€310,000 purchase Brighterdaysahead impresses on debut at Gowran for Elliott and O'Leary

Brighterdaysahead leaves her rivals trailing in her wake at GowranCredit: Patrick McCann

Brighterdaysahead, the most expensive horse sold at Ireland's store sales last year, made an impressive start to her career at Gowran on Saturday afternoon, easing to a 13-length success in the Ronan Lawlor Memorial Mares Bumper for Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud.

The four-year-old daughter of Kapgarde brought the hammer down at €310,000 during last June's Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale when signed for by Elliott, who said at the time the half-sister to his then dual Grade 1 winner Mighty Potter had been purchased on behalf of an existing client.

"She looks a star, a pick of the sale, hopefully she will be lucky and, as a broodmare, she has a lot of residual, too. But we will worry about racing first!" said the trainer. Eddie O'Leary made the decisive intervention with his sole bid of €310,000 enough the secure the filly, consigned by the Bleahen brothers.

"She is more like Mighty Potter than [sibling] Caldwell Potter, she looks like she will be nice and hopefully she will be lucky," Elliott added.

John and Niall Bleahen bought the filly privately as a foal in France and afterwards, a delighted and emotional John had singled out her temperament as one of her defining characteristics.

"She was bought privately from her breeder Mr Cottin, who is a very nice man and a great breeder. He is in his 80s and he has retired since we bought this filly," Bleahen explained.

"I bought her with my brother Niall and we were very lucky to have hit on her. The family has developed since we bought her and it is wonderful to have such interest in her. She never stopped here and she never turned a hair. She was shown by Dermot Clarke and he is just the best showman in the world."

Niall and John Bleahen with Brighterdaysahead at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby SaleCredit: Tattersalls Ireland

Brighterdaysahead, who is also the second highest-priced filly sold at an Irish store sale, was bred by Francois-Marie Cottin out of the Laveron mare Matnie. When the Galway siblings travelled to France to purchase foals in the summer of 2019, neither of Matnie's then two foals of racing age had earned black type success but by last June, Matnie was the dam of three black type performers from four runners.

Her now six-year-old Martaline gelding Mighty Potter is undoubtedly the star of the four. Owned by Andy and Gemma Brown, he won the Champion Novice Hurdle and Future Champions Novice Hurdle last season and is favourite for the Turners Novice Chase at Cheltenham following his Grade 1 successes in the Drinmore and at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Matnie's oldest offspring is the Kentucky Dynamite gelding French Dynamite who won the Grade 3 Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase at Thurles for Mouse Morris and Robcour. The same combination also has her seven-year-old son Indiana Jones, a gelding by Blue Bresil, who was third in the Grade 2 Limerick Hurdle and is due to run in the novice chase at Punchestown on Sunday (1.40pm).

She is also the dam of Caldwell Potter, a full-brother to Mighty Potter, who represents the same owner and trainer as his full-brother. The five-year-old has won his bumper and was bought by Joey Logan, who was among the underbidders on Brighterdaysahead last June, on behalf of the Browns for €200,000. 

Matnie has a two-year-old son by Doctor Dino who will be on every buyers' radar if he appears in a sale catalogue.

Speaking to reporters at Gowran after Brighterdaysahead made a striking first impression, Ian Amond who is assistant to Gordon Elliott, commented: " She has size and scope and will fill out and is one to look forward to. We'll see what Gordon and the owners want to do next in a few weeks time."

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