LOOKING back on the flat season in 2014, the statistics in The Irish Field each week showed, with particular reference to leading sires of two-year-olds, two stallions on top of the table for long periods during the year.

Kodiac (Danehill-Rafha) had over a 40% win to runners success rate at the end of July 2014, with the filly Tiggy Wiggy leading the way as winner of the National Stakes and Weatherbys Super Sprint by six lengths, carrying 9st 1lb. Tiggy Wiggy’s brilliant win over Cursory Glance and Anthem Alexander in one of the best ever Lowther Stakes cemented her reputation.

Zebedee (Invincible Spirit-Cozy Maria) has been in second place mainly due to the exploits of Richard Hannon’s Ivawood, one of the favourites for the 2000 Guineas. Zebedee was one of Europe’s leading first crop sires with number of winners.

What both of these horses have in common is that they were bred at the Tally-Ho Stud near Lough Ennel in Westmeath, which is run by Tony and Anne O’Callaghan with their two sons Roger and Henry. They have described themselves as one of the leading consignors of thoroughbreds in Ireland and Britain and no one could dispute it. Recent group 1 winners produced include Sky Lantern (Group 1 1000 Guineas), Dream Ahead (champion sprinter), Bushranger (champion two-year-old), Myboycharlie, Kingsgate Native, Lahaleeb, and Dubawi Heights. In 2013 Sky Lantern became the eighth classic winner to have been bred and raised at Tally-Ho Stud.

The story of Tally-Ho Stud began with the Boyd-Rochfort family, long associated with the nearby Middleton Park Stud. Hamilton Boyd-Rochfort was a large landowner and High Sheriff of Westmeath and lived at Middleton Park, Castletown Geoghegan, Co Westmeath. He married Frances Hemming in 1875 in London and when he inherited the land his children were Arthur (7), Harold (5), Cecil (six months) and three girls Ethel, Alice and Winifred. Muriel McCall was not yet born. Cecil, Muriel and to some extent Arthur all played a part in the development of Tally-Ho Stud.

MURIEL MCCALL

Muriel became interested in racing as her mother and sister Alice had horses in training and Arthur had some success with Pride Of Middleton and went on to set up a stud at Middleton Park. Muriel married Jack McCall who bought a long lease of a farm near Lough Ennel and the Ennel Lodge (where The Tetrarch was due to stand at one stage) and he called it Tally-Ho in 1918. They sold horses for the first time in July 1919 and three of the four sold were winners, with a top price of 1,400gns for a colt by Tredennis. The horse, who was bought by Jack Jarvis, was Golden Myth who won the Gold Vase and Gold Cup in three days at Ascot and later dropped down in trip to win the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown.

The McCalls did not do as well as they hoped and were in financial difficulty by 1923 when they only got 1,440gns for eight horses. The irony of the situation was that one of the yearlings sold was from their mare Himalaya and she produced Capture Him, bought for only 120gns. This horse went on to win eight out of nine races as a two-year-old and was the top rated two-year-old of the year. Marshall Field, one of the American owners who helped to set up Cecil Boyd-Rochfort as a trainer at Freemason Lodge in 1922, decided to buy Tally-Ho Stud, which was now run by Muriel McCall and continued to be for the next 50 years.

Marshall Field III was a young American millionaire educated at Eton and Cambridge and he met Cecil in 1919. He decided to go into racing with Cecil Boyd Rochfort as his trainer. Black Ray was to be one of the foundation mares of Tally-Ho Stud and helped to repay Field’s financial input as she produced Jacopo and Foray who were top class two-year-olds, plus fillies like Éclair, Infra Red and Dawn Ray.

In 1924 Cecil brought over Amethystine to win the Irish Oaks (the first horse he brought over to race in Ireland) and later she won the Kempton Park Great Jubilee Handicap before being sent to Tally-Ho Stud. By 1931 Marshall Field had 14 mares at Tally-Ho Stud but by 1943 Field was now very involved in politics in the USA and decided to go out of racing.

At this time Muriel’s mother was living with her at Tally-Ho Stud. In 1951 Bill Woodward sold a granddaughter of his broodmare Priscilla Carter called Niobe II to Muriel McCall and she brought great success to Tally-Ho when breeding Aurelius who won the English St Leger in 1961.

One of Cecil’s most interesting owners was Elizabeth Arden Graham of the cosmetics empire, who had three mares standing with Muriel at Tally-Ho in the 1950s and she took on her son Angus McCall, when he left the army, to work for her company. Sagacity was bred at Tally-Ho and bought as a yearling for 2,220gns in 1959 and went on to win the Ascot Gold Cup, Yorkshire Cup and Goodwood Cup in 1962 amongst other successes.

QUALITY HORSES

Other quality horses bred at Tally-Ho over the years included Hard To Beat (Hardicanute-Virtuous) who won the Prix de Jockey Club, the French Derby, at Chantilly, and was third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe; Wollow, who won the 2000 Guineas, the Eclipse Stakes and the Sussex Stakes among others; and Exar, whose victories included the Gran Premo d’Italia and Goodwood Cup.

A number of high class horses not bred in Tally-Ho came there to be reared and a good example was Alcide who won the St Leger in 1958 and the Ascot Gold Cup and the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1959. He was trained by Cecil Boyd-Rochfort who always believed the horse would have won the 1958 Epsom Derby only he was nobbled. When he came to Tally-Ho Stud at three months he was “a tiny miserable creature” but they gave him plenty of cow’s milk, glucose, and the limestone in Westmeath’s soil to help him turn into a strong high-class horse. Parthia (Persian Gulf-Lightning), winner of the Epsom Derby, was also weaned at Tally-Ho Stud and his mother Lightning was there.

Cecil’s son Arthur Boyd-Rochfort took over Tally-Ho Stud when Muriel retired in 1968 and she moved to nearby Lynnbury. Arthur bred Wollow, winner of the English 2000 Guineas, and Cloonagh, winner of the 1000 Guineas in 1973. At this stage Muriel’s son David was racing manager to Charles Engelhard, Peter was managing Calvestown House Stud, Kildare and Angus was working for Elizabeth Arden. His stepson Henry Cecil started his career as assistant trainer to Cecil Boyd-Rochfort and took over Freemason Lodge when Cecil retired to Cavan in Ireland after seeing Henry’s first major success with Wolver Hollow in the Eclipse Stakes in 1969. Henry Cecil used to stay at Tally-Ho Stud with his Aunt Muriel and remembered fishing evenings in Lough Ennel.

O’CALLAGHANS

Tony O’Callaghan bought Tally-Ho Stud from Arthur Boyd-Rochfort in the late 1970s when Arthur moved to England. The one thing that didn’t change over the years was the quality of the horses and the commitment of the owners to quality.

In 1932 Harold Cayzer bought a filly for 800gns called Dalmary out of Simon’s Shoes by Blandford and Cecil Boyd-Rochfort trained the filly to win the Yorkshire Oaks after which she went to Tally-Ho Stud. Leading sires like Sadler’s Wells and Nureyev trace back to her as do Sky Lantern and Sir Prancelot who is a recent addition as a stallion to Tally-Ho.

Many useful stallions like Beckett, Danetime, Indian Rocket, Redback, Tillerman, Chevalier, Chineur, Mr Dinos and others have passed through Tally-Ho over the years under the care of the O’Callaghans. Speed is the common denominator with many of the Tally-Ho stallions and a strong connection with some of the faster Richard Hannon young horses. The list includes: Baltic King, winner of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sprint and Wokingham Handicap. Bushranger won the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes, Sir Prancelot won the National Stakes and Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes and the most recent addition is Society Rock, the 2014 winner of the Group 1 Golden Jubilee and Newbury Sprint Cup beating amongst others Gordon Lord Byron.

Undoubtedly, the success of Kodiac and Zebedee with two-year-olds last season highlights the international importance of Tally-Ho Stud. Richard Hannon compared Ivawood (Zebedee-Keenes Royale) to his sire Zebedee when he romped home in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood at odds of 2/5 but also added he had more scope for the future.

Tiggy Wiggy (Kodiac-Kheleyf’s Silver) was so impressive in the Weatherbys Super Sprint that she got the highest Racing Post rating for a two-year-old over five furlongs since 1992 and she was even entered for the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp in October which was last won by a two-year-old, Sigy, in 1978. Kodiac was second to Galileo as the leading sire of two-year-olds with 84 runners (The Irish Field up to November 2014), 40 winners and 63 wins and Zebedee had 80 runners, 29 winners, and 43 wins over €575,000.

Frankel’s half-brother Morpheus will stand at Tally-Ho in 2015. A three-time winner as a three-year-old for Lady Cecil, he will stand for €6,000. He is a half-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Noble Mission. Tony O’Callaghan said: “Morpheues is an imposing individual, standing a strong 16 hh and will very much appeal to our clients and provide them with an opportunity to avail of the successful bloodlines developed by Juddmonte Farms.’’

The hard work of Tony and Anne O’Callaghan has made Tally-Ho Stud a modern racing success story. Tony’s advice when winning an award in 2009 was: “I’ve seen three recessions and I’d say just be patient and it will come.’’