'It's great to have bred Maria Branwell under our own names' - novices off mark

Maria Branwell's debut success in a Thirsk juvenile maiden was one that could have come straight from the pages of a novel. Named after the mother of the Bronte sisters, trained in Yorkshire and winning in Yorkshire, the James Garfield filly had quite the literary links.

For her breeders Anna Murphy and Barry Kennedy, the success of Maria Branwell is just the first chapter in a story they hope will run as well for many volumes as it has begun auspiciously, with the first horse they bred themselves out of the first mare they bought winning on her first start.

The couple met in Australia, which is also where their interest in the thoroughbred industry blossomed, and were astonished by the well-wishes they have received in the aftermath of Maria Branwell's victory at Thirsk for David O'Meara and Bronte Collection 1.