EDWARDSTONE won the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown on Saturday, becoming the latest winner at that level for his sire Kayf Tara (Sadler’s Wells) who retired from stallion duties at Overbury Stud last year.

The Alan King-trained seven-year-old was most impressive when winning this feature by 16 lengths, his second consecutive victory over fences. He was brought down on his seasonal debut and prior to that unseated his rider on his first run over fences.

Edwardstone was runner-up on all his three starts in bumpers, on the last occasion to Chantry House. He took to hurdling well, beating Fiddlerontheroof on his debut and added to it with a defeat of Harry Senior at Aintree. He put up some creditable efforts in defeat, and was not disgraced when beaten just three lengths by Belfast Banter at Cheltenham in March.

Bred by his Norfolk-based owners Robert Abrey and Ian Thurtle, Edwardstone is out of the four-year-old point-to-point winner Nothingtoloose, who Abrey purchased at the Doncaster Spring Sale in 2009 for £22,000. That daughter of Luso (Salse) at the time had won her only start, at Cottenham, easily against 11 others. She did not add to that in five subsequent outings.

Sent to stud, her first foal was not named and Edwardstone is her second produce. Only two more offspring have been born, Nothingtochance (Kayf Tara), the Grade 1 winner’s unraced four-year-old full-sister, and a yearling colt by Blue Bresil (Smadoun).

Last weekend’s victory now means that the female side of the family has produced a Grade 1 performer in each of the first three removes. Nothingtoloose is a half-sister to the unraced Awesome Miracle (Supreme Leader) and that mare’s growing tally of winners include Shotgun Paddy (Brian Boru), a Grade 3 winner over fences, and the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper-placed Queens Brook (Shirocco).

Go back one more generation to Many Miracles (Le Moss), the third dam of Edwardstone, and she is the dam of four successful offspring, led from the front by the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase winner Patricksnineteenth (Mister Lord). The fifth dam of the weekend star is Great Lark (Great Captain).

Great Lark

Even before the valuable mares’ programme we have today, Great Lark won a bumper, seven hurdle races and six chases, the highlight coming with her 1968 victory in the Thyestes Chase in the colours of Peg Watt. The then 10-year-old mare was trained by Willie O’Grady and ridden to a four-length win by Stan Murphy. They won from Alice Maythorn (Bobby Coonan) and Tobraheela (Ben Hannon).

Overbury Stud’s Simon Sweeting was delighted with Edwardstone’s victory. He commented to GBRI following the race: “He won very well. I saw him run at Warwick last time and he jumped and ran exceptionally well there too. He wasn’t particularly tested last time but he looked like he was shaping up to suiting fences.

“He was very unlucky the time before but he is learning all the time, and I think he will come out a better horse after today. He was clearly a very good hurdler as well, but it looks as though his best is yet to come.”

Overbury’s care

Kayf Tara has been in Overbury’s care since 2000. The 27-year-old was stood down from stud in June 2020 and, as only a finite number of his progeny on the track remain, top-level successes such as this are just as significant for Sweeting. He added: “It is very exciting. We have done all that work over the years and, while he is not covering mares now, it still means an awful lot to us that his horses are running well and winning races like this. I hope that we will have a few more years of pleasure watching his stock running on a Saturday afternoon.

“At the moment, his routine looks exactly as it did before he retired. He goes out during the day and is in overnight. He’s treated like a lord, has a very good life, and is still in great health. He is not covering mares during the season but he is in the same paddock and stable; people still want to come and see him. He has done us proud, so I hope that we can give him a few more years of happy retirement.”

Sweeting also paid tribute to Edwardstone’s owner-breeders: “They [Robert Abrey and Ian Thurtle] have been coming here for a few years. They, and their families, are very enthusiastic breeders. They are absolutely steeped in it, they love it and they know a lot about it.”