ON New Year’s Eve Gay O’Gara called The Irish Field offices with a query. A keen student of stallion statistics, he had noticed an anomaly in the data for Gold Well. It was of particular interest to Gay, as Gold Well’s best performer at the moment is leading Gold Cup hope Galvin, who he bred at his farm in Co Clare.

Thanks to Gay’s eagle eye, the error in our stallion table was fixed and he is pretty hopeful that Gold Well will be moving further up the table by the end of next week.

Explaining his soft spot for left-field stallions, Gay says: “If you study the sire statistics, you’ll see that the winners-to-runners ratio only changes slightly as you go down the first 25 stallions on the list,” he says. “The mares are far more important.

“If you accept that the leading stallions are probably getting the best mares, you could ask ‘why are they not doing even better?’ So I am wary of stallions who are hyped or given lots of publicity. I am happy to use less fashionable stallions while, at the same time, understanding that the stallion needs to be in vogue when I am selling the progeny.”

Gay is knocking great sport out of Galvin. Speaking from his home just outside Quin, close to Dromoland Castle, he is barely able to contain his excitement at travelling to Cheltenham next week.

“My four children are coming with me, and my very good friend Sean O’Brien, who is the joint-breeder of Galvin. Sean is originally from the north and was big into greyhounds. When he settled in Clare he took a half-share in Galvin’s dam with me.”

Gay and Sean sold Galvin for €34,000 at the Derby Sale, not a bad result for a mare who had yet to breed a winner. Just over a year later Gay was present at Roscommon Racecourse when Galvin made a winning debut in a bumper – and the horse won a second bumper that month, something which punters would do well to remember next week, says Gay.

Two bumpers

“Some people say Galvin doesn’t have enough pace for a Gold Cup. He won two bumpers! A Plus Tard never even ran in a bumper and Minella Indo was only third in his bumper.”

His faith in Galvin is infectious. He truly believes the foal he bred is destined to win jump racing’s ultimate prize. “This horse has so much toughness, balance, and stamina. He’s a beautiful-looking horse and loves the track. I think he has everything it takes.”

Often when a breeder comes up with a Grade 1 winner over jumps, the mare has died or has been given away, and there is no big payday. Galvin’s dam has died but at least Gay still has a few other members of the family.

Galvin is out of Burren Moonshine, a daughter of Moonax. Gay bred her as well, out of his first thoroughbred Burren Beauty, a Phardante mare he bought at the sales and who won a point-to-point.

Joint breeders Gay and Sean had some great days with Burren Moonshine, who was trained locally by Donie Hassett. Gay recalls: “She loved firm ground. The day she won a handicap hurdle at the [2004] Galway Festival was one of the best days of my life. She went on to win six times in total, including the Durham National in Sedgefield.”

Burren Moonshine’s final foal, a two-year-old gelding by Soldier Of Fortune, is bound for the 2023 Derby Sale. The breeders also have the six-year-old mare Innisfree Beauty who has been treated for a back problem and will hopefully be back on track this summer.

Gay is only breeding from one other mare at the moment, so this is a true fairytale success for a small breeder.

“It’s just a hobby for me and you need a lot of luck. Racing is an exciting game and I’m a very upbeat person but the poor breeder is at the bottom of the heap. Breeding is a tough business. It’s very difficult to make money and I have got nothing out of it. I can’t even get a ticket for the parade ring next week but if Galvin wins nobody will keep me out of that winner’s enclosure!”