Five things we learned from the Weatherbys Return of Mares

1. No looking back for Sandmason

In July we reported how, after years of apathy from outside breeders and having sired no foals in the previous two seasons, Sandmason had been swamped with more than 200 mares at Lacken Stud in County Wexford at the age of 21 after supplying Grade 1 winners Black Op and Summerville Boy.

The Return of Mares offers more detail of that extraordinary resurgence in popularity, and shows that there was quality as well as quantity in the enlarged book.

Sandmason covered 217 mares including Annalecky, the dam of JLT Novices' Chase winner Black Hercules; Campanella, the dam of River Don Novices' Hurdle scorer Caracci Apache; and Millicent Bridge, who produced the useful handicappers Benbens and Join The Clan.

He also received the dams of Black Op and Summerville Boy, bred by Lacken Stud owner Paul Rothwell, once again.

The son of Grand Lodge, who has only ever been represented by 25 runners over jumps in Britain and Ireland despite his advancing years, even welcomed to his court a Royal Ascot heroine – albeit one who was sold for just €800 last November – in Celtic Heroine and the dam of a St Leger runner-up in Thermopylae, whose daughter Unsung Heroine found only Conduit too good in the Doncaster Classic.

2. Quality and quantity for jumps newcomers

Sandmason was not the only jumps stallion who covered a three-figure book for the first time in Ireland this year.

Diamond Boy, a handsome Mansonnien brother to top-class chaser Golden Silver who is the source of Saturday's promising Wincanton novices' hurdle winner Grand Sancy, covered 235 mares at Kilbarry Lodge Stud after being recruited from the French stallion ranks.

His debut book at the County Waterford stud included Ebor Handicap winner and smart hurdler Sesenta as well as the dams of Definite Ruby, Doctor Harper, King Of The Picts and Mr Whipped.

Jukebox Jury, meanwhile, had his arrival this year at Burgage Stud in County Carlow from Gestut Etzean in Germany gilded by the victory of his son Farclas in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham a few months later.

Breeders unsurprisingly threw their weight behind the Group 1-winning son of Montjeu, with 164 coverings registered in the Return of Mares.

There is a significant ring of quality to Jukebox Jury's book, as it included the dams of Apache Stronghold, Briar Hill, Don Poli, Lalor, Puffin Billy, Slate House, The Storyteller, Wounded Warrior and Yorkhill, and such high-class racemares as Adriana Des Mottes, American Jennie and Cailin Annamh.

3. Finally - it's a boy for Islington

Four-time Group 1 winner Islington's curious run of producing only fillies came to an end on February 23 when she delivered her first colt at the age of 19.

The daughter of Sadler's Wells won two renewals of the Yorkshire Oaks as well as the Nassau Stakes and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf carrying the silks of Ballymacoll Stud before retiring to her owner's farm in County Meath.

She went on to produce 11 fillies from her first 11 foals between 2005 and 2017, including the smart winners Angel Vision and Bohemian Dance.

Islington's colt foal by Kingman is owned by Newstead Breeding, the mare having been knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock for 270,000gns when she was sold as part of the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal at Tattersalls last year as the prestigious nursery closed its gates.

The colt goes through the ring as lot 975 at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale this month.

Islington was covered by Zoffany after giving birth to him.

4. Dazzling dates for Dark Angel

Dark Angel's reputation went through the roof in 2017, when he was responsible for the two best sprinters in Europe – Battaash and Harry Angel – along with Persuasive, who beat the boys to land the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Having covered blue-chip mares at Yeomanstown Stud for some years now, with Godolphin having bought into him in 2015, his book underwent another upgrade this year when his fee was increased from €65,000 to €85,000.

Dark Angel covered 218 mares, 76 of whom – or 35 per cent – were black-type winners. Last year he was sent 223, 54 of them black-type winners for 24 per cent of the book.

Just a tiny sample of the names in 2018 who leap off the page are Alluring Park, Jet Setting and Queen Kindly.

What is really noticeable about the son of Acclamation's book this year, though, is how Coolmore have jumped on the bandwagon.

None of the sire's foals born in 2018 appear to have been bred by the breeding behemoth or its associates, and yet it subsequently sent Brave Anna, a Cheveley Park Stakes heroine by War Front; Ideal, a Galileo half-sister to Camelot; Queen Cleopatra, a Group 3-winning sister to Henrythenavigator who has produced stakes winners Francis Of Assisi and Look At Me; Venus De Milo, a Group 1-placed daughter of Duke Of Marmalade; and Wading, the Montjeu mare who won the Rockfel Stakes and whose daughter Just Wonderful also took the Newmarket Group 2 in September.

All those mares feature Coolmore legend Sadler's Wells close up in their pedigrees, as the operation continues its hunt for worthy outcross stallions to him.

5. Late farewell to a marvellous mare

It is regrettable how racing and breeding fans' ability to follow the careers of their favourite mares comes to an abrupt end when those horses enter the large herds of breeding stock owned by the major operations.

We can follow their progeny when they race, of course, but too often a great mare passes away without any fanfare. Perhaps it is unreasonable to expect the larger studs to provide such updates – they might argue the information is private and with so many names on their books they would be time-consuming to report.

Nevertheless, it is jarring when scanning the Return of Mares only to find a personal favourite has died. Such was the case this year with Melikah, who, it transpires, passed away after being covered by Golden Horn in 2017.

Melikah: second foal out of Urban Sea was twice Classic-placedCredit: Caroline Norris

By Lammtarra and the second foal out of the phenomenal broodmare Urban Sea, Melikah finished third to Love Divine in the Oaks before finding only Petrushka too good in the Irish version.

She went on to produce nine winners from ten runners for Godolphin, six with Racing Post Ratings in excess of 100. Three of those struck in black-type races – Hidden Gold, Masterstroke and Moonlight Magic – and there could well be a fourth if the smooth victory of her four-year-old colt by Dubawi, Royal Line, in Saturday's November Handicap is anything to go by.

Melikah developed a deep legacy very quickly, thanks to her first daughter Villarrica producing the UAE Oaks and Derby winner Khawlah, who in turn is the dam of this year's Derby victor Masar.

Her achievements are certainly worthy of tribute, even if it has come late.

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