As we all know it is a long game in NH breeding and the progress of stallion Shirocco, who is currently enjoying a best-ever third-place position on the NH stallions’ table after a strong set of results over Christmas, is a fine example of the influence of time.
The son of Monsun was initially retired as a Flat stallion to Dalham Hall in 2007, with one year spent at Kildangan in 2009. However, after a number of NH runners emerged, he was transferred in 2014 to Rathbarry and Glenview Stud on a jumps’ ticket.
By then his daughter, the talented Annie Power, had started building her impressive resume. Born in 2008 she had a first bumper start in 2012, won her first Grade 1 at Fairyhouse in 2013 and remained unbeaten until March 2014 when second in the World Hurdle to More Of That. Aside from that run and her infamous fall under Ruby Walsh at the last when clear in the Mares’ Hurdle the following year, she finished at the head of her field on every start.
In 2014, Shirocco’s son Lac Fontana, born a year after Annie Power, took the County Hurdle (G3) and then the Grade 1 Mersey Novices Hurdle. His son and daughter certainly made him something of a talking stallion, and NH breeders jumped on the wave and made full use of his services in the covering shed.
Those horses bred in 2014 and 2015 are now eight and seven-year-olds and at the prime of their competitive lives – on the Weatherbys NH Stallion Book his 2015 crop has produced 157 winners so far. It is the most in any of Shirocco’s crops and, with prize-money earnings of £1,805,200, is also the richest, aside from his first crop born in 2008.
The stallion’s 2015 offspring include Grumpy Charley (pictured), who was bred by Distillery Stud and won Newbury’s Mandarin Chase at the end of December.
The gelding was bought by owner Geoff Thompson as a three-year-old at the Goffs UK Spring Store in 2018 and with the Grand National as a long-term hope. The horse started out in 2019 successfully maiden point-to-pointing with Chris Honour for whom he also finished third in the point-to-point bumper held at Exeter that April. Initially sent into training with David Pipe to run under Rules, Grumpy Charley returned to the now third-season West Country-based trainer Chris Honour once he had taken out a full licence.
Grumpy Charley transferred to fences for the 2021-22 season and after a win at Newbury at the end of December 2021, finished third at the same track in February 2022 behind Bravemansgame, form which now looks pretty good. The gelding was then highly tried for the remainder of that spring season – he pulled up in the Grade 3 Ultima Handicap Chase at The Festival and then finished seventh in the Grade 3 Betway Handicap Chase at April’s Aintree meeting.
A pull-up result on his first start of this season at Bangor in November was put behind him with the Mandarin victory at his favoured Newbury and back at the New Year meeting. Honour, who led up the horse himself, is looking forward to getting his horse on this year’s National trail.
In total, Shirocco bagged ten winners after Christmas through to January 4, and they also included the Willie Mullins-trained Shewearsitwell, who headed up a one-two for the sire in Leopardstown’s Grade 3 Irish EBF Mares Hurdle when coming home ahead of Queens Brook.
The stallion also enjoyed some success this winter in the sale ring and was responsible for the top lot at the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale – his son What’s Up Darling, the winner of a five-year-old maiden point-to-point at Quakerstown at the beginning of December, bought by trainer Gordon Elliott for £280,000. Elliott was particularly busy at the sale; with various associates he bought seven lots, including four of the top ten, and spent just over £1 million.
Of interest, the Weatherbys NH Stallions web page reports that Shirocco’s progeny have a considerable penchant for good or faster ground with 43 per cent of his winners coming on the surface and 21 per cent on good ground; his offspring will have been particularly suited by the drier autumn experienced in both Britain and Ireland this season.
Another sire whose progeny often show a marked preference for better ground is the recently deceased Milan, but his talented daughter Marie’s Rock proved that all surfaces come alike to her when blowing away her opponents in the Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle, which was run on soft ground. In doing so the eight-year-old mare, who is owned by Middleham Park Racing, lined herself up for a repeat tilt at The Festival’s Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle.
There is slim chance that she could be redirected to the Champion Hurdle as she is trained by Nicky Henderson whose Seven Barrows yard houses the mighty Constitution Hill. Despite jockey Nico de Boinville reporting that the son of Blue Bresil was “dossing” turning for home, he was an imperious 17l winner of Kempton’s Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and is now the 1/5 favourite for The Festival’s opening hurdles feature.
Amazingly, the six-year-old’s five wins under Rules have all been by over 12l or more, headed in distance by his 22l defeat of Jonbon in the Supreme Novices Hurdle last March.
This year, his sire Blue Bresil will be repeating the experience of his stud mate Shirocco and, come February, the list of suitors for the son of Smadoun is likely to be winding from his Cork stable to Dublin docks, and his influence on the next ten to 15 years of NH racing is likely to be immense.
His fee is listed as private, as is the price for Walk In The Park, his closest opponent in the stallion ranks. The Grange Stud-based sire also grabbed a big-race hurdles victor over Christmas with last year’s Champion Bumper winner Facile Vega readily taking the Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle. He is now favourite for both the Supreme Novices’ and the Ballymore Novice Hurdle.
Walk In The Park is sire of five top level winners with his leading novice chaser, the already mentioned Jonbon, favourite for the Arkle Chase. He won the Grade 1 Henry VII Chase at Sandown before Christmas beating the Presenting son Boothill, who then franked the form at Kempton in the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novice Chase for trainer Harry Fry.
Walk In The Park had six winners between Christmas and January 4 with the most expensive being El Muchacho. He cost £50,000 at the 2022 Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale as a winning point-to-pointer, is trained by Milton Harris and was the winner of a handicap hurdle at Plumpton in January.
In future, that sort of purchase price is likely to be a distant memory for a future winning point-to-point graduate by the son of Montjeu, and in November, Mahon’s Way, his four-year-old point-to-pointer, topped the Tattersalls Cheltenham sale at £360,000 when bought by Alex Elliott for Cheveley Park Stud. The stallion’s turnover at the auction was £475,00 for three sold.
Earlier in the year, Walk In The Park’s average at June’s Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale was €91,000, and at the same sale company’s November NH Sale over €44,000 when he was the only sire at that sale (with large numbers offered) who registered an average over €30,000.