THE dam line of Asgard’s Captain, my most recent winner at Musselburgh last month, can be traced back to a period I spent as a hostage of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad during the early nineties.

Having invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, Iraq soon found itself engaged in combat after the US and their allies declared war. As a locum working in the capital at that time, I was one of a number of foreigners held captive.

The interest in racing came from my mother’s side of the family. Both of her brothers, Jimmy and Eamon O’Connell trained, while a third, Kieran, was racing correspondent for the Irish Daily Star for many years. He later did some sterling work raising funds for the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund.

Living close to Hanlon’s Corner, which is just a stone’s throw from the Phoenix Park, as kids we were always at our local track. We always had ponies growing up and were in and out of my uncles’ racing yard.

In my teens, I did some road work for future Gold Cup winning trainer Noel Chance (when he was based at the Phoenix Park) but in later years, work life took over. I actually got so far as taking out an amateur licence but unfortunately never had the opportunity to race-ride.

After secondary school in Cabra College, I worked in the blood bank before training to be a Phlebotomist at the Mater Hospital. Over the next 40 years, I was based primarily between there and the Mater Private.

Baghdad

I worked for three years in Baghdad full-time at the beginning of my career, returning every summer for a number of years subsequently.

It was on my last trip to the Iraqian capital that I faced that horror ordeal. Having gone over there with the intention of earning some money to buy a mare and a plot of land, the hospital I worked at was placed under lockdown by Saddam’s troops just 24 hours after I arrived.

After being held hostage for eight weeks, I was fortunate to be amongst the first group of non-nationals to be freed. Even now, some 30 years later, the footage of that episode is often replayed on RTÉ’s Reeling In The Years. The things one does for horses!

Upon returning home, I bought a bit of land in Kildare, before spending the last few bob of Saddam’s money on a four-year-old mare named Winsome Girl. Purchased off Tady Regan, initially she was in training with my partner Dermot Murphy but she wouldn’t go out on her own, so we moved her to my uncle, Eamon O’Connell, in Clonsilla.

Although she only managed one win from seven starts for us, a claimer at Tralee in August 1991, Winsome Girl developed into a real foundation mare. She went on to breed four winners; Winsome Magic (won 1), Girl Wonder (4), Twiggy’s Sister (3) and a seven-time winner in Italy.

Twiggy’s Sister earned blacktype when listed-placed at Cork in August 2003. Like her dam, she also bred winners: Visterre (won 3), Intellectualstride (1) and Royal Razalma (2).

The latter has been the best progeny of the family thus far, winning the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes at two, before going on to be rated 102.

Only very recently, we bought back into that line, purchasing a daughter of Royal Razalma named Belisa De Vega. Both that filly and her dam had been trained by Jonathan Portman, so we are very thankful to him for his role in improving the bloodline. Belisa De Vega is now in foal to the Ballylinch Stud stallion, Bayside Boy.

Incidentally, Intellectualstride was originally named Bygone Age when he won his maiden at the Curragh for Dermot Weld but was later renamed when he went to Hong Kong.

Another daughter of Twiggy’s Sister, who was subsequently named Twiggy’s Girl, never made the racecourse but we kept her as a broodmare.

Kept the faith

Although her first three runners failed to get their head in front, we kept the faith and have been rewarded of late with two-time winner, Asgard’s Captain.

As we were keen not to geld him too early, we sent him to Shane Donohoe last year. The trainer won twice with Royal Pippen, a son of Royal Razalma, so knew the family well.

As a colt, Asgard’s Captain was backward and needed time but he learned plenty in four starts. Dermot (Murphy) had the horse after being gelded at the beginning of this year but due to staffing issues he was unable to continue with him, so we sent him to a good friend, Thomas Dowling.

On his first run at three, Asgard’s Captain finished third at Dundalk in April. After running green when slightly unlucky on his third outing at Roscommon, Thomas asked us if we would run the horse in Britain.

Normally, we probably wouldn’t have made that journey, especially with the additional cost post-Brexit but as a win was of paramount importance for the dam, we took a chance. Fortunately, the trip to Ripon on June 22nd proved a fruitful one, with Asgard’s Captain holding on to force a dead-heat with Barrolo.

With three-year-old handicaps being scare in Ireland at this time of year, we returned to Britain with Asgard’s Captain for his next two runs.

After running on strongly to finish third from a wide draw at Wolverhampton in mid-August, he gained a decisive second win when scoring by 11 lengths at Musselburgh later that month.

Unfortunately, due to the current BHA restrictions, the horse is excluded from trying to bid for a third win until January.

I must say that everyone we met at both Ripon, Wolverhampton and Musselburgh couldn’t have been more helpful or accommodating. The racecourse managers and clerks of those courses were genuinely pleased for us and welcomed the Irish participation.

With UK options off the table, we might run in Killarney this month but a winter campaign at Dundalk will definitely be part of the plan. The most important thing is that the dam, Twiggy’s Girl, has that winner on her page.

Aside from her and the recently acquired Belisa De Vega, we have two other broodmares here at Misty Lodge Stud. Love To Dream (also out of Twiggy’s Sister) has only had two runners to date but one of those has shown promise in finishing second for David Evans.

She also currently has a real nice Phoenix Of Spain filly on the ground. Ms Sasha Malia, a half-sister to Nanny McPhee (won her maiden for us at Dundalk before sustaining a fatal injury on her next start), is the fourth in our small band.

She has bred eight winners, including two at listed level and a first time out maiden winner for Willie McCreery.

Eileen Farrelly was in conversation with John O’Riordan