Something for everyone – including, now, a National Hunt sire great – on The Old Road roster

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Here, Martin Stevens chats to Ian Hannon of The Old Road Stud about their stallion line-up for 2024. Subscribers can get more great insight every Monday to Friday.

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Sholokhov is widely acknowledged to be a superb National Hunt sire but I’m still not sure that the extraordinary nature of his feats are fully appreciated. This is a horse who has supplied not just one generational talent but three, in Don Cossack, Shishkin and Bob Olinger.

Furthermore, he is in the unusual position of featuring as the paternal grandsire of the Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite, Galopin Des Champs, and as the sire of the third favourite, Shishkin.

We really should make the most of the son of Sadler’s Wells while we can, as he turned a quarter of a century old this season, and has been covering ever decreasing numbers of mares in his golden years.

Sholokhov stood at Rathbarry Stud’s National Hunt arm Glenview Stud in County Cork for more than a decade, but has a new home for 2024, having moved to The Old Road Stud in County Waterford.

He is in the best of hands with the Hannon family who run the farm in Tallow, as they cared for two other great jumps sires who put in remarkably long innings – Cloudings, who is best known for the magnificently brave Many Clouds and died aged 29, and Witness Box, who left the likes of Godsmejudge, Monbeg Dude and Take The Stand and survived to the age of 27. 

Explaining how the move came about, Ian Hannon says: “It was very simple. Glenview Stud bought Jeu St Eloi this year, but they have only six stallion boxes in the yard and didn’t want to expand, so they asked us if we would take Sholokhov, and we were more than happy to do so.

“We’ve been friendly with the Cashman family for a long time. It was actually Liam who got onto my father about Cloudings all those years ago, telling him that Trevor Hemmings was looking for a place to stand him in Ireland to get him going, and helped us do a deal for the horse.” 

Sholokhov, a winner of the Gran Criterium and runner-up in the Irish Derby and Eclipse who supplied German horse of the year Night Magic and Galopin Des Champs’ Listed-winning sire Timos in his first stint at stud at Gestüt Etzean, is hale and hearty in spite of his age, says Hannon.

“He’s in super form – jumping, bucking and lipping,” he reports. “He looks really well. You wouldn’t think he was 15, let alone 25. He’s got a great mind, and a lovely temperament. My mother and father look after him and he’s a pleasure to deal with.

“We’re not aiming to cover a huge amount of mares with him, just a select few: a lot of our own, and one or two from outside.”

Reflecting on Sholokhov’s sterling service to National Hunt breeders, he adds: “I can’t ever remember a case of a horse being the sire and grandsire of leading contenders in a Gold Cup. I’ve never seen that in my time, especially on this side of the water. Maybe it happens in France more?

“He’s got so many high-class horses over the years, and they’re versatile and durable too. He’s been some sire, and we’re honoured to stand him.”

The Old Road Stud looks to have made its own successful stallion with the in-form Arctic Cosmos, a St Leger-winning son of North Light.

He has come up with last year’s Sefton Novices’ Hurdle winner Apple Away, Grade 3-winning chaser Waitnsee, Graded-placed pair Blizzard Of Oz and Mi Lighthouse, and smart handicappers Stellar Magic and Tallow For Coal.

The Sefton Novices' Hurdle winner Apple Away has been among Arctic Cosmos's stars

He also notched two bumpers winners in Britain in recent days, with Thistle Be The One scoring at Kempton on Saturday for Keiran Burke and Derryhassen Paddy hosing up by seven lengths at Ayr on Monday for Apple Away’s trainer Lucinda Russell.

All that and his first six crops, from ten-year-olds down to four-year-olds, number an average of 25 named foals.

“He’s done it the hard way and people are waking up to him now,” says Hannon, who is clearly bullish about the up-and-coming sire. “Witness Box did the same thing years ago: he covered small books of mares but proved he could do it when Take The Stand ran second to Kicking King in the Gold Cup, and just built it up, built it up. Cloudings was the same.

“But I think that’s the way it should be with stallions. It’s great to see them proving themselves and then getting the big books, instead of getting a whole heap of mares and then proving themselves to be no good. We’ve got it all the wrong way round with National Hunt breeding.”

Arctic Cosmos was still under the radar last year, with Apple Away’s Aintree exploits coming relatively late in the season, but Hannon predicts he’ll cover a much bigger book this time around.

“There’s been an awful lot of interest in him this year,” he says in hushed tones. “He has a lot of mares booked in already, there’s been great interest. He’ll have a very busy year.

“He’s a big, good-looking horse standing 16.3 hands, and everyone who sees him says they’re surprised by how much scope he has. It’s nice to see a horse of his size breed bumper winners who go on.”

Arctic Cosmos’s pedigree makes a refreshing change too, as he is a rare representative of Derby hero North Light in the breeding shed, out of a daughter of US turf star Marquetry, by Conquistador Cielo. 

The Old Road Stud’s newest recruit Ilaraab also displays a bit of out-the-box thinking, as he became the first son of Wootton Bassett to stand as a jumps sire when he retired there last year.  

“He’s where Arctic Cosmos was ten years ago: just getting going,” says Hannon. “We said we’d go for something different, as there are so many sons of Galileo, Montjeu and Sea The Stars out there, and we also wanted something with a bit of boot, as all those mares by sons of Sadler’s Wells and Galileo can get a bit slow. 

“Ilaraab fitted the bill perfectly. His sire Wootton Bassett is going really well for Coolmore and he won eight of his 14 starts from a mile to a mile and a half, six of them in succession. He had that boot but he stayed too.

Ilaraab in action on the track - he fitted the bill perfectly at The Old RoadCredit: Mark Cranham

“He’s a good, active walker and we really liked him when we went to see him in Newmarket. His first foals are due in the next week or so and hopefully they’ll be good-looking too.”

The Old Road Stud roster is completed by Mizzou, a dual Group 3 winner by Galileo whose oldest crop are six-year-olds, and Scorpion, the Classic-winning son of Montjeu responsible for plenty of top-notchers including Might Bite.

“Mizzou had been a bit overlooked by some of the farmer breeders who come to us because they had their heads turned by Arctic Cosmos when they saw him,” says Hannon. “There’s nothing wrong with him, he’s a big, good-looking horse, but it took him to have stock on the ground for them to come around to him. They liked his foals, and used him a bit more on the back of that. 

“He’s had a limited number of runners, but I spoke to some of the Wexford lads recently and they have one of two nice ones by him.”

Hannon, meanwhile, has a bit of a bee in his bonnet about Scorpion, who joined from Shade Oak Stud two years ago, having originally started out under the Coolmore National Hunt banner.

“He’s in great form, banging out winners all the time,” he says. “There’s more to come, too. Trevor Hemmings sent him a lot of nice mares when he was still at Shade Oak, so he’s got some good crops still to come through. He must be the best value son of Montjeu at stud, when you think what Authorized and Walk In The Park stand at.

“I just don’t think he deserves some of the negative press he’s got. It’s too easy to point the finger at him when things haven’t gone right for some of his progeny on the track. But I suppose that’s the way it is nowadays, with everyone on mobile phones and social media.

“We go down to his stable, bring him out to the lunging ring, give him a walk and put him on the walker, and he’s lovely to deal with. Now don’t get me wrong, he’s a stallion, so he’ll buck, jump and call out the mares, but he’s not a bad horse at all. 

“He’s well bred, was a top-class horse himself, and breeds a nice looking foal. He’s had a few winners this week, as he does every week of the year, every year. No-one could ask anything more of him.”

There really is something for everyone on The Old Road Stud roster at present, then, and clearly the stallions have a passionate advocate in Hannon.

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Pedigree pick

A Godolphin newcomer on the all-weather is always of interest, especially one by Frankel out of a Dubawi mare and so bred on the same cross as Group 1 winners Adayar, Dream Castle, Homeless Songs and Mostahdaf, but Magical Hope – who makes her debut for Charlie Appleby in the mile fillies’ novice stakes at Chelmsford today (6.30) – has a particularly pleasing pedigree. 

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Criticism is, meanwhile, out of another US Grade 2 winner in Innuendo, who was by Caerleon out of Canadian International winner Infamy, by Shirley Heights. This is a golden thread of the famous Sunbittern family, which encompasses champions Dubawi, High-Rise and In The Wings.

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