IT is hard to put into words the impact that the late Chryss O’Reilly made on the thoroughbred business, and the level of success she enjoyed. Her sphere of influence, and her philanthropy, reached even further.

Quietly spoken, she inherited her love for horses from her uncles George and Constantin, but she enjoyed greater success than they ever did, notwithstanding that George owned a British classic winner, the 1962 Oaks heroine Monade, and Constantin owned Haras de la Louviere which Lady O’Reilly inherited.