fame And Glory) and Grade 1 hurdle and chase winner Death Duty (Shantou).

While Harry Senior’s fifth dam missed out on even breeding a winner, the sixth dam produced the brilliant Lough Inagh (Menelek), the Cheltenham Two-Mile Champion Chase winner.