WHILE her nephew Andrew Thompson has been glorying for some time in the success of Ribchester, a colt he co-bred, Audrey Thompson has been quietly going about the business of breeding winners. The latest is the two-year-old colt Loch Ness Monster, winner second time out having been placed on his debut. Trained by Mick Appleby, he is the fifth winner from the first five foals for his dam, but the first of her offspring to do so as a juvenile.

Sold for €26,000 as a foal, resold for £26,000 as a yearling and finally for £35,000 as a two-year-old (all at Goffs or Goffs UK), Loch Ness Monster is one of nine first crop winners for his sire War Command (War Front). The Coolmore-based stallion won the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at two,