FRIDAY, 16 MARCH, 2018 CAPITALIST AUSTRALIA=S BUSIEST SIRE O=LEARY FLYING By Kelsey Riley HIGH ON FIVE Newgate=s first-season sire Capitalist (Aus) was Australia=s busiest covering sire of 2017, serving 229 mares, according to Australian Stud Book statistics updated up to Mar. 1. The Golden Slipper winner stands for A$55,000. His own sire, Written Tycoon (Aus), covered 166 mares at a fee of A$88,000. Capitalist was one of three unproven Newgate sires among the top 10; the others were Dissident (Aus), whose first yearlings are currently being sold and who covered 197 at A$33,000, and first-season covering sire Flying Artie (Aus) (Artie Schiller), who stands for A$38,500 and covered 185. Dissident=s sire, Sebring (Aus), was fourth-busiest in 2017, covering 204, followed by his Widden barnmate Nicconi (Aus) with 208 mates. Current reigning champion sire Snitzel (Aus) sits second with 216 covered at the country=s highest advertised fee, A$176,000. Cont. in Worldwide News p10 Michael O=Leary plants one on Balko Des Flos | Racing Post photo By Emma Berry IN TDN AMERICA TODAY CHELTENHAM, UK--Bizarrely billed as St Patrick=s Thursday 48 BREEDERS’ CUP DECIDES AGAINST SPLIT EVENTS hours early, the day nevertheless belonged to Ireland. To The BC board voted against splitting the championships into C = Patrick, add Gordon, Davy and Michael that s Messrs Elliott, two separate race days in November and December. Click or Russell and O=Leary, trainer, jockey and owner, all going home tap here to go straight to TDN America. with huge grins after each enjoying trebles of different permutations. For Ryanair boss Michael O=Leary, who races his horses in association with brother Eddie under the Gigginstown House Stud banner, claiming the Grade 1 steeplechase which has borne the name of his airline since 2006 was the icing on a multi-tiered cake which had already seen wins for his Samcro (Ire) and Tiger Roll (Ire) on Wednesday. Thursday=s first two races went the same way, with the Elliott-trained mare Shattered Love (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) continuing her excellent season with victory in the G1 JLT Novices= Chase-- her fifth success in six starts this season over fences and a third win of the week for her teenage jockey Jack Kennedy. But Kennedy doesn=t have sole rights to the Gigginstown silks, and Davy Russell donned them for the competitive Pertemps Network Final, driving Delta Work (Fr) (Network {Ger}) clear of his 23 rivals, with Russell himself collecting the prize for the third year running after winning the same race aboard Mall Dini (Ire) and Presenting Percy (GB) in the previous two seasons. Cont. p2 TDN EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL • PAGE 2 OF 13 • THETDN.COM FRIDAY • 16 MARCH, 2018 O=Leary Flying High On Five cont. from p1 It was the third contest of the day that mattered most to O=Leary, however. This time Russell teamed up with the Henry de Bromhead-trained Balko Des Flos (Fr) (Balko {Fr}) to ride another perfectly judged race, stalking the exuberant front-running favourite Un De Sceaux (Fr) before jumping to the lead at the third-last fence and maintaining the advantage by 4 1/2 lengths. AIt has cost me a fortune trying to win this race. I think I=ve had a runner every year since we have sponsored and we=ve had so many seconds and thirds so this is very special,@ said O=Leary, who has had four different horses finish runner-up in previous years. AIt=s great for Henry because he has hit the bar a couple of times with seconds and thirds. It is great to see him have a winner of a Grade 1 here. Today was our day and I am going to enjoy this. You obviously want to win the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle, but outside those if I could have picked one this year, it would have been the Ryanair.@ Michael and Anita O=Leary | Racing Post photo Before collecting the trophy from his wife Anita, O=Leary added, AI=m very emotionally attached to the race and it=s the one opportunity that I get for my wife to give me some jewelleryCit=s normally the other way around. The children are all watching on television at home so it=s a very special day.@ The winning jockey, who later added victory in the G3 Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate on Elliott=s The Storyteller (Ire) (Shantou) to his rapidly expanding Festival portfolio, said, AOnce my horse was travelling well, I let him quicken and go forward on his terms and I was happy to do that as I didn=t want him to slow down--I was going the one speed the whole way. It=s an awful shame that Michael doesn=t lose any money but I get some of it, which is great! He is a marvellous man for our sport.@ Cont. p3 TDN EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL • PAGE 3 OF 13 • THETDN.COM FRIDAY • 16 MARCH, 2018 O=Leary Flying High On Five cont. Consecutive trebles will have ensured two extremely satisfying days for Gordon Elliott but his great rival Willie Mullins still eludes him, with seven wins on the board so far this week, another two coming on Thursday via the tearaway G2 Trull House Stud Mares= Novices= Hurdle winner Laurina (Fr) (Spanish Moon) and also in the race which can still be viewed as the feature of Thursday, the G1 Sun Bets Stayers= Hurdle. This Grade 1 contest was fought out by two Flat-bred geldings who spent their foal days frolicking in the paddocks of Newsells Park Stud in consecutive years. Penhill (GB) (Mount Nelson Vice President, International Operations Gary King {GB}) and Supasundae (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) were both winners at Twitter: @garykingTDN last year=s Festival, but it was the 7-year-old Penhill, making his [email protected] first appearance this season, who got the upper hand over his + 1.732.320.0975 year-older rival when the two were pitched into opposition, continuing the Mullins dominance and giving jockey Paul International Editor Townend the first of his two wins on the day. Kelsey Riley Despite ending the day by pushing past Nicky Henderson as Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN the most successful Festival trainer on 61 wins, Mullins was [email protected] quick to deflect praise to a member of his team for the victory of the infrequently seen Penhill. He said, AA lot of credit has to go European Editor Emma Berry to Holly Conte who leads him up, rides him and does everything Twitter: @collingsberry with him. She has virtually trained this horse herself I think. She [email protected] minds him because he is fairly fragile. I will attribute this to Holly.@ Associate International Editor Mullins added, AI would like to put him away now for Heather Anderson Cheltenham next year. I don=t know what will happen when I say Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN that to connections, but he is not suited to training for the Flat. I was hoping to get a run into him, but coming here without a Marketing Manager prep race to win a championship race is a huge achievement to Alayna Cullen the horse. He is able to do this job so well, so we might just try a Twitter: @AlaynaCullen = [email protected] whole different plan. If he doesn t go Flat racing, we might be able to have a better winter racing programme.@ Contributing Editor Owner Tony Bloom is unlikely to mind too much as he has Alan Carasso other classy horses to look forward to for the Flat season, Twitter: @EquinealTDN including another Newsells Park-bred son of Mount Nelson, Librisa Breeze (GB), who won last year=s G1 QIPCO British Cafe Racing Champions Sprint. He said of Penhill=s triumphant return, ABack Sean Cronin in the summer, we were worried as to whether he would run Tom Frary again, but a few months ago I was told he was getting better [email protected] and fit, but to be able to come back from all that time out and Irish Correspondent win a Grade 1 championship race was brilliant. He has done it Daithi Harvey with absolute style. I was concerned two hurdles out whether he would get up the hill after such a long time out, but he has Regular Columnists won it going away.@ Andrew Caulfield Standing in the winner=s enclosure watching the horse he has John Berry known since birth was Newsells Park Stud manager Julian Dollar, Kevin Blake who said with a smile, AWe nearly had the Champion Hurdle too Tom Peacock with [runner-up] Melon. It=s been quite a week.@ Cont. p4 TDN EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL • PAGE 4 OF 13 • THETDN.COM FRIDAY • 16 MARCH, 2018 O=Leary Flying High On Five cont. thought about himChe=s produced a top-class sprinter and a Dollar continued, AIt=s wonderful that Supasundae has found classy hurdler like Penhill. He can do both jobs.@ his niche and Penhill was a good horse for James Bethell and has Boutique post-race sales of young jumpers have become very gone on to be really good for Willie Mullins. We don=t set out popular in Britain and the fifth Cheltenham Festival Sale took our stall to be National Hunt breeders but this is an extra bonus place after racing on Thursday. The auction of 27 horses, staged and we have to be proud of it--it=s great fun.@ in the parade ring by Tattersalls Ireland, raised a total of Supasundae, winner of the G1 Irish ,3,165,000 from 20 sold, with two Champion Hurdle in February, is closely 4-year-old geldings being sold for the related to Newsells Park=s Nathaniel joint-top price of ,330,000.