The impact of sire phenomenon Sadler’s Wells is not just confined to the flat, the breed-shaping King of Coolmore has also made a lasting impression in the National Hunt division.
That much was underlined by last weekend’s Grand National, where a pair of Sadler’s Wells grandsons fought out the finish to what is considered the holy grail of jumps racing.
Noble Yeats makes his presence felt as he surges forward
The winner was Noble Yeats, who gave retiring amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen the perfect send-off and is also the first seven-year-old to prevail since Bogskar won the Aintree showpiece in 1940.
Seven is currently the minimum age for a horse to run in the Grand National.
As his name suggests, he is by Sadler’s Wells’ outstanding son Yeats, considered by many as the best stayer of the post-war era. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Yeats was the early favourite for the 2004 English Derby following three wins from as many starts, but was side-lined for nearly a year.
From ages four to eight he proved himself a revelation, scoring seven times at Gr1 level.
Successful in the Coronation Cup at four, this amazing horse reserved his place in history as the first four-time winner of the Gr1 Ascot Gold Cup, a record only matched by Stradivarius in recent years.
Yeats at Coolmore
That feat was always going to ensure him a place in Coolmore’s powerful arsenal of stallions, albeit in its National Hunt division and he duly retired to Castlehyde Stud. O’Brien remarked at the time: “His lung capacity and heart capacity are way greater than any horse we’ve had. He is the most unbelievable specimen.”
Now the sire of a Grand National winner, Yeats also counts Cheltenham Gr1 winners Flooring Porter, Chantry House and Shattered Love amongst his tally of superior runners. He has enjoyed a terrific season and looks set to secure his first sires’ championship thanks to the Grand National prize of £500 000.
Spare a thought for runner-up Any Second Now. By Sadler’s Wells’ son Oscar, he also finished third twelve months ago. As a racehorse, Oscar was sparingly raced, his best effort from just four starts a second to Peintre Celebre in the Gr1 French Derby. He retired to Coolmore’s Grange Stud at age four and quickly proved himself a potent National Hunt sire, finishing second on the leading jumps sire list on four occasions.
His Grand National record is exemplary. Last year, his son Minella Times was partnered to an epic victory by Rachel Blackmore, the first female rider to win the time-honoured race.
The current National Hunt sires list makes for interesting reading. While Yeats leads the way, second-placed Fame And Glory is by Sadler’s Well’s champion son Montjeu, as is the rising star Walk In The Park.
Sadler’s Wells
Sadler’s Wells’ Galileo, whose success as a flat sire is unparalleled, already has a son amongst the top ten in Mahler and with plenty of top sons now doing duty as National Hunt sires, that record will undoubtedly grow in time to come.
Remarkably, Sadler’s Wells features as either the sire or grandsire of no less than ten of the first 25 leading National Hunt stallions and is now the grandsire of two Grand National winners, a great feat in itself.
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