THERE might have been a bit of celebrating at David Stack’s Coolagown Stud over the Christmas period, and especially so after the great win for Master McShee in the Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase, the feature race of the four-day Limerick fixture. The eight-year-old is a son of Malinas (Lomitas) who is set to cover at his new base in Fermoy next month.

This the fourth home for Malinas, who started his career at Haras de la Hetraie in France, moved to Yorton Farm, transferred to Rathbarry’s Glenview Stud and will now stand in a joint-venture between the Cashmans and Stack at Coolagown.

A son of leading sire Lomitas (Niniski) and the German champion three-year-old filly Majoritat (Konigsstuhl), a close relation to the influential Monsun (Konigsstuhl), Malinas was a Group 2 winner over 11 furlongs and multiple Group 1-placed on the track.

Malinas has sired Grade 2 winners Black Thunder, Medinas, Mister Malarky, Touch The Eden and Union Dues, as well as Scottish Grand National hero Mighty Thunder, Greatwood Handicap Hurdle scorer Harambe, and the Grade 1-placed hurdlers Baltazar D’Allier, Easter Day and Tile Tapper. Now Master McShee is his first winner at the highest level.

Following his move to Rathbarry Stud in 2016, the Group 1 German Derby runner-up was supported with more and better mares, and so has lots of well-bred youngsters in the pipeline. His first crop of Irish-bred five-year-olds include Dark Raven, an 11-length winner of the Tattersalls Ireland George Mernagh Memorial Sales Bumper for Willie Mullins, and Merry Maker, who scored in a Tipperary point-to-point in impressive fashion for Pierce Power.

First success

Trained by Paddy Corkery, Master McShee was purchased as a foal at Tattersalls Ireland for €11,000 by Morgan Sheehan. He won twice over hurdles in addition to now winning a Grade 1 for his first success over fences.

He is the first racecourse winner for the unraced Oscar (Sadler’s Wells) mare Oscar Annie, though her daughter Lucky Light (Leading Light) won a point-to-point and was placed over hurdles last year – having been bought for just €600 as a foal in 2016.

Oscar Annie is a full-sister to Cusheen Bridge (Oscar) and he won seven times over hurdles and fences. He was the sole winning offspring of One Hell Ofa Woman (Fourstars Allstar), a bumper and hurdle winner who was one of four successful offspring of Daraheen Peal (Mr Fordette). The best of that quartet was Daraheen Chief (Supreme Leader) and he was runner-up to Archive Footage in the 1999 Grade 1 Ladbroke Hurdle at Leopardstown.

David Stack was no doubt also thrilled with the Conheady family’s bumper success with their homebred An Forghas, a now five-year-old son of Shantaram (Galileo), whom he also stands. This is a family that has been in the Conheady ownership since they purchased the then 11-year-old Lady Salama (College Chapel) for €2,000 in 2007. Their patience has finally paid off with An Forghas’s victory.

Malinas will stand at Coolagown Stud in 2022 alongside Way To Paris, Zambezi Sun, Shantaram and Carlotamix.