BOUGHT back at €425,000 at Goffs as a four-year-old, the Richard Fahey-trained Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) mare Barefoot Lady won the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes and was third in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes. She was runner-up in the Group 3 Musidora Stakes, fourth at the Curragh in the Group 1 Matron Stakes, and captured the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes at Woodbine.

Though a little off being top-class, Barefoot Lady was nonetheless a most admirable runner who raced 20 times, winning five times in all. She was for many years the poster girl for the Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale, and in 2010 she sold at that venue for €30,000. She was the type of mare to appeal to Japanese buyers, as they are more concerned about racecourse performance than pedigree. That is not to say that Barefoot Lady has poor breeding.