Tony Bloom's latest winner looks the real deal for breeder and stallion master Alastair Pim

Is This For Real may have been the exclamation on the lips of those watching Tony Bloom's Poniros defy odds of 100-1 and no previous racing experience over hurdles to land the Triumph Hurdle at the Festival on debut for the chairman of Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.

It's also the name of Bloom's latest impressive winner, a five-year-old Vendangeur gelding who scored an impressive victory in the Racing Post-sponsored Jodami Series Final Open National Hunt Flat Race during Go North weekend at Kelso.

Is This For Real improved from his bumper debut fifth at Aintree on Boxing Day which was his first start for Bloom and Fergal O'Brien, having been purchased by the trainer's now-retired stable jockey Paddy Brennan for £80,000 at last year's Goffs UK Aintree Sale from Gina and Tom Ellis, for whom he won a maiden on debut at Thorpe Lodge.

Popular Tattersalls Ireland auctioneer Alastair Pim had three reasons to be cheerful after the victory: not only did he breed Is This For Real, he also stands the gelding's sire Vendangeur at the family's Anngrove Stud on the outskirts of Mountmellick, County Laois and he has three younger half-siblings to the promising gelding waiting in the wings.

"He was very impressive," commented Pim of the bright bay winner. "He's the first runner for the mare and he's now won his bumper and his point-to-point, so he has got her off to a very good start."

The mare in question is Kiera's Princess, an unraced Sendawar full-sister to the Listed Prix le Gaules de Mezaubran Hurdle winner Sang Dolois, who are both out of Kiera Marie. She too was unraced but well-related being a half-sister to Sil Sila, winner of the Prix de Diane and the Listed Radley Stakes.

Another of Kiera Marie's half-siblings, Frequent Flyer, was placed in the Group 1 Futurity Trophy, Royal Lodge and July Stakes.

Kiera Princess is just 12 and Is This For Real is only her second foal; her oldest is an unraced six-year-old daughter of Vendangeur and she has a four-year-old gelding by Marcel named Going Once and a three-year-old filly by the same stallion.

Alastair Pim in auctioneering mode at TattersallsCredit: Alisha Meeder

Marcel won the Futurity Trophy for Paul Makin and Peter Chapple-Hyam and the son of Lawman stands at Anngrove alongside Vendangeur, who is the elder statesman of the farm's stallion roster, which also include Free Eagle.

From the first crop of Galileo, Vendangeur was bred and raced by the Wildenstein family and trained by Elie Lellouche. He was a classy stayer, with his career highlight coming when he landed the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay in 2006.

He is the sire of the ill-fated Grade 1 Manifesto Novices' Chase winner Arzal and his first Irish-bred crop contains the Willie Mullins-trained Grade 2 novice hurdle winner Loughglynn and the Listed Doncaster Mares' Hovice Hurdle winner Pinot Rouge.

Is This For Real is from Vendangeur's third Irish-bred crop and the gelding is one of 16 five-year-olds by the now 22-year-old, who has done well from small numbers. He covered just 14 mares in 2022 and four last year.

Last Friday evening, Keira's Princess gave birth to a foal by Mac Swiney, her first offspring for three years. Pim is delighted with the new arrival and with the first foals of the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Futurity Trophy winner, who switched to Anngrove Stud during the early part of the 2024 breeding season having initially retired to the Irish National Stud.

"He has very nice foals on the ground already and we are very happy with them. He covered around 65 mares last year and naturally Jim [Bolger] supported him strongly, sending 20 mares to him," Pim said.

"Jim will be continuing that support again this year and Mac Swiney's progeny will be going to a very good hotels, so that's a huge help for a stallion."

Bolger's homebred Classic winner is inbred to Vendangeur's sire, being by Galileo's first Derby winner New Approach and out of Halla Na Saoire, a daughter of Teofilo — the Kildangan stalwart, who was also Bolger and preceded New Approach as champion two-year-old and Dewhurst winner.

Halla Na Saoire is a full-sister to Bolger's Group 2 winner and Irish Derby third Light Heavy, while is also a half-sister to the dam of another of Bolger's homebred Group 1 winners – Parish Hall, who also won the Dewhurst. 

Among the mares Bolger sent to Mac Swiney are Beyond Intensity, a half-sister to Group 3 winner Beyond Thankful and multiple Group winner Turret Rocks, Flea Cheoil, a daughter of Galileo, who is out of a half-sister to the dam of Teofilo, and Something Graceful, the dam of Listed winner and Group 3-placed Sometimesadiamond by Bolger's Group 3 winner and own stallion Vocalised.

Other mares that Mac Swiney covered include Mia Capri, a Dalakhani half-sister to Lily's Angel, Labeling and Zurigha, and Preach, dam of the Grade 1-placed hurdler Wolf Prince.

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