ANOTHER Irish farm who will have celebrated the Leopardstown results was Glenview Stud, the National Hunt division of the Cashman’s Rathbarry empire.

They stand Blue Bresil (Smadoun), and he sired yet another Grade 1 winner, thanks to the Barry Connell-owned and trained Good Land. This seven-year-old, bred by Jean-Charles Haimet, was having only his fifth outing in the Nathaniel Lacy and Partners Solicitors “50,000 Cheltenham Bonus For Stable Staff” Novice Hurdle, and he notched up his third career success in the race.

A £28,000 graduate of the Goffs UK Spring Sale in 2019, when purchased by Ed Bailey Bloodstock, Good Land was off the track for 701 days after making a promising debut in a bumper at four, running second to Grand Paradis.

On his return he won a bumper at Wexford last October, unseated his rider on his hurdling debut, and has now won twice over the timber, both times at Leopardstown.

Good Land joins the sensational Constitution Hill, multiple Grade 1-winning chaser Blue Lord, dual Grade 1-winning French hurdler L’Autonomie, Grade 1 December Hurdle winner Mick Jazz, and the likes of Grade 2 winners Inthepocket, Royal Pagaille, and Le Prezien, among the best winners sired to date by Blue Bresil.

On the dam side of the family, Good Land is not lacking. His dam, the Khalkevi (Kahyasi) mare Unique Star, was a five-time winner on the flat in France, and she is the dam of Good Land, dual bumper winner and successful over hurdles, Fifrelet (Diamond Boy), and the point-to-point winner, Hey Soul Sister (Diamond Boy). Unique Star was one of seven successful offspring from the winning Effet De Star (Grand Tresor), one of which, Tony Star (Lone Bid), was a multiple winner in Britain, and placed at blacktype level.

More tenuous

There was a further Glenview connection, albeit a little more tenuous, to another Grade 1 winner at Leopardstown.

This was Audrey Turley’s Galopin Des Champs, the seven-year-old winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup. Apart from falling at the last when he had the race at his mercy in Cheltenham last March, Galopin Des Champs has never been headed over fences, and has now won five of his starts in that sphere.

Like Shishkin, a son of Glenview Stud’s Sholohkov (Sadler’s Wells), Timos is also one of that stallion’s sons, one who avoided the ‘unkindest cut of all’. In turn Timos is himself sire of yet another Willie Mullins superstar in Galopin Des Champs.

After Galopin Des Champs made his spectacular debut over fences, I wrote that it “looks like he will be a force to reckon with over the larger obstacles”. That wasn’t hard to predict, but even I could not have foreseen that he would win the next four at Grade 1 level.

Galopin des Champs ended his career over hurdles with back-to-back wins at the Cheltenham Festival and in the Grade 1 War Of Attrition Novice Hurdle at Punchestown. Now he has added Grade 1 wins at the three major jumping venues in Ireland, Fairyhouse, Punchestown and Leopardstown twice. Maybe it is time to do so at Cheltenham, and right the wrong of last year.

Limited chances

Timos, bred in Germany, was a listed winner in France at three and four over a mile and a half, but he actually put in his best career performances at five, and in defeat. He was beaten a length by Allied Powers in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly before running third to Duncan in the Group 2 Prix Foy at Longchamp. He failed to attract decent books of mares in France, and has had just a handful of winners from very limited numbers of runners. What a pity.

The mating of Timos with the four-time three-year-old flat winner Manon Des Champs, a daughter of Marchand De Sable (Theatrical), has been rewarding, firstly being responsible for the listed Auteuil chase winner Flute Des Champs. She was born a year before her Grade 1 winning full-brother Galopin Des Champs and gained all of her three wins at the age of four. Both of these winners emerged many years after their dam’s first winner, Star Des Champs (Take Risks), and she was successful twice.

Galopin Des Champs and Flute Des Champs are the only blacktype performers in four generations of the family, though this can often be attributed to lack of opportunities. Under Galopin des Champs’ fifth dam you will find a great mix of blacktype winners, both on the flat and over jumps.