FOUR mares were successful in graded races at the Punchestown Festival. Two were at Grade 1 level, the most significant being Fayonagh’s victory against the boys in the Racing Post Champion INH Flat Race.

From the family of another famous racemare in Solerina, Fayonagh was bred by John Bowe and it was his family that enjoyed great success with the multiple Grade 1 winning daughter of Toulon who won on 22 occasions. From what we have witnessed Fayonagh could well go on to emulate her close relation and she already has a pair of Grade 1 successes to her credit.

Fayonagh is a daughter of Boardsmill Stud’s Kalanisi and was one of a pair of Grade 1 winners at the meeting for sires standing at William and John Flood’s Trim farm.

It has been a season of unparalleled success for the quartet of sires based at Boardsmill, with all four siring Grade 1 winners.

Apple’s Jade was the other Grade 1 winning mare at the Festival and she landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Champion Hurdle. She was following up her Cheltenham success.

Bred in France by Ronny Coveliers she is one of three winners by her Sadler’s Wells sire Saddler Maker and is from the five-time jumps winner Apple’s For Ever, a daughter of Nikos who is also the broodmare sire of another Punchestown Festival Grade 1 winner in Disko.

The next dam was the ultra-smart hurdler Apple’s Girl who won the Prix La Barka Hurdle, Prix Leon Olry-Roederer Hurdle and Prix Renaud du Vivier 4YO Hurdle, all at Auteuil.

The Wertheimer-bred Saddler Maker never won and died in 2016 at the age of 18 years. He is also sire of The Grade 1 winning hurdler and chaser Bristol De Mai.

The Philip Hore-bred Definite Ruby landed the Hatton Concrete EBF Glencarrig Lady Mares Handicap Chase, listed as Grade B but which carries Grade 2 status in sales catalogues. She is a daughter of the former Morristown Lattin Stud stallion Definite Article and he was obviously a stallion that was liked by Hore who also bred Eaton Lass by him. She is the dam of last week’s Grade 1 winner Great Field.

This was Definite Ruby’s second time to win this race, which was upgraded from Grade 3 status last year. She is the best performer for her unraced King’s Theatre dam Sunset Queen and she is also responsible for this year’s four-year-old point-to-point winner Sunset Showdown, a son of Flemensfirth. Sunset Queen is a half-sister to a pair of smart racemares in Deep Sunset and Bobbina, while their dam is a half-sister to the dual Cathcart Chase winner Stormyfairweather.

Death Duty has been flying the flag for Geoffrey Thompson’s Morning Star Stud this year and another star performer from the Co Limerick nursery is Minutestomidnight. This six-year-old daughter of Vinnie Roe won the Grade 3 Weatherbys GSB EBF Mares Flat Race and looks sure to go on to even better things. Following her victory she sold at the Goffs Punchestown Sale for €200,000.

Minutestomidnight is the first winner for her unraced Accordion dam Midnight Reel, a half-sister to the Grade 2-placed hurdler Hidden Agent (by Pistolet Bleu) and another Grade 2-placed hurdler Midnight Gift. The latter is a daughter of Presenting and the dam of the Grade 1 winner Death Duty. This is the immediate family of the good racemare Shannon Spray.

Vinnie Roe stands for just €3,000 at Longford House Stud in Tipperary and this has to be outstanding value considering his race record and his impressive list of blacktype winners over jumps. This is his third season at Longford House following his move from Grand Stud.

He won The Irish Field St Leger on four occasions and 13 races in all. He is a son of Definite Article and is that sire’s best performer on the flat. Vinnie Rose is the sire of about a dozen blacktype winners.