BORRIS HOUSE
4yo Mares Maiden (Div 1)
LADY LAVERY (IRE)
Westerner - Bobs Article (Definite Article)
Bred by Paula Hore, Lady Avery is the third produce out of her unraced Definite Article mare Bobs Article, the full-sister to Edward O’Grady’s ill-fated 150 top-rated hurdler Staying Article, a horse who finished a close third in the 2012 Boylesports Hurdle at Leopardstown.
Her dam’s first foal, Towering, has won three races over hurdles for Nicky Henderson in the colours of Middleham Park Racing, whilst the success of Lady Avery, who is the great-granddaughter of the 1993 Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle winner Shawiya, is a good omen for her owners Monbeg Syndicate, as they bought her three-year-old half-sister, an Oscar filly, for €12,000 at the Derby Sale in June.
4yo Mares Maiden (Div 2)
DAHILLS HILL (IRE)
Mahler - Whites Cross (Lord Americo)
The victory at Borris of Dahills Hill, the sixth foal out of a Lord Americo mare who ran three times without success in the colours of breeder Michael Long, was a welcome one for Long, who also races this mare.
That success was a first for the family, and will hopefully lead to further triumph for Long with her half-brother, a three-year-old Scorpion gelding who was bought by Denis Hogan for €13,500 at the Tattersalls Ireland August National Hunt Sale. The dam also has a yearling by Westerner.
4yo Geldings Maiden (Div 1)
FABULOUS SAGA (FR)
Saint Des Saints - Fabalina (Dear Doctor)
The Haras Du Taillis-bred Fabulous Saga, a €17,000 purchase as a two-year-old at the Arqana Deauville Autumn Mixed Sale, is the last of four foals, which the Dear Doctor mare Fabalina has produced to date. A three-time winner herself on the level between one mile and a mile and two furlongs when in training with Philippe Laloum, she has also produced the three-time winning dual purpose performer Fabulous Valley.
He is a third four-year-old maiden winner in Ireland for his sire Saint Des Saints, a three-time graded winner in his native France, who has consistently been in the top three leading sires there. Last Sunday’s John Durkan winner Djakadam, Quito De La Roque and Lyreen Legend have been his leading performers in Ireland. Dundrum maiden winner Quel Esprit, who subsequently went on to win the Grade 1 Hennessy Gold Cup, is the undoubted star of his three four-year-old maiden winners to date.
4yo Geldings Maiden (Div 2)
CLONDAW RIGGER (IRE)
Stowaway - Daytona Lily (Beneficial)
Providing his sire Stowaway with his first four-year-old maiden winner of the season, and 13th in total, in the younger maiden division, Clondaw Rigger was purchased by his owner Michael Redmond for €7,000 at the Goffs Land Rover Sale, and is the third foal out of his Tramore maiden hurdle winning dam.
That Beneficial mare is a full-sister to It’s Crucial, a horse who picked-up blacktype for the family when finishing third in the Listed Byrne Group Chase at Ascot for Nigel Twiston-Davies. Daytona Lily’s latest two produce have both been by the Sunnyhill Stud stallion Doyen.
BOULTA
4yo Mares Maiden
LOSTIN A FOG (IRE)
Mahler - Spirit Rock (Rock Hopper)
Well-related out of a half-sister to Ted Walsh’s leading track performer Southern Vic, the winner of seven races inside the rails including a three mile Grade 1 Novice Chase at Leopardstown in Christmas 2005, Lostin A Fog is the fourth of six foals out of her unraced Rock Hopper dam.
Her half-sister, the Milan mare Costante Via, was sold for £28,000 at last April’s Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Sale and has recently finished a close second in an Aintree bumper. Lostin A Fog’s handler Martin Cullinane was clearly impressed with her ability prior to Sunday’s success, as he reinvested in the family at last month’s November National Hunt Sale when buying the latest produce of her dam, a colt foal by Shirocco, for €15,000.
4yo Geldings Maiden
CHRIS’S DREAM (IRE)
Mahler - Janebailey (Silver Patriarch)
The victory of Chris’s Dream completed a treble for Mahler in four-year-old maidens over the weekend, bringing to five the number of four-year-old maiden winners which he has sired already this season, with his Ballinaboola winner If You Say Run, one of the leading fillies to pass through the ring at last week’s Cheltenham Sale when being purchased by Tom Malone for £80,000.
Given the success that his trainer Eugene O’Sullivan enjoyed with his half-brother Scorpiancer, winning a five-year-old maiden on debut at Kildorrery with him before selling him for £200,000 at the Cheltenham Festival sale, it was unsurprising that he was keen to acquire Chris’s Dream, giving €17,000 to secure him as a three-year-old at the Land Rover Sale.
Scorpiancer has since added further value to the page, winning the Grade 1 Lonesome Glory Hurdle at Belmont in September, before finishing a close second to Rawnaq in the $350,000 American Grand National.