FAMILY TIES - VALIRANN

It is safe to say that 2024 concluded on a high, at least as far as the jumps racing is concerned. There has been an absolute feast of competition during the festive weeks. We have watched several top-flight Mullins-Henderson duels, the flawless return of Galopin Des Champs, and a very popular first Grade 1 success at Kempton for the Welsh jockey Ben Jones, who has been grafting for plenty of time now and thoroughly deserved it.

As a result of there being so much action, there is plenty of material I could use for this column. But I think there is one stallion in particular who has stuck out in recent weeks. That would be Valirann. Whytemount Stud’s son of Nayef currently stands for just €2000, but not long before Christmas he was represented by Lecky Watson, (whom I also write about), a Grade 1-placed hurdler who won on chasing debut, beating the Supreme Novice winner Slade Steel.

Since then, his five-year-old son Bayrann notched in a success at Thurles in a maiden hurdle, and the bumper-winning filly Ballybawn Belter finished fourth in a busy handicap chase at Leopardstown despite being badly interfered with at the third last. It does get better though. Val Dancer triumphed in the pea soup at Chepstow in the Welsh National for a delighted Mel Rowley and Charlie Hammond. A 60,000gns purchase at the Cheltenham Sale following his second-place finish in a point-to-point, the seven-year-old gelding has won on both outings this season.

Potters Charm topped that on Boxing Day when winning the Grade 1 William Formby (another fixture where the fog complicated things) for the Twiston-Davies team, following up on his eleven-length victory in a Grade 2 in November. This six-year-old is now unbeaten for all five of his starts under rules – he came second in his point-to-point as a four-year-old at Boulta for Michael Mangan, before being knocked down to Willy Twiston-Davies for £105,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale. He won his bumper and first two accounts over hurdles and he now has two Graded victories under his belt as well.

Valirann is hardly a sought-after commercial prospect these days, despite his sales results being very respectable for a horse with smaller books than the likes of most of Coolmore’s National Hunt stallions. Even so, breeders have been wary of using him in recent years. In 2022, he returned over sixty living foals and covered fifty-three registered mares - in 2023, he only covered nine. Perhaps National Hunt breeders might be more trusting of him in 2025, given his recent results.

written by Gabriella Herbert

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