HE may have had small crops to date, but there is most certainly going to be a lot more interest from breeders in Mickley Stud’s Yorgunnabelucky in 2022. Richard Kent stands this son of Giant’s Causeway in Shropshire (a relatively short run from Holyhead) and the stallion got his second blacktype National Hunt winner at the weekend – and what a winner it was.

Timeforatune was bred, owned and trained by Brian Eckley and in May of this year the five-year-old made a winning debut when skating up in a Ffos Las bumper by 11 lengths. Two weeks later he changed hands at the Tattersalls Cheltenham May Sale for a cool £175,000, and joined Paul Nicholls to race in the colours of John Hales.

Now he has added another two bumper wins to his record, at Chepstow and last weekend in the Listed Cheltenham NH Flat Race. He is starting slowly to pay back his purchase price, and it is almost certain that he will be adding more and more success in the future. Timeforatune has the pedigree on his dam side to do well when sent jumping. His third dam was the smart Olympian Princess (Master Owen), winner of 15 races, seven over fences and one of them a listed chase at Fairyhouse.

Timeforatune is joined on Yorgunnabelucky’s winner roster by 10-time scorer Lucky’s Dream, plus Lets Go Lucky. The latter won on the turf and Tapeta for the David Evans stable as a two-year-old, those two seven-furlong wins achieved by a combined margin of five lengths, and she added another win over the trip in 2020, scoring at Lingfield in the hands of Hollie Doyle. This year she recorded victory number four for new handler Phil McEntee.

Lucky’s Dream, by contrast, has won eight times over 10 furlongs, once over 12 furlongs plus one from two starts in bumpers. He too is effective on both turf and the artificial tracks. Lady Reset is trained by David Pipe and five of her seven wins have been gained this year, two of them over hurdles. However, Fortunes Melody was the first of Yorgunnabelucky’s progeny to get blacktype. Now trained by Harry Fry and owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the four-year-old was a Grade 2-placed listed hurdle winner in France last year for the David Cottin stable.

Outclassed rivals

Yorgunnabelucky raced only on turf, winning five times over middle distances. He outclassed his rivals when winning a 10-furlong Redcar maiden by 16 lengths, won over the same trip at Yarmouth, over 12 furlongs at Ascot and Pontefract and, as a five-year-old, added a 14-furlong handicap at Newmarket. The evidence suggests that he had more stamina than his famous full-brother Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway), even though that celebrity’s track career was cut short before he had the chance to try beyond 10 and a half furlongs.

However, with the number of Shamardal’s offspring who have excelled as sprinters and milers outweighing the number who have been best over middle distances, it is likely true. That much-lamented dual classic star is an outstanding sire, and with a small final crop of his foals born this year, his tally of 27 Group 1 winners is likely to increase more.

Of course, Helsinki (Machiavellian), the dam of Shamardal and Yorgunnabelucky, was out of the Group 1 Irish Oaks heroine Helen Street (Troy) and that made her a full-sister to Grade 1 winner and champion sire Street Cry (Machiavellian), forever remembered as the sire of Winx and Zenyatta.