Old Persian continues to impress with first crop

 

The Michael Murphy-trained bay came from well off the pace to land the opening division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden, quickening clear after the last under Darragh Higgins to defeat Saint De Gemix by two lengths, with the pair finishing 13 lengths clear of the remainder.

 

A €15,000 foal purchase by Murphy from breeder Dan Mangan, the son of Old Persian looks like a potentially smart prospect in the making.

 

“I bought him off his breeder Dan Mangan as a foal,” Murphy said afterwards. “He’s a great moving horse and was very green there, but he was very good when he got into a rhythm. He will now be sold.”

 

The victory provided Old Persian with a second winner from just 11 individual runners between the flags from his first crop, and Paul Cashman admitted he has been thrilled with the way the stallion’s four-year-olds have started their careers.

 

“I’m delighted, on the point-to-point side of things, I’m very happy with what they have shown,” Cashman said.

 

“They seem to be natural jumpers and they seem to have great temperaments for the job. That’s half the battle when they’re like that, so it’s great to hear.”

 

Cashman was unable to make it to Ballindenisk owing to the busy covering season at Glenview Stud, but quickly heard positive reports surrounding Dan De Champ’s display.

 

“A good friend of mine rang me straight after the race and said he was very impressive.

 

“It’s great and I’m delighted for Michael Murphy too. He’s a good man at the job.”

 

Dan De Champ followed on from the impressive debut success of Personal Space at Borris House in March, with the Gary Murphy-trained mare becoming the first point-to-point winner for Old Persian when dominating the four-year-old mares’ maiden under Shane O’Rourke.

 

“She’s a proper one,” Murphy said afterwards. “We’ve loved her from day one, and her jumping is immense.”

 

The mare has since been sold privately and is now in training with Henry de Bromhead.

 

Cashman revealed that Murphy had spoken highly of the mare even before her debut success.

 

“I met Gary over at the Cheltenham sales and he told me she was very smart.

 

“He rang me after she won and said: ‘I knew she was good, but I didn’t think she was that good.’”

 

The success of Personal Space quickly generated further interest in the stallion, with a number of breeders booking mares to Old Persian following the victory.

 

Old Persian has also supplied several other notable performers in recent months. Persian Palace, trained by Cashman himself and carrying the colours of his mother Catherine, finished a close third in a strong Knockanard maiden in February before subsequently selling for £105,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale to Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins.

 

“Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins are good judges and they liked what they saw.

 

“He had only run five days beforehand, but he showed himself very well over there. He has a great step and a lovely physical presence with plenty of size and scope.”

 

Further encouragement has come through Business Class, who was runner-up at Dromahane in April for Tom Keating, while The Farmers Bar finished third in another competitive Dromahane maiden for Ian McCarthy.

 

Standing at Glenview Stud since 2021, Old Persian won six stakes races during his racing career for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby, including Group 1 victories in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan and the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine. The son of Dubawi earned over £3.3 million on the track and was introduced as a National Hunt stallion prospect by Rathbarry and Glenview Studs in 2021.

 

Explaining the attraction to Old Persian as a National Hunt stallion prospect, Cashman pointed to both his race record and his suitability as an outcross to the dominant Sadler’s Wells bloodlines.

 

“I loved the outcross. We don’t have many Dubawi horses in National Hunt because he stood for so much money on the Flat side, but the few we’ve seen have done well.

 

“I think that Dubawi outcross to the Sadler’s Wells line is going to work really well.

 

“He was also a very good racehorse himself and physically he was different to a lot of Dubawi horses because he had size, scope and presence.”

 

The popularity of Old Persian has continued to build this season, with the stallion already covering close to 100 mares, almost double last year’s total.

 

Among those returning to the stallion is Harleys Champ, the dam of Dan De Champ, in a particularly fitting twist for the stud.

 

“Dan Mangan rang me after the race and said he’d have to send the mare back to him now,” he said with a laugh.

 

“Dan used to work with us years ago and was our stud manager here in Rathbarry, so it’s lovely to see things like that happen.”

 

Old Persian forms part of the next generation of National Hunt stallions at Glenview Stud alongside Jeu St Eloi, Eagles By Day and the newest addition, Magic Dream, following the recent loss of the hugely influential Blue Bresil.

 

Blue Bresil supplied 11 point-to-point winners this season, while Jeu St Eloi has produced five, and Magic Dream has quickly become the busiest horse on the Glenview roster.

 

“He’s probably the busiest horse we have in the place now and has covered well over 100 mares.

 

“He has already had two three-year-old winners in France and one of those fillies was listed placed and Grade 3 placed at the weekend, so it has been a great start for him.”

That encouraging start was further boosted earlier this week when a store by Magic Dream realised £50,000 at the Goffs UK Spring Store Sale in Doncaster, while with the point-to-point season drawing to a close, attention is now beginning to turn towards the summer store sales, where Cashman will be hoping the growing momentum behind the Glenview National Hunt roster can continue.