BRIGHT Cherry is the dam of Arkle and the word Cherry in the name of a National Hunt horse can often mean that the animal comes from that famous female line. Arkle was bred by Mary Baker and foaled by Dan Daly at Ballymacoll Stud. There is nobody who has anything to do with horses that does not know who Arkle was. He gained immortality through his exploits.

Nine years ago Alison Baker, a daughter of Arkle’s breeder, went to the sales at Tattersalls Ireland and purchased a filly foal by Brian Boru out of Mystic Cherry for €2,200. Named Hannah Maud, she was put in training with Jim Dreaper (who else could have been given the role?) and she was sent point-to-pointing. She ran seven times, but connections would have been forgiven had they given up on her early on. Her first five starts resulted in the form figures FFPFB.

Having not managed to even finish on one of her first five outings, anyone else might have decided to find another career for her. Not the Baker/Dreaper axis and they were rewarded, with Hannah Maud finishing third on her sixth visit to the races and then winning a point-to-point on what proved to be her final start.

Despatched to the November Sale last year in Fairyhouse, Hannah Maud was sold to C R Bloodstock for just €2,000, and now you could say that she was ‘given away’. Last weekend her King’s Theatre five-year-old half-sister Morello Royale gave the pedigree a major boost when she won the Listed OLBG Mares’ Hurdle at Kempton. This was her third victory over the smaller obstacles but the fact that it gives her blacktype in sales catalogues is a boost to all her relatives.

Morello Royale is trained by Colin Tizzard and races in the colours of Ann and Tony Gale. It was Tony who picked her out at the sales as a foal, giving €3,500 for her at Tattersalls Ireland in November 2010. What a bargain she has become.

Hannah Maud was the first foal of her unraced Alderbrook dam and she was followed by two produce that were never named. The next to be named was Morello Royale, bred by Peter and Maria Byrne. Next up is a four-year-old filly, a full-sister to the recent listed winner, and she is named Mystic Theatre. She was bought at the Goffs Land Rover Sale last year for €31,000 by Templeburn Stud.

After a gap of three years Mystic Cherry produced her sixth foal, a now yearling colt by Jeremy, and he was sold last November to MCC Farms for €14,000. This year the mare had a filly foal, again by the much-missed Jeremy who stood latterly at Garryrichard Stud.

FAMOUS STEEPLECHASE

While Arkle is quite a bit back in the family, there are a few other well-known names on the catalogue page. Mystic Cherry’s grandam Cherry Leaf was an own-sister to Colebridge and Vulture. The latter did not win a major race during a career that brought seven wins, but he was runner-up in the world’s most famous steeplechase, the Aintree Grand National to Gay Trip in 1970.

Colebridge won twice over hurdles but it was over fences that he proved to be a star performer, winning the Irish Grand National in 1974 and giving Jim Dreaper the first of his four wins in the Fairyhouse centrepiece. Jim’s father Tom won the race 10 times, famously landing it seven years in succession with seven different horses.

Morello Royale is not the only black type winner in this dam line in 2015. Earlier this year Noble Emperor won the Grade 2 Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan, a race named to honour a famous Tom Dreaper runner.