SADLER’S Wells (by Northern Dancer) has had a massive impact on the breeding industry, flat and National Hunt, and although many of his sons have excelled in the latter, it is his brilliant Montjeu who is closest to forming his own jumps branch of the line.

One of the world’s most successful sires of Derby-type horses, Montjeu’s premature death was a huge blow. Most of his best stallion sons are flat sires, as one might expect, and pretty much every good flat stallion also gets big race winners over obstacles, but he also has some who are almost exclusively National Hunt.

The Group 1 St Leger, Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and Group 1 Coronation Cup hero Scorpion is one of those and the Castle Hyde Stud resident, who is related to the great stayer and successful dual-purpose sire Ardross (by Run The Gantlet), has another high-class prospect in The Nipper.

Bred by William Smith and partners, and trained by Warren Greatrex, the mare was a wide-margin winner of a Bangor bumper on her debut in May, followed-up with a 1/5 success at the same venue in late November, and then completed her hat-trick with victory in the Listed EBF British Stallion Studs & TBA Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race over two miles at Sandown on Saturday.

She is out of Sharp Single (by Supreme Leader), who won a two-mile Carlisle chase on her final racecourse appearance, and that makes her a half-sister to Milly Malone (by Milan) who won twice over fences last April, the latter a three miles, three and a half furlongs contest at Stratford.

SIBLINGS

Her siblings also include the Adrian Wintle-trained Rosygo (by Oscar), who won a point-to-point at Lemonfield three years ago, looked set to pick up second place when coming down two out in a handicap hurdle at Taunton over two weeks ago, and was entered in the mares’ handicap hurdle at Bangor-on-Dee on Wednesday.

Sharp Single had a full-sister to Milly Malone in 2012 and a Westerner (by Danehill) filly in 2013.

The grandam of The Nipper is Pollyville (by Pollerton), she was placed twice in bumpers, and in addition to Sharp Single she was also responsible for the dual winners Roses Niece (by Jeu De Paille) and Cullen Bay (by Supreme Leader), both mares.

None of this trio got a blacktype winner at stud but three of their dam’s sisters achieved that feat and one of that group of mares was also a Cheltenham Festival heroine.

The best of the seven wins for Rose Ravine (by Deep Run) came in the Stayers’ Hurdle (now World Hurdle) and after her stellar career on the track she went on to become a notable success at stud with three multiple blacktype earners among eight successful progeny, all by different sires.

Cardinal Red (by The Parson) won the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree and was runner-up in the SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, Ringaroses (by Karinga Bay), who won two bumpers, a pair of chases and three times over flights, took the Grade 3 John Smith’s Handicap Hurdle at Aintree, and the prolific Frosty Canyon (by Arctic Lord) was Grade 2 placed in bumper, hurdles and chasing company.

Rose Ravine’s full-brother Bee Sting, who won a pair of bumpers and three times over hurdles, was runner-up in the SunAlliance Hurdle at Cheltenham, and the other successful runner among the nine progeny of unplaced Dandyville (by Vulgan) was the bumper, hurdles and chase scorer Shannon Ville.

MULTIPLE CHAMPION

Also by multiple champion sire Deep Run (by Pampered King), Shannon Ville became the dam of four winners and they included Shannon Glen (by Furry Glen), who was a blacktype score over hurdles at Aintree, and Verrazano Bridge (by Be My Native), winner of a Grade 3 novice hurdle over two and a half miles at Fairyhouse in 1998.

The other one of Rose Ravine’s siblings who became a blacktype producer at stud was Teapot Hall (by Royal Buck).

She was placed twice under National Hunt rules and placed once in a point-to-point, but her son Buckhouse Boy (by Relkino) won the Grade 2 Rendlesham Hurdle over the extended three miles at Kempton and the races in which he was placed included the Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.

There is another daughter of Dandyville who also deserves a mention and that is Island Varra, an unraced full-sister to Rose Ravine. She had a trio of winners of her own but is more notable as being the third dam of the Listed Shannon Spray Novice Hurdle winner Criaire Princess (by Tidaro).

That mare’s second foal is the Michael Hourigan-trained six-year-old, The Gatechecker who was last seen in action when disappointing in a two and a half mile novice hurdle at Fairyhouse in November, but who won at Ballinrobe several months before, was a wide-margin bumper winner on his debut in December 2014, and won his only point-to-point at Ballingarry that same year.

Each of The Nipper’s races so far have been at around two miles, as one would expect of a bumper horse, but as a Scorpion mare from this family there is every reason to hope that she will stay much further in time.