Bright Future For Rookie Breeder

The recent victory of Montataire (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the Listed EBF Stallions Stonehenge S. at Salisbury Aug. 19 was significant for the connections of Mark Johnston and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, but even more so for part breeder Cathal Beale. The colt is the first winner bred by the 33-year-old from County Wexford and a stakes win for the busy juvenile was even sweeter given Beale has a half-sister by Cape Cross's son Sea The Stars (Ire) catalogued as lot 431 in the Orby Sale in Goffs Sept. 28. Montataire was officially bred by Dermot Cantillon's Tinnakill, Paddy Lawlor and Beale out of the Smart Strike mare Chantilly Pearl, a winner and placed five times for James Given. Beale and Lawlor both work for Dermot Cantillon at Tinnakill House and at the Smurfit Family's Forenaghts Stud, and both were wise enough to say yes when Cantillon offered to sell them a leg of the mare a few years ago.

“To get a stakes winner with the first winner I have bred is fantastic, I'm very fortunate,” said Cathal Beale. “Dermot bought the mare, Chantilly Pearl, and I quite liked her and he was generous enough to allow myself and Paddy to buy a leg of her each.”

The vagaries of the bloodstock business were evident when the team offered Montataire as a foal in Goffs in 2014. When he was lead out unsold at €29,000 they made the wise decision to bring him home and wait for another day. That other day was 11 months later back at Goffs in the Sportsman's Sale, where he made €90,000, the second-highest price of the sale when knocked down to John Ferguson. “We were delighted with the price he made and it more than vindicated our decision to buy him back as a foal. No doubt also the exploits of Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) throughout 2015 helped propel his sire back into the limelight.”

Having been sent to Mark Johnston, Montataire has certainly thrived under his tutelage, showing admirable durability and progression through a busy summer. He made his debut in the middle of May, finishing second at Ripon before getting off the mark two runs later at Hamilton June 23. Two easy nursery victories at Ascot and Newmarket followed before he joined the Johnston arsenal at Glorious Goodwood, where he beat all bar his stablemate Bear Valley (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}) in another nursery over seven furlongs. He was then sent to Salisbury for his first taste of stakes action where he put up a career best, making all and running away from the field to win by five lengths. That race was over a mile and connections have some interesting entries later in the season to choose from. These include the G2 At The Races Champagne S. at Doncaster, the G2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef S. at Newbury and the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket. The important thing for the breeders is that each race takes place before the Orby Sale, offering the chance of another major update in advance of Goffs.

“We're very excited by the yearling going to Goffs,” said Beale. “Obviously she is a three-parts sister to Montataire and she is a very similar type, a big, tall, rangy filly and a really good walker. The sire as well should be a good help after such a successful year on the track. Anything further that Montataire could achieve before then would also be a great bonus.”

“Ian Thompson and his team did a great job rearing him at Tinnakill House,” Beale added. “The stud has consistently produced tough durable racehorses including Montataire and Irish Derby third Stellar Mass this year alone.”

Sea The Stars is indeed enjoying an incredible year with his offspring. He currently occupies second place in the leading stallions of Ireland and Britain behind his half-brother and perennial champion Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Dual Derby winner Harzand (Ire) has been his main flagbearer this season and is current antepost favourite for the G1 QIPCO Irish Champion S. in two weeks' time. Mutakayef (GB), a 5-year-old from the first crop of Sea The Stars, posted a career-best effort recently when a slightly unlucky third in the G1 Juddmonte International at York. The William Haggas trainee had previously won the G2 Summer Mile S. and has never finished worse than third in thirteen runs, while Zelzal (Fr), winner of the G1 Prix Jean Prat over a mile in July for Jean-Claude Rouget and Al Shaqab Racing, also showed Sea The Stars is equally adept at siring top-class milers as well as middle-distance types. The Gilltown Stud stallion has 10 lots catalogued in the Orby Sale.

The 10-year-old Chantilly Pearl, a half-sister to American and Canadian stakes winners Lemon Chiffon (Lemon Drop Kid) and Masked Maiden (Sky Mesa), does not have a foal on the ground in 2016, but is currently in foal to Casamento (Ire) (Shamardal), a horse well known to the Tinnakill team. “With Dermot having bred Casamento (Ire) (Shamardal) we were always keen to support him as much as we could from the start,” said Beale. The first-season sire table must be perused on a regular basis by the Cantillon family, given that they also bred the current table topper Sir Prancealot (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}).

Beale himself has trodden a well-worn path to where he finds himself at the moment. Following completion of an Arts Degree at University College Dublin, he then undertook the renowned Irish National Stud course before gaining a coveted place on the Godolphin Flying Start, graduating from that two-year stint in 2009, the same year as some other recognizable industry faces such as Darley's Darren Fox and Mick Flanagan of Townley Hall Bloodstock. He commenced working immediately after with Cantillon and one of his main responsibilities now is managing the Tinnakill sales drafts. The yearling sales season will be an exciting time for Beale as in addition to the Sea The Stars filly he also has a share in lot 189 in the Orby, a filly by Shamardal (Giant's Causeway) out of the Grade I-placed mare Northern Mischief (Yankee Victor). A week later in Tattersalls Book 1 he has a share in lot 509, a colt by Redoute's Choice (Aus) (Danehill) out of Buffalo Berry (Ire) (Sri Pekan), also Group 1-placed and a stakes winner in both Ireland and America.