Speed On Speed At Mountarmstrong

Noel O'Callaghan's Tipperary-based Mountarmstrong Stud is well-accustomed to providing big results in a sales ring, and the team said they are very hopeful that their select draft of three yearlings at the Goffs Orby yearling sale on Tuesday and Wednesday will prove popular.

It was back in 2015 that the Mountarmstrong-bred and consigned yearling filly by Frankel (GB) out of five-time Group 1 winner Alexander Goldrun (Ire) (Gold Away {Ire}) lit up the bid boards when selling to China Horse Club for €1.7-million, the second-highest price achieved at the sale that year. Subsequently named Goldrush (Ire), the Jim Bolger-trained filly was unbeaten on her only three runs last year including twice at stakes level in Dundalk before finishing fourth on her only start this year in the G2 Lanwades Stud S. at The Curragh in May.

The 2016 Orby was also memorable for Mountarmstrong as their three-strong draft grossed almost €1.1-million. Robert Tierney manages Mountarmstrong Stud for O'Callaghan, and speaking to the TDN between viewings at Tattersalls Ireland earlier in the week, Tierney said he was hopeful Mountarmstrong would be among the leading vendors this week.

“I suppose you never really know how the horses will be received until you get them to the sales grounds, but we think we have a couple of nice ones,” Tierney said.

First up for Mountarmstrong is lot 7, a filly by Gleneagles (Ire) out of G3 Dance Design S. winner Obama Rule (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) who was trained for O'Callaghan by Joanna Morgan. “We like her; she is a quality filly, very elegant and a lovely mover. The sire was a very good horse and you'd imagine he'll be successful,” Tierney said.

Many of the Mountarmstrong families are instantly recognizable due to the frequent the use of 'Alexander' among the names of mares. The name emanates from one of the O'Callaghan hotels in Dublin, though that particular one has recently undergone a branding change and is now known simply as The Alex, a move which will no doubt provide scope for naming future Mountarmstrong fillies. That naming theme runs through the pedigree of lot 166, a Kingman (GB) colt out of Alexander Queen (Ire) (King's Best), whose prospects in the sales ring Tierney is particularly excited about.

“I don't like hyping a horse but I think this colt is the real deal,” he said. “This is a lovely, lovely horse. He has everything: quality, strength, walk; he has it all in spades.”

The February-born colt is a half-brother to five winners including stakes winner Alkasser (Ire) (Shamardal), himself an Orby graduate when bought by Shadwell for €260,000 in 2012. The yearling's second dam is Lady Alexander (Ire) (Night Shift), one of the cornerstones of Mountarmstrong and the dam of G2 Queen Mary S. winner Alexander Anthem (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and upwardly mobile stallion Dandy Man (Ire) (Mozart {Ire}).

“The pedigree speaks for itself,” Tierney said. “It's a family Noel has been developing for a long time and he also had the great granddam Sandhurst Goddess (GB) (Sandhurst Prince {Ire}). She won a listed race for Noel at The Phoenix Park in the early 90s, so it's his page, really. He's a beautiful yearling and I just hope he sells as well as he deserves to.”

Tierney and O'Callaghan will be hoping the demand for yearlings by sprinting champion Muhaarar (GB) continues when they offer lot 331, a colt by the Shadwell stallion out of Heroine Chic (Ire) (Big Bad Bob {Ire}). Mating with a speed stallion has already produced dividends for the mare through the exploits of the yearling's half-brother Dhahmaan (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), a stakes winner of three races, and Tierney said he is hoping for more of the same with this bay colt.

“Muhaarar is very exciting; he was such a fast horse and we like our yearling,” he said. “He's a good-moving horse with lots of quality. The half-brother is quite a good horse and we are looking forward to offering him.”

Muhaarar is also the sire of a colt out of Alexander Goldrun that Mountarmstrong Stud will offer in Newmarket as lot 214 in Tattersalls Book 1 next Wednesday. The half-brother to Goldrush has plenty to live up to both in the sales ring and on the racecourse, and Tierney said he is optimistic this colt won't let either of his high-achieving parents down. “He is a great-moving horse, who physically takes after the sire rather than the dam. Alexander Goldrun wouldn't be overly big, but this lad is a good-sized horse and if he has half the ability that his mother had he'll do okay.”

Anthem Alexander was a fantastic addition to the Mountarmstrong broodmare band when she retired from racing in 2015 and she is represented by her first produce at Tattersalls when the stud offers lot 231, a bay colt by Kodiac (GB). The mare herself was wisely bought back by O'Callaghan for 48,000gns when offered in Book 1 five years ago before proving top-class for trainer Eddie Lynam, and it will be a surprise if there isn't a higher level of interest in this speedily bred yearling.

“The Kodiac is a lovely horse and again from a family that is synonymous with Noel,” Tierney said. “He is the first foal out of a very fast mare by a top-class stallion. The mare was a Royal Ascot winner as a juvenile then came back as a 3-year-old and finished second to Muhaarar in the [G1] Commonwealth Cup. This yearling takes after his mother and has the look of a sprinter.”

That last statement is hardly a surprise when one takes a glance at his pedigree, and with these Mountarmstrong families often incorporating up to three generations of top-class sprinters, the 'Alexander' speed gene looks set to prosper for the foreseeable future.