How an advert in a newspaper in 1997 led to Sean Murphy breeding Flooring Porter

Champagne corks were popping in the west of Ireland on Thursday as the progressive Flooring Porter ran out a decisive winner of the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle.

The six-year-old son of Yeats was a first Cheltenham Festival winner for breeder Sean Murphy, who operates out of Ryehill Stables in County Galway.

"It's absolutely fantastic," said Murphy. "We're a small yard in the west of Ireland and the syndicate who own him are all ordinary lads, so it's brilliant.

"To breed a Grade 1 winner, when he won the Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle, was fantastic but to go and cap it today by winning the Stayers' Hurdle was just the icing on the cake."

Murphy admitted to some nerves while watching the Gavin Cromwell-trained runner tackle the three miles on the New course, but said there were some jubilant family celebrations once Flooring Porter crossed the line in front.

"You're so nervous watching, wondering whether he'd keep going," he said. "The pundits on the TV were saying he's a bit quirky and could end up running out and into Cheltenham village, but he didn't and in the end he was nearly foot-perfect.

"I was watching at home with my mum and dad, my mum's 90 and my dad 95 and they're both jumping up and down!"

Flooring Porter storms to victory in the Stayers' Hurdle at CheltenhamCredit: Edward Whitaker

Murphy, who sold Flooring Porter as a foal at the Goffs December National Hunt Sale in 2015, where Richard Rohan signed the ticket at €6,000, bred the dual Grade 1 winner from Lillymile, a daughter of Revoque who won three races in the breeder's colours.

"I bred the mother too," he said. "We won her point-to-point with her ourselves and then passed her on to Pauline Gavin, a trainer in Galway, and she won two hurdle races with her. I still have Lillymile at home, she's 16 now and had a filly foal by Elusive Pimpernel last year.

"She was a bit late last year so we didn't put her back in foal. I'm not sure who she'll be covered by this year but Yeats would make sense."

Flooring Porter was already the highest-rated runner sired by Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud resident Yeats, who enjoyed a treble on Thursday's card with Chantry House and Mount Ida also scoring, making the mating between the four-time Ascot Gold Cup hero and Lillymile look a particularly inspired pairing.

However, Murphy concedes there was no grand plan beyond putting two horses together whose forte was stamina.

He said: "There was no particular reason for choosing Yeats, I just thought he was a great stayer and that he'd suit Lillymile because she was a stayer too."

Yeats: Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud sire supplied three winners at Cheltenham on ThursdayCredit: Coolmore

Murphy's involvement in the family reaches back three generations, having bought Flooring Porter's granddam Miles Apart as an unraced four-year-old in 1997.

"We had Flooring Porter's grandmother as well, we bought her and she was the first racehorse we got involved in," said Murphy. "We bought two mares as unraced four-year-olds and that started it all off.

"They were advertised in the Irish Farmers Journal and my dad and my brother-in-law went and looked at them and I said if they liked them, they should buy them. They liked Miles Apart but bought both because the man was anxious to get rid of the two of them, so they got a good deal."

The other filly, Lady Jemurco, actually proved the more successful racehorse having won a Roscommon maiden on the Flat. However, although Miles Apart was unable to get her head in front on the racecourse, she has proved a much more potent producer.

Murphy said: "We raced Miles Apart and her best run came when second in a bumper for Michael Hourigan, but she broke down and so we started to breed from her. She's bred Lillymile and Ocean Glandore, a six-time winner.

"Those results were grand but Flooring Porter winning two Grade 1s really is the icing on the cake."

As well as being a Cheltenham Festival-winning breeder, Murphy is also a member of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association council and the chairman of the organisation's western region.

He is understandably proud of the Irish domination at this year's festival, with 17 of the 21 winners bearing the Ire suffix and the Irish stallion roster - past and present - heavily represented.

"I love jump racing, that's what I was brought up with, we always had working horses, Irish draughts and sport horses," he said.

"I'm delighted to see all the Irish-breds having so much success at Cheltenham. I've absolutely nothing against the French, I've actually got a French mare, but it's great to see Irish breeders and horses by stallions standing in Ireland doing so well."

More Cheltenham Festival breeding angles:

Monkfish proves the catch of a lifetime for Richard Busher

Pat Doyle at the Cheltenham double with Appreciate It and Bob Olinger

'I've never bred anything like this!' - Supreme success for Frank McNulty

Honeysuckle makes road trip all the sweeter for Doug Procter