AT Cheltenham last week Douvan (by Walk In The Park) impressed in the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the dual Grade 1 star Nichols Canyon (by Authorized) finished third in the Grade 1 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle, two more notable results for stallion sons of Montjeu (by Sadler’s Wells).
A brilliant racehorse who became one of the most sought-after sires of Derby-type horses on the flat, Montjeu’s roll of honour also includes the record-breaking hurdler Hurricane Fly.
The Derby heroes Authorized and Motivator head his best flat sire sons and, as we all know, pretty much any good flat stallion can also get major winners under National Hunt rules.
Nichols Canyon is joined by the Grade 1 winner Tiger Roll and the Grade 2 scorers Beltor and Zamdy Man among Authorized’s best National Hunt runners.
Walk In The Park, who was runner-up to Motivator in the Derby, has not received anything like the level of support that his sire’s classic-winning sons have got and yet he has already notched up his first major winner at the Cheltenham Festival.
This success augurs well for the prospects of all the other Montjeu stallions, and those include Papal Bull, a dual Group 2 scorer who came within half a length of beating Duke Of Marmalade in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
He won at two, three and four years of age, was dual Group 1 placed at five, was well-known on the international circuit as he raced in England, France, Germany and Japan, and he earned a Timeform rating of 128 in his final season on the track.
Now he is a successful stallion awaiting his first blacktype scorers, something that, given his race record, pedigree and early success should not take much longer.
His long-term future lies as a National Hunt sire and, from a small number of runners, he has already been represented by the winning hurdlers Burnt Sienna, Idlewild and Silver Duke, in addition to the odds-on bumper scorer One More Go. He has also been represented by a string of winners of the flat, including the multiple scorers Capitol Hill, Cardinal Palace and Seismic.
This proven ability to get flat horses, including a winner over seven furlongs, boosts his prospects of getting talented bumper horses and juvenile hurdlers, in addition to the older hurdlers and chasers that we would expect in time.
His dam Mialuna (by Zafonic) is a half-sister to the high-class Italian sprinter and winner-getting stallion St Paul House (by Machiavellian), and her dam Mamaluna (by Roberto) won the Group 2 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood having been placed in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom.
She, in turn, was out of the Grade 2-placed US juvenile stakes winner Kadesh (by Lucky Mel) and so was a half-sister to three flat stakes winners and to three others who were blacktype-placed.
The next generation of the family includes the blacktype scorer and prolific winner Prior Approval (by Envoy), another example of this family’s long history of producing talented racehorses.
Papal Bull raced at the highest level, he has got a string of flat and National Hunt winners to his name, and it looks likely that this son of Montjeu will become yet another member of the Sadler’s Wells clan to get blacktype winners over hurdles and fences.
PAPAL BULL (IRE)
Race Record: Winner of six races, over 7-13.5 furlongs, from 2-5 years inc Princess of Wales’s Stakes, Gr.2, King Edward VII Stakes, Gr.2, Geoffrey Freer Stakes, Gr.3, Chester Vase, Gr.3, 2nd King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Gr.1, Rheinland Pokal, Gr.1, Princess of Wales’s Stakes, Gr.2, etc
Stud record: Retired to stud in 2009. First crop are 5yo. Sire of winners on the flat inc Capital Hill (2 wins), Cardinal Palace (2 wins), Seismic (2 wins), Crecora, Kiss Goodnight, Noble Bill, Protestant, Water Sprite, etc., and under National Hunt rules inc Burnt Sienna, Idlewild, One More Go, Silver Duke, etc.
Stands: Coolagown Stud, Fermoy, Co Cork. Contact: David Stack (Manager) on +353 (0)25 36642 or +353 (0)86 2314066
Email: info@coolagown.ie
Website: www.coolagown.ie
Fee: €3,000