AUTUMN 2017: Which stallions were hitting the mark

As we continue our lookback at the 2017 autumn point-to-point season, we examine which stallions have been doing the business in the pointing fields and hunter chase division during the second-half of 2017.

Point-to-Points are so often closely followed by breeders to see which stallions are producing winners as they prepare to make their decision on where they send their mares’ to for the new breeding season.

The loss of Beneficial in 2013 is now being seen in the pointing fields, as last season’s champion sire has now dropped out of the top ten in the autumn leaderboard, having previously been crowned champion in seven of the last nine years.

As this year’s leaderboard begins to take shape, we take a look at those stallions who filled the top four places at the year’s end to see who has been making waves this autumn.

 

FLEMENSFIRTH – The Stats

Stands at: Beeches Stud
Pedigree: 26yo b h Alleged - Etheldreda
2018 fee: €15,000
Autumn 2017 runners: 35
Autumn 2017 winners: 8
 

Flemensfirth is well on-track to matching the 22 point-to-point winners that he sired last season, with a total of eight by the dawn of the new year.

The 2015 champion point-to-point sire, has certainly earned his 2018 fee increase, producing no fewer than three six-figure sellers at public sales from those eight winners, including a number of very impressive types.

Know The Score was certainly chief amongst his off-spring this autumn.

The Sean Doyle-trained bay gelding was picked up for €55,000 as a store and he justified that price tag with a dominant winning debut in a four-year-old maiden at Ballinaboola when running out a comfortable six-length winner.

Unsurprisingly after that victory, he was in big demand when offered at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham sale in November, with David Pipe signing for him at a price of £380,000, making him one of the most expensive point-to-pointers ever sold, behind fellow Flemensfirth gelding, Flemenshill, who made £480,000 in the same sales ring earlier in the year.

%u2728%u2728%u2728 New top lot%u2728%u2728%u2728 @DavidPipeRacing secures the highly sought after @farmerdoyle16 Know The Score, a Flemensfirth 6 length winner at Ballinaboola for £380,000 pic.twitter.com/y92uDP3y7V

— TattsCheltenham (@tattscheltenham) November 17, 2017

Know The Score was the highlight of the Cheltenham November sale following his P2P success.

Denis Murphy’s Beyondthestorm, who won his four-year-old maiden at Moira last month at the first time of asking, was subsequently sold for £150,000 to Highflyer Bloodstock at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham December sale to join the Nicky Henderson yard, closely followed by Rath An Iuir, who also realised a six-figure sum in the sales ring.

Winning his four-year-old maiden at Loughrea for Colin Bowe, the Godfrey Moylan-bred bay gelding was snapped up by agent Gerry Hogan and trainer Rose Dobbin for £100,000.

Wilcosdiana, the highest rated mare so far this season and Roundstone, the highest rated five-year-old winner in the autumn, are also among the notable Flemensfirth-sired winners this autumn.

PRESENTING – The Stats

Stands at: Glenview Stud
Pedigree: Died as a 25yo br h Mtoto – D’Azy
2018 fee: N/A
Autumn 2017 runners: 19
Autumn 2017 winners: 7
 

Crowned champion point-to-point sire in both 2007 and 2008, we lost Presenting in 2017, as the leading sire sadly died in August at the age of 25.

His progeny continue to him justice between the flags however, with seven individual winners from 19 individual runners, producing a strike rate of 37%.

Chief among his winners who featured in the sales ring, the William Noonan-bred Rosmuc Relay won his five-year-old geldings’ maiden at the second time of asking for Thomas Barry, before being sold to bloodstock agent Aiden Murphy for £42,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham December sale.

Rosmuc Relay overcame testing conditions on his way to success

Portrush open winner, Sizing Coal, looks set to advertise Presenting in the hunter chase division this season after he finished third to Gilgamboa at Down Royal on St Stephen’s Day, whilst Chapter Two and Presentingprincess are two of his notable mares’ on the point-to-point circuit to have visited the winners’ enclosure during the autumn.

MILAN – The Stats

Stands at: Grange Stud
Pedigree: 20yo b h Sadler’s Wells - Kithanga
2018 fee: €8,000
Autumn 2017 runners: 37
Autumn 2017 winners: 6
 

The popularity of Milan at present is evident on the ground in point-to-points. The 20-year-old son of Sadler’s Wells was responsible for siring the most number of runners between the flags during the autumn 2017 campaign.

Chief among his six point-to-point winners, accumulated from five individual horses, was the Boulta scorer, Siege Of Tobruk.

Bred by F. Tierney, the bay mare, who is out of an eight-time track winner, got off the mark for Niall Kelleher by overcoming testing heavy underfoot conditions to win her four-year-old mares’ maiden by a distance.

Siege Of Tobruk on her way to maiden success at Boulta

Milan has done notably well with his mares’ this autumn, with Cubanera, Daisy Chicks and the two-time winner, Milan Dancer, the other mares’ which he has produced to win.
 

WESTERNER – The Stats

Stands at: Castle Hyde Stud
Pedigree: 19yo b h Danehill - Walensee
2018 fee: €6,000
Autumn 2017 runners: 19
Autumn 2017 winners: 6
 

Westerner is undoubtedly the sire on the rise at present. Just one winner shy of gaining a first ever champion point-to-point sire award last season when ending the season having produced 27 winners, more than double the number he was responsible for during the previous campaign.

That leap forward has certainly been maintained this season, with six winners from just 19 runners including two very impressive four-year-old winners, both of whom were trained to success by Wexford handler Colin Bowe.

Mainstown victor, Straight Red, was one of the star performers of the autumn campaign when getting off the mark at the first time of asking with the minimum of fuss. A €50,000 store out of the Land Rover sale, he provided his connections with a notable profit by realising no less than £300,000 in the Cheltenham sales ring last month.

Straight Red was one of the star attractions in the Cheltenham sales ring.

A week after Bowe had saddled Straight Red to win at Mainstown, he sent out the second of his impressive Westerner four-year-old winners, with the success of Western Victory at Borris House.

The Tim Conroy-bred bay mare ran out the easy 10-length winner to follow-up her promising debut at Monksgrange in the spring.

Hunter Chase victor Gilgamboa, and Loughanmore winner, Captain CJ, who has since gone on to finished placed in a Leopardstown bumper at Christmas, also feature among his notable winners.

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