Provide more top-class National Hunt performers as stallions

Dear Sir,

Following this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, I am writing to you about a topic that has been on my agenda for a good while. It was a great result for all involved with Sizing John, from the Potts who have given a lot of money to a lot of different people in the game through buying horses; Jessica Harrington and all involved in her yard who continue to win so many big races, and for Robbie Power who is getting just reward for all his good riding through the years.

I am writing this letter as a breeder of National Hunt horses and on the topic of stallions. I am very surprised that I didn’t see any publication talk about Midnight Legend, the Gold Cup winning sire. If you go to look at his profile in the Racing Post, it reads “smart 10-12f performer, also high-class hurdler, by Night Shift, high-class jumps sire.”

The part I would like to talk about is the high-class hurdler. Nobody is talking about a high-class hurdler siring a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. I think it deserves to be talked about.

The talking-horse of the past three Cheltenham Festivals is Vautour. His sire Robin Des Champs’ profile reads “smart hurdler” and he is also the sire of Quevega. Saint Des Saints was a top-class French jumper, is the sire of Djakadam, and he stands at €15,000 this season.

These sires are just a few worth mentioning. People go mad for progeny of these French sires, Un De Sceaux being another fine example. These racehorses aren’t slow, and they are by jumpers. We have people here in Ireland saying certain Group 1 and Group 2 winning stallions over a mile and a half are slow! It just doesn’t make sense at times.

Right now in Ireland if someone stood a sire like Midnight Legend or Saint Des Saints, he wouldn’t get many mares.

Horses like Presenting, Flemensfirth and Shantou will not be around for ever, and these lines are also going to be no more. Imagine if there was a son of Supreme Leader who had been a top level National Hunt horse covering mares? Similarly with Strong Gale, Bob Back, Be My Native and more.

Wouldn’t it be great to still have these genes to breed from with a stallion? When we lose Presenting to old age we will lose the Busted line that also brought us Supreme Leader. When Flemensfirth and Shantou pass we will lose the Alleged line.

Beneficial gave us a window to the lovely Top Ville, who I believe helps Montjeu play a strong role in National Hunt, being out of a Top Ville mare and by the superpower that is Sadler’s Wells. Top Ville is the paternal grandsire of Best Mate and we all know what he did. We need a son of Robin Des Champs to carry on his line.

If we were using proven top-level jumping racehorses as sires for our breed, imagine the toughness and genuineness it would instil. I think that can’t be underplayed as part in the argument for standing these horses as stallions.

I remember looking at the ill-fated No More Heroes, full of promise, and thinking ‘there is a Presenting horse that could go on and do great things and comes from a great National Hunt family’.

Imagine a horse like him standing at stud and carrying that great dam line along with Presenting’s genes?

Yours,

Vincent Byrne

Ballygrangans

Kilmore,

Co. Wexford

Breeders, stallion masters and readers are invited to contact Leo Powell at leopowell@theirishfield.ie with news and updates for the column, and to visit our website www.theirishfield.ie for daily breeding news