Plenty of reasons for jumps breeders to keep the faith in Monsun sire line

Forget Schöffel gilets or Hunter wellies; the most fashionable item among British and Irish National Hunt stallion masters in the past decade has been a breeding son of Monsun.

They had perhaps been a little slow to appreciate the German-bred son of Konigsstuhl's potential merits as a source of sound and talented staying stock, as his first-crop son Samum had won the German Derby and Grosser Preis von Baden as early as the millennium year. By the end of 2005 he had racked up another five Group 1 scorers in Amarette, Anna Monda, Guadalupe, Salve Regina and Shirocco.

German Derby hero Shirocco developed into one of the best middle-distance performers of the mid-noughties, adding the Breeders' Cup Turf and Coronation Cup to his resume, while Gentlewave and Schiaparelli notched victories in European Classics in 2006.

It was not until 2008, though, that Britain or Ireland gained their first sons of Monsun marketed exclusively as jumps stallions, stud owners no longer able to resist with Manduro having been crowned world champion in the preceding year. The trailblazers were Arcadio, a Group 2 winner installed at Arctic Tack Stud, and September Storm, a brother to Shirocco, acquired by Ballyash Stud.

Meanwhile, early runners by Network, a Group 2 winner from Monsun's first crop who had been retired to stud in France in 2002, started to shine on the track in the early 2010s. The likes of Rubi Ball, Rubi Light and Saint Are hinted he might be a useful stallion, but then Sprinter Sacre came along and confirmed that he was very special indeed.

Several of Monsun's Flat-bred offspring inevitably emigrated into the jumps realm with success, most notably Foreman, winner of the Irish Champion Hurdle in 2004 and Maghull Novices' Chase in 2006, and Shot From The Hip, triumphant in the Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle in 2011.

Foreman (right): the Maghull Novices' Chase winner was an early jumps runner for MonsunCredit: Edward Whitaker

Stud owners duly redoubled their efforts to secure jumps stallion sons of Monsun. In 2011, Getaway joined Coolmore and Schiaparelli was sent to Overbury Stud, and two years later Aizavoski joined paternal half-brother Arcadio at Arctic Tack Stud.

In 2014, Shirocco left Darley's roster of Flat sires for Glenview Stud (although he had covered jumps mares in his latter years at Dalham Hall Stud), while in 2015 Coolmore doubled their tally of Monsun jumps stallions by snapping up Ocovango and Gentlewave was leased from France to stand at Yorton Farm Stud.

As Shirocco's Flat-bred daughter Annie Power and Sprinter Sacre mopped up Grade 1 races in the middle of the decade, demand for the services of stallions from their paternal line reached fever pitch.

In 2010, Arcadio and September Storm had covered 90 mares between them but, by 2015, Monsun sons in Britain and Ireland received an eye-popping 1,329 mares, with Ocovango's debut book standing at 316, Getaway serving 303, Shirocco 284 and Arcadio 280.

The numbers were boosted, no doubt, by the fact that the confidence of breeders had been restored as the jumps market recovered after the credit crunch and that the search was on for effective outcrosses for ubiquitous Sadler's Wells blood.

A four-figure tally of mares visited jumps-orientated Monsun sons in Britain and Ireland again in 2016, the year in which Sprinter Sacre heroically regained his Champion Chase crown and Annie Power took the Champion Hurdle, but their popularity has fallen somewhat since then – a decline exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact Annie Power and Sprinter Sacre ran their last races in the spring of 2016.

Sprinter Sacre conquers the Cheltenham hill to land the 2018 Queen Mother Champion ChaseCredit: Alan Crowhurst

In 2017 those Monsun stallion sons covered 806 mares combined, and last year the number – with a new addition, Lauro at Hayes Stud – was 700, a 47 per cent fall from the peak figure just three years earlier.

Getaway and Ocovango still covered hefty books, but generally it appears that mare owners' once intense ardour for the Monsun line has cooled a little, even if some of the decline might be apportioned to the failing powers of one or two individual names among the cohort.

I suspect those commercial breeders who kept the faith will be rewarded for doing so in the coming years, when they come to sell stock by those Monsun stallions when they will have so many young runners representing them on the track. Indeed, the profits may be sharper, as buyers will have fewer such lots from which to choose.

The action on the track in the recent weeks has certainly dropped some heavy clues that this sire-line might be in for a revival.

Monsun himself was represented by Aramon, a member of the sire's final crop and a ten-length winner of the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown, while Network came away from the course's Christmas meeting with a Grade 1 double courtesy of Delta Work in the Neville Hotels Novice Chase and Le Richebourg in the Racing Post Novice Chase.

Moreover, Getaway's first-crop daughter Verdana Blue sprang a surprise in the Christmas Hurdle and Hardline, a son of Arcadio, took the scalp of Getabird, another for Getaway, to land a Grade 1 novice chase at Limerick.

Getaway has been enjoying a productive time of it – as he is entitled to, having covered 613 mares in his first two seasons, the results of which are now aged six and seven. Besides Verdana Blue and Getabird he was also on the mark with Jarveys Plate, a 13-length winner of the Listed Ballymore Novices' Hurdle on New Year's Day, making it a one-two for the sire with I Can't Explain in second (and Anemoi, a son of Manduro, in third to make it a clean sweep for Monsun sons).

Jarveys Plate storms clear in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year's DayCredit: Alan Crowhurst

There was also Getaway Trump, a decent second in the Challow Novices' Hurdle, Jetez, runner-up in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, and Getareason, who claimed third in the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle. Getariver looks the most recent potential star for the sire, having landed a Ludlow bumper by eight lengths on Thursday, while Downtown Getaway opened his account over hurdles at Ascot on Saturday.

Arcadio also fielded the competitive handicap winners Another Crick and I'm A Game Changer, as well as the exciting Leicester novice hurdle scorer Bright Forecast, who also finished runner-up in Saturday's Grade 2 Sky Bet Supreme Trial at Haydock.

There have also been encouraging omens for Shirocco's first crops conceived at Glenview Stud, the oldest of which turned four at the start of the month, as some of the results of those jumps matings in his latter years at Dalham Hall Stud have borne fruit.

Five-year-old Tedham took a trappy Wincanton handicap hurdle last time out, and another of that vintage, Stainsby Girl, was a 17-length winner on her bumper debut at Carlisle last month. The one-year older Rockpoint landed the Bristol Novices' Hurdle and was fourth in the Leamington Novices' Hurdle in recent weeks, while eight-year-old Glen Rocco is developing into a smart handicap chaser.

Axxos, a son of Monsun recruited to Coolagown Stud this year, has also kept his name in breeders' collective consciousness with Calett Mad, bred during his earlier spell at stud in France, running a gallant second in the Classic Chase at Warwick last Saturday.

Another strain of the Monsun line whose potency the jumps fraternity should be alert to is the one stemming from Samum, who died last year. He is the sire of Notebook, whose sizeable frame suggests he will make up into a grand chaser of the future and who landed a Tramore maiden hurdle on New Year's Day.

Notebook and Rachael Blackmore score at TramoreCredit: Alain Barr

Samum's son Kamsin ranks as one of the brightest young stars of the French National Hunt stallion scene as his early progeny include last year's Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris victor On The Go and Adjali, a hugely exciting prospect who was just touched off into second in the Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow last month.

Having stood at Haras d'Etreham and now its jumps arm Haras de la Tuilerie, it is not difficult to envisage Kamsin taking the mantle of some of his illustrious predecessors at the studs such as Saint Des Saints and Poliglote.

There are several sons of Monsun standing at studs dotted around France who we will likely see conjure up some talented jumpers exported to race in Britain and Ireland in future – Bathyrhon at Haras de la Hetraie has been something of a talking horse while Masterstroke and Triple Threat are well-bred, talented sorts of whom we will no doubt hear more.

But most significantly there are the products of those enormous books that the British and Irish brigade of Monsun jumps sire sons covered in the mid-2010s to come and fly the flag for this once obscure German line. In the past six seasons combined, the quartet of Arcadio, Getaway, Ocovango and Shirocco all covered in excess of 900 mares each.

With Monsun's ability to transmit supreme talent and stamina, and that enormous cache of ammunition, it seems inconceivable that he won't make a profound impact on National Hunt racing over the next decade. The demand for his sons and grandsons should be more than merely a passing fad.

Whether the Monsun sire-line, an invigorating breath of fresh air in British and Irish pedigrees, deserves to have been whittled down to mainly National Hunt sons – a turn of events that is going to make its survival mighty difficult – is an argument about the frustrating prejudices of commercial breeding best saved for another day.

Suffice to say those few sons remaining on Flat rosters, chiefly Vadamos at Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland, Novellist at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan and Protectionist at Gestüt Röttgen in Germany, should be cherished by breeders.

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