ANIMAL portrait artist and Level 2 Horse Sport Ireland coach Dale Adams is also a successful breeder of racehorses, although she would credit the breeding the back-to-back hurdle winner, El Muchacho, and his year younger full-brother, Spirit Of Regulus, to her husband Gary.

“It’s a team effort,” stressed Dale, “but the thoroughbreds are Gary’s game while I’d rather stick to the show jumpers. We have three thoroughbred broodmares and El Muchacho’s dam, La Segnora, is the first registered in my name. He was trained by Mick Goff when winning his point-to-point maiden second time out (at Stradbally in April last year) but is now with Milton Harris in England.”

Since moving across the Irish Sea, the now six-year-old El Muchacho has run half a dozen times and has never been out of the first four, his wins coming at Plumpton on January 2nd and at Catterick last Thursday week. He is the second of seven recorded foals – and the first of six by Walk In The Park – out of the French-bred La Segnora (by Turgeon) whose eight wins over jumps included the Prix d’Automne Hurdle (Grade 1) at Auteuil.

“Spirit Of Regulus, who is with Donald McCain, has only run three times and won a maiden hurdle at Sedgefield in October. The mare bred six colts in a row and the plan is to consign her three-year-old gelding to one of the main store sales this year while holding on to her yearling who is her only filly to date.”

With plenty of painting commissions, Dale was very busy in the lead-up to Christmas but now hopes to spend more time coaching and travelling on the show jumping circuit with daughters Maisie (17) and Lauren (14) although, as both girls are in exam years, they may not be too active until the summer.