Another feather in the cap for one of the most versatile studs in Ireland

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Here, Martin Stevens speaks to Mount Eaton Stud’s Philip Hore about Cheshire Oaks winner Forest Fairy – subscribers can get more great insight every Monday to Friday.

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Mount Eaton Stud must be one of the most versatile breeders in the business. Whether it is sharp two-year-olds like Prince Of Lir, winner of the Norfolk Stakes over the minimum trip at Royal Ascot, or smart staying chasers such as Mount Ida and Sizing Tennessee, it all comes alike to the Hore family’s County Wexford nursery.

Another feather in its cap is Forest Fairy, who showed a fine turn of foot to wear down Port Fairy and win the Cheshire Oaks at Chester on Wednesday. The Ralph Beckett-trained filly is now as low as 10-1 for the Oaks at Epsom this month.

Forest Fairy (pictured below), a first-crop daughter of Enable’s Arc conqueror Waldgeist, was in-utero when Mount Eaton Stud’s Philip Hore bought her dam Bahama Girl for €24,000 at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale in 2020.

Bahama Girl had several things going for her, not least being a winning daughter of a top-class sire in Lope De Vega, but it’s fair to say that she might not have been every commercial breeder's cup of tea, as her sole success came in Germany and her pedigree – going back to her breeder Dietrich von Boetticher’s great German champion Borgia – is pretty stout.

On top of that, a first-crop foal by Waldgeist was bound to hold some appeal, as the market is always swept away by the thrill of the new, but those who breed for speed might have been put off by the mating to a middle-distance superstar doubling down on the female family’s abundant stamina. Hence her relatively low price.

Hore, however, accentuated the positives in the pedigree and realised she would be perfect for the multi-faceted Mount Eaton Stud. His faith has been rewarded with a young mare who has produced a bona fide Classic contender as her first foal.

“I went to Goffs that year for the sole purpose of buying her,” he says. “I remember it clearly; it was just four days before Christmas as all the sales were delayed due to Covid. 

“The main reason was that she was by Lope De Vega. I’d had plenty of early Lope De Vegas here, as we board for SF Bloodstock, and I’d followed the fillies as they went to stud to see what they could throw. I’d seen that they were putting a lot of their sire's strength into their stock, so I was determined to get one. 

Forest Fairy (left) stays on in game style at Chester to win the Cheshire OaksCredit: Edward Whitaker

“The second thing about her was that she was out of a mare by Dansili out of Borgia, and I thought that if ever we were going to get the good blood back to the top of the page, this was going to be the line to do it.” 

Hore wasn’t acting on his horseman’s instinct alone, though. He had also put in a lot of research to work out that Bahama Girl’s profile was better than it first appeared. 

“If you look at her pedigree you’d think it was a bit light as there was no black type under her dam Bahama Bay,” he explains. “But Bahama Bay won three times and was a close fourth in a Group 3, and had a rating of 104 in France.

“She had also produced Saroog, a four-time winner with a rating above 100, and Bahama Moon, a brother to Bahama Girl who won a good race on his first run for Andre Fabre. The black-type ratings were there, but the black type wasn’t.”

Hore rebuffs the suggestion that Bahama Girl had ‘too much’ stamina to make up into a commercially attractive broodmare – a sentence that shouldn’t make sense, but sadly does in an industry that places precocity and pace on a pedestal.

“There are other lines descending from Borgia that are a lot more stout, but they're out of daughters by Sadler’s Wells, so there was more stamina coming from him,” he reasons. “This branch is a little sharper thanks to Dansili and Lope De Vega.

“Either way, our objective is breeding good horses, and this is a brilliant family to get into. Borgia really was a great mare, after all. Sometimes it’s best not to overthink it. As they say, an ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding. 

“We’re not going to try and turn the pedigree into sharp horses by sending the mare to two-year-old sires, either. I think she’ll suit well bred miler types.”

Waldgeist: Arc hero and sire of Forest FairyCredit: Edward Whitaker

Hore’s purchase of the blueblooded Bahama Girl was justified soon after her arrival at Mount Eaton Stud, as it became apparent that she possessed the most desirable quality of all for commercial breeders, regardless of distance concerns: the ability to throw good-looking foals.

That has been proven by the prices for her stock. Forest Fairy was sold to Alex Elliott and Ralph Beckett – a team that has wisely spotted the commercial opportunities of staying-bred yearlings in the middle of the market – for €78,000 at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, while her year-younger Saxon Warrior half-brother was sold to Peter and Ross Doyle for €88,000 at the same fixture last autumn.

“Bahama Girl is a typical Lope De Vega, a great walker with good bone,” says Hore. “She’s got a bit of that Shamardal, Lope De Vega head, but not as bad as some, and overall she’s a very good-looking mare standing 16.1 and a half hands. 

“She throws absolutely beautiful horses. It’s amazing the amount of people at Goffs who saw Forest Fairy being shown and came over to say ‘God, she’s lovely’. A few of them were probably put off by her page, though. I do think pedigree gets in the way of buying a racehorse sometimes.

“Alex Elliott took one look at her and fell in love with her. He said he had an order for a 12-furlong filly and would show Ralph as he knew he’d love her too. Ralph came, was in total agreement, and that was all it took: two looks. 

“They ended up buying her but I have to give credit to Matt Coleman too. He was besotted by her as well but had to settle for being underbidder that day.”

The Doyles also reportedly showed a keen interest in the young Forest Fairy, and made sure they didn’t miss out on the Saxon Warrior colt out of Bahama Girl. He is trained by Richard Hannon for Michael Pescod, and has been named Raedwald.

“He’s one of the finest horses I’ve ever had on the place,” says Hore in hushed tones. “Ross told me he was sold quickly after they bought him, and he was named very early. I’d be hoping he might make into a good summer two-year-old now.”

Circus Maximus: "Like Frankel, he has a bit more size and bone than some of the Galileos"Credit: Colin J Kenny Photography

Bahama Girl’s next offspring is a yearling filly by Circus Maximus, the ace miler by Galileo who has plenty going for him on paper but didn’t return to Coolmore from shuttling to New Zealand this year.

“I used Circus Maximus because I thought he was the closest Galileo to Frankel there was," says Hore. Like Frankel, he has a bit more size and bone than some of the Galileos. He’s also out of a Danehill Dancer mare, whereas Frankel is out of a Danehill mare.

“It was taking a punt, and because she was on her third foal, we didn’t want to go too deep with the service fees. Having said all that, I wouldn't swap her for another sire now even if I could, as she’s a real smasher. She’ll go to the yearling sales.”

Bahama Girl was still carrying a Churchill foal when I spoke to Hore yesterday, but she might not be by the time you read this, as the birth was imminent.

“We covered her a bit late, purely because we didn’t have a lot of mares in foal and wanted another for this year,” says the breeder.“Sometimes I prefer having an early May foal to skipping and waiting to produce a January foal the year after. 

“If your mare can be relied on to produce stock with size and looks, I don’t think it matters so much.”

All being well, Forest Fairy will be a debut Classic contender bred by the Hores, but not the first to come off the farm. It raised SF Bloodstock-bred German 1,000 Guineas heroine Nyaleti and 2,000 Guineas also-rans Dark Vision and Ride Like The Wind. 

“It was nice to be associated with those good horses but this would be something different altogether – 100 per cent,” says Hore, although he adds that he might skip Epsom if Forest Fairy turns up there on May 31. 

Prince Of Lir: son of Kodiac was bred by Philip and Orla HoreCredit: Julian Herbert

“I don’t know,” he says with a puff of the cheeks. “We’ve got three children in school, so it might be easier to give them a half day and watch the race at home. My theory is that if it ends in disappointment we’re better off at home than over there. 

“And, besides, we weren’t in Royal Ascot when Prince Of Lir ran in the Norfolk Stakes, and that worked out alright.”

Regarding Mount Eaton Stud’s reputation as a stud for all seasons, he continues: “We’ve had Prince Of Lir and Mount Ida and Sizing Tennessee, and my brother John bred Cousin Vinny and the useful handicap hurdlers Rather Be and Sign Of A Victory here, so yeah I suppose you could say we’re definitely versatile.  

“Dad [Philip snr] had mostly only jumping mares, but we’ve gone slightly more Flat focussed now as we’ve had more luck there. I’d say we’re six-four in favour of Flat mares these days. He’s 80 now and got a great kick out of Forest Fairy winning at Chester this week. Days like those are hard to get.”

Not as hard as it is for some other studs who aren’t as broad-minded about pedigrees and don’t do the research that Hore did when buying the upwardly mobile bargain broodmare Bahama Girl, though.

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