****UPDATE - Now with Photos and Videos****

In early January 2025, Peter and I decided that we would source a new horse from point-to-points in Ireland. I narrowed down the preferred sires and then identified which of their progeny had Hunter Certificates and were likely to run well during the rest of the season. We tracked those horses and watched videos of their races if they ran well. Every Monday, we would discuss the previous weekend’s performances, and if there were any impressive runs from horses we felt would be in our budget, we would decide if Peter should contact the trainer (handler) and plan to visit. We were trying to move quickly, get in front of others taking a look, and definitely before the horse went to any sales.

This was the process we followed with Chosen Comrade. She ran and won on March 2nd. The following day, Peter and I went through the race, felt she was impressive, having been up with the pace the whole way, had won in the fastest time of the day, and had a decent pedigree. Peter arranged to go down to Wexford the following day.

After plenty of videos and photos, Peter and I concluded that she would be ideal for us. She was a little smaller than the horses we had been looking at but was very well made and had no issues. Walk in the Park is an amazing sire, and the 2nd dam has produced some black type horses, so we felt good about the pedigree.

At 9.30pm (Irish time) that evening, Peter called Gary Murphy and made an offer. It was high enough, and they had another interested party who was going to come back with their own increased offer in the morning. Peter and I increased our offer fairly significantly on the understanding that it had to be accepted that evening; we did not want to get into a bidding war. That call with Peter took 8 minutes and finished at 9.52pm. It was a long 15 minutes before he called back to say that I had just bought a new horse!

Things moved quickly after that: she passed a very intensive veterinary exam with flying colours on Thursday, and on Friday, Gary received the funds, and Peter collected the horse that afternoon. It took only 5 days from the horse running on Sunday afternoon to arriving at Peter’s stables on Friday afternoon. There has not been a moment’s regret since. Which is remarkable when you consider my tax return, a month later, turned out to be much higher than I had been expecting; by exactly what Chosen Comrade had cost! I did say to Kim that if I had known that I wouldn’t have bought the horse – it just seemed an appropriate thing to say! Her response, which she may live to regret, was “in that case, it’s a good job you didn’t know.” That’s why I love my wife!

Kim would also say that you have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince. Well, our journey to Chosen Comrade was no different: we had to consider and discount many horses before we arrived with our princess. I thought it might be interesting to chronicle some of these horses and some of the stories behind them. It will be very interesting to see how they perform next season and going forward.

This is just a sample. It is in alphabetical order. I should also mention that there are two horses from France in the following. They never ran in any point-to-points, but they were on our radar, and one, worryingly, has gone to Willie Mullins.

A Fancy Getaway (Getaway – Norah’s Fancy) 5 year-old Mare

She won her point last December, achieving a rating of 89 (highest of the season). She won by 23 lengths from the (dead heating) second, Miss Doyenne; that horse then won her point and later a Bumper for Henry DeBromhead. We asked about her and were told she had been sold for €250k.

Cristal D’Estruval (Crystal Ocean -Aurore D’Estruval ) 4 Gelding

I think he may have been the first Crystal Ocean to run. Both that sire and Poet’s Word had a great season and they are both interesting sires going forward. He was too unproven for us to be interested, but if you look at Crystal Ocean’s racecourse career, he did nothing but improve after starting late in his 2-year-old season. I would expect his progeny to be late maturing, and any early 4-year-old winners have to be looked at closely.

He was a little green and just beat the second (1/2l) but they were well clear of the third. He was subsequently sold for £400k to Harry Derham at the Festival sales. That seems high enough, but time will tell

Heldam (Doctor Dino – Catmoves) 4 G

Doctor Dino is one of my favourite sires, so please excuse any bias. He won his point nicely at Punchestown, but the third (beaten 18l) has done little to boost the form since. We did ask about him (we are masochists) and were told that it could be up to €400k to get him.

We weren’t surprised to be honest; he had cost €110k at the 2024 Derby Sales, and Matty Flynn O’Connor had handled Final Demand the year before. Roll on a few months, and it appears he was bought by Bryan Drew and is with Willie Mullins. One to watch out for.

Kindly Prince (Great Pretender – Belle Princesse) 5 G

This one was before we started looking in earnest, but he put up a scintillating performance in his point win. The second, Khafre, was beaten by 16l and then won his point before being sold for £60k, and the third, Len, fell at the last when poised to win his point. Was purchased by David Mullins for £320k.

Moments in Time (Kingston Hill – Wyndham Rose) 4 G

Grey gelding who won his point well at Borris Hill on the same day as Chosen Comrade; both trained by Gary Murphy. I think it’s fair to say that this horse was the “apple of his trainer’s eyes”. When Peter (Fahey) went to look at Chosen Comrade, Gary spent a long time talking about and showing him Moments in Time. We knew he wanted €250k for him, but we wouldn’t have been interested at half that price. For me, Kingston Hill has a lot to prove as a jump’s sire, and we were happy not to look at any of his progeny. I believe he was sold to Dan Skelton, but I stand to be corrected.

I honestly believe that Gary’s focus on this horse allowed us to get Chosen Comrade for a reasonable price. However, he’s a good judge, and that basis alone, this could be a horse to follow.

Mossy Fen Coolio (Kayf Tara – Little Acorn) 5 G

An expensive 3-year-old store (€80k), he won his point very well. Only two finishers, but a very quick time, and Themanintheanorak, who was tailed off in 3rd when falling at the last, has since won a bumper by 6l at Listowel. It looks like he is now with JJ and AJ O’Neill.

Neon Dream (Getaway – Keeps Sake) 5 G

Sam Curling had this horse, and he ran and won well on the same day as Chosen Comrade. In the week before, he was the horse we were most interested in that weekend. A good pedigree and reasonably expensive store (€37k), he was well-regarded by Sam. By this time, after closely looking at No Risk Today, we were starting to lean towards mares. Given that we focused so much on Chosen Comrade, we really didn’t follow up on this one. He was subsequently sold for £105k to Gerry Hogan

No Risk Today (No Risk at All – Lilli Star) 5 M

We do like No Risk At All as a sire, and this horse had been a very expensive 3-year-old store at €95k. She won her point very well, showing a really good turn of foot. We went to look at her and liked what he saw. She had undergone a soft palate operation, which wasn't a major issue, but we wanted a horse as clear as possible, considering our budget. They wanted €150k for her, and that was a little too high as well.

She went to the Cheltenham sales and was unsold in the ring for £95k. She was then sold to Fergal O’Brien for £100k (don’t ask - it makes no sense to me). She could be interesting next season.

Roc Dino (Doctor Dino – President Line) 4 G

The photos and videos are coming thick and fast now. He didn't run in any points, but our French contact recommended him to us (sounds grand, eh?). A very decent pedigree, and he has run three times, placed twice, and achieved an equivalent rating of 124, or 136 using the old conversion (note – Racing Post only shows one of these runs).

We hesitated because the same French contact suggested that another horse, Lascar D’estruval may be the better option. I honestly don’t know if that was based on the likely price or something else. That horse had won his first race, but was out of Muthathir, and that put us off a little. A good sire in his day, he was older when siring this horse and hadn’t had a good horse born since 2018. Ironically, he was the sire of Doctor Dino, so I was turning myself in knots a little as I was comparing these horses. Anyway, we weren’t convinced (even if I can’t cogently explain why, in retrospect) and we passed on both.

I have no knowledge of Lascar D’Estruval being sold, and he may well never appear in the UK or Ireland. Roc Dino, however, has most certainly been sold, and he is now with Willie Mullins. Fortunately, I have no knowledge of the price and would like to think it was some enormous sum, well out of my budget!

Shukran Habibti (Maxios – First Act) 4 M

Maxios is another favourite sire, and this horse is related to Darlan, who achieved an RPR of 167. She was very well regarded and from a very well-respected yard (Robert Tector) when she finished 2nd to Chosen Comrade in her point. Held up off the pace, she made good ground after the third last and came to win her race. However, she was unable to get to Chosen Comrade, and these were the only two finishers in a race that was run in a very fast time. Despite there only being two finishers, there were half a dozen in contention at the third last, but the first two pulled away very impressively, so much so that the others were pulled up before the 2nd last.

She went to the Festival sale, and her reputation was such that she was sold to Rebecca Menzies for £150k; much to my delight!

Talk to the Boss (Milan – Lourdes) 5 G

This little section runs the risk of being taken over by Rebecca Menzies; you will find out why later.

Very much a flat pedigree on the dam side, this horse ran like the best horse in the race before finishing 2nd in his point, behind Vanderflier, who was well-regarded by his trainer, Sam Curling, and was subsequently sold for £155k.

We contacted Marie Harding (his trainer) and got a video and photos. He took our breath away, a stunning-looking horse who covers a lot of ground. Peter arranged to go down and see him, and I reflected on how appropriate his name was: a name Kim would have come up with while pointing to herself!

I think (although I was in shock) the first words out of Marie’s mouth were “we want €200k.” As an opening salvo, that was right up there. Was there room for (a lot of) negotiation? We asked. There really wasn’t, he was booked on the boat to Cheltenham the next day for the sales.

One thing that gave us a little pause was that he had been hobdayed. He’s a big horse, and they can often be prone to wind problems. We wanted a horse that would vet well, so we weren’t inclined to engage much further given the disparity in our pricing.

Talk to the Boss went to the sales where the vet’s report also mentioned a cut above the left fore cannon and a medial splint. This obviously affected Marie’s pricing as the reserve was low enough for him to be sold in the ring to Willie Twiston-Davies for £100k. I am not sure what happened then, but 30 minutes later, he was shown as now being bought by Rebecca Menzies for £80k; well short of the Euro valuation. Given the issues, we wouldn't have moved forward, but the € 95k sale price would have made it more tempting.

We loved the horse and genuinely hope he turns out to be a star for his new yard. I would just have concerns about long-term soundness and potential issues – I hope I am wrong.

Ubatuba (Soldier of Fortune – Anguilla) 5 G

He was the first horse we went to look at. He had fallen three out in a point at Dromahane at the end of December. He had made up ground impressively, and while it was some way out, he could be called the most likely winner. We knew if he came out and won, the price would go up exponentially, so we wanted to move quickly.

Peter went down and met with his handler, Paul Martin Pierce. He was a much smaller horse than, say, Talk to the Boss, but he was well made. He had apparently won both a schooling bumper and hurdle and was very well-regarded. However, there was one major problem: Our fear that the price would increase exponentially if he came out and won proved unfounded; it was ALREADY exponentially higher than we wanted to pay. He was looking for something approaching €150k, and our budget was approaching it so slowly the horse would have been retired before we got there. We passed and then reminded ourselves that Soldier of Fortune wasn’t on our short list of favourite sires. We were happy to move on.

He didn’t run again until the 16th March, once again at Dromahane. He won and it was ok form with the 4th winning a weak point later in the season. He did go to the sales and was sold for £85k to Noel Fehily/David Crosse; once again, well short of the €150k number.

I think he is a horse with some speed and could acquit himself well this season, and may be under the radar.

In all honesty, I stopped taking much notice after we bought Chosen Comrade, so there may well be many horses who ran after mid-March who will be missed from this list. On the other hand, there are a few horses that may be worth keeping an eye on if they turn up in any bumpers or novice hurdles next season.

Escort’kheops – May pick up 2m hurdle. Better than he has shown

Inishcorker – shows some speed

Park Blue – won point impressively but then was beaten, surprisingly given the style of his first win

Starzand – was sold for £230k before we were really looking. Impressive point and, now, bumper winner

US Marshall – liked this horse, was sold for £55k and may pop up somewhere next season

Let’s see how they all get on next season.