Shiroccos progeny enjoys success at Borris House

The Cashman’s of Rathbarry and Glenview stud in Fermoy Co. Cork are well-known for acquiring top-class national hunt stallions and Shirocco, who is one of five national hunt stallions standing at Glenview stud has enjoyed a number of point winners since beginning his career back in 2007, but this season he has sired a total of eight-point winners, a large increase in the number of winners he normally produces between the flags.

Shirocco is a son of the leading National Hunt influence Monsun, who was an outstanding performer that amassed over 1.3 million in prize and is a multiple Group winning sort that achieved success in Italy, USA, UK and France.

During his racing career, he was a four-time Group 1 winning champion, these successes included the Deutsches Derby mat Hamburg, the Gran Premio del Jockey Club at Milan, the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Belmont Park and the Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs. He also enjoyed success at Group 2 level which included the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket and the Barriere at Longchamp.

Shirocco wasn’t standing all that long before he sired his first number of winners and is one of a select few Stallions who has sired top-level winners on the flat and over jumps.

The John Joe O’Neill-trained Minella Rocco is just one example of his progeny that has found success under rules. The former John Nallen inmate won his four-year-old maiden back in 2014 at the Horse And Jockey before being sold for £260,000. Since that time some of his top-level successes include the Grade 2 Sodexo Reynoldstown Novices Chase, the Listed National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup and finished runner-up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Lac Fontana is another who enjoyed a fruitful career under rules for Paul Nicholls racking up a total of five career successes including the Grade 1 Mersey novices’ hurdle and Grade 3 Vincent O’Brien County handicap hurdle before making his debut in point-to-points back in 2018.

His crop of three-year-olds continue to prove extremely popular at the store sales with his 2019 stores selling for sums of €210,000, £150,000, £115,000, £100,000, €90,000, €70,000, €68,000, €63,000 x 2 etc.

Shirocco produced some smart four-year-old sorts in points during the Autumn and the Aidan Fitzgerald-trained Queens Brook was one of those, getting off the mark at the second time of asking when landing her four-year-old mares’ maiden at Dromahane in November. She proved quite popular at the sales when selling for £160,000 to Gordon Elliott and has since made a winning debut under rules when coming home 21 lengths in front of her rivals in a bumper at Gowran Park in February.

At the weekend Shirocco sired a double with Ellen Doyle saddling the first of those successes in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden when Hidden Commander beat Flame Bearer by one-length, and he will now be offered at the sales following this success.

The stallion didn’t have long to wait before enjoying another success between the flags when quickly doubling up to capture the first division of the five-year-old mares’ maiden courtesy of Shirocco’s dream in the hands of Rob James for Wexford handler Donnchadh Doyle.

Read more about Shirocco here.