nh racing
Celtic giants Despite ground concerns, the successful Dublin Festival produced some noteworthy performances with the Sadler’s Wells light shining bright, reports Aisling Crowe
Last Exhibition: the son of Oscar was one of seven winners at the Dublin Festival meeting who has the “breed-shaping” Sadler’s Wells in the pedigree
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GLANCE THROUGH THE catalogue for any recent NH sale of young stock will reveal how the influence of Sadler’s Wells is growing ever-more dominant in NH breeding, with a sizeable number of horses now featuring close in-breeding to the breed-shaping patriarch. Looking through the pedigrees of the winners at this year’s Dublin Racing Festival,
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it was easy to see one of the reasons why breeders have no compunction about sending grand-daughters of Sadler’s Wells to his grandsons, or even sons. Of the 16 races run over the two days, Sadler’s Wells featured in the pedigrees of seven winners, six of them successful in Graded races. His Prix du Jockey-Club runner-up Oscar was one of the first of Sadler’s Wells’s sons to make his mark as a NH stallion, and although
Oscar was retired from covering duties five years’ ago, the former Coolmore sire is still making his presence felt at the highest level of jump racing. The very first race of the Dublin Racing Festival provided Oscar with a new Grade 1 winner, and one that was raucously celebrated on his return to the winners’ enclosure. Latest Exhibition was the first Grade 1 in seven years for his popular trainer Paul
