Former Kildangan man's breeding venture is building a bridge across the Atlantic

Gerry Duffy: proud breeder of Wetherby winner PassionatelyCredit: Anne M Eberhardt

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In November 2017 I paid a visit to Kildangan Stud to speak to farm manager Gerry Duffy about a big year ahead for Darley’s Irish HQ, with a new stable complex having recently been built and Group 1 winners Profitable and Ribchester about to join the roster.

To my eternal shame, I neglected to ask about Night Of Thunder, who had completed his first two northern-hemisphere covering seasons at the County Kildare farm by that point.

The primary cause of my shocking disregard for a future elite sire was his recent move to Dalham Hall Stud for a change of scenery, but it was also partly due to the fact that there wasn’t much buzz about him, despite him being a well-bred 2,000 Guineas winner, with his father Dubawi’s reputation as a ‘sire of sires’ taking a knock due to Makfi and Poet’s Voice disappointing, and his imperfect foreleg conformation being a bit of a put-off.

Gerry knew, though. When, at the end of our chat, I asked him which member of the Darley line-up he thought was flying under the radar, he replied: “One who's got my attention right now is Night Of Thunder. We have about eight of his first foals at Wood Park and each one is better than the next.

“A lot of outside breeders are very complimentary about their foals by him too. I'm looking forward to seeing them at the sales – they should grab people's attention.”

I know, I know. Stud managers are paid to come out with stuff like that. But he did have nearly 40 Darley sires across Ireland, Britain and France to choose from at the time, and that was the only one he mentioned. So fair dos.

Gerry left Kildangan for Kentucky just a few months after our meeting – I tend to have that effect on people – but he kept a broodmare at home in Ireland, and put his money where his mouth was by eventually using Night Of Thunder, with the result that he is now the breeder of a rather promising two-year-old by the sire.

Passionately – who is out of a mare with an offbeat race record and pedigree that Gerry found, more of which in a moment – finished with a flourish to chin better fancied rivals on the line in the five and a half-furlong fillies’ maiden at Wetherby on Tuesday evening.

The May foal, trained by Amy Murphy for the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners having been purchased for 55,000gns from Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, shaped as if she could cope with a step up in class and possibly trip in time.

“If you’d seen us watching it here, you’d have thought we’d just won the Derby,” exclaimed Gerry, speaking from Kentucky after the race. “We’re over the moon. I’d say the form looks all right, and you’d be hopeful that there’ll be more to come from her, as she found a bit of trouble in running at one point and just did enough to get the job done once she was free.”

Having reminded him of how he prophesied Night Of Thunder’s success all those years ago, he replied with a laugh: “That’s very flattering but to say I always knew from the start that he would do what he did is an absolute lie! We all loved his first foals, that much is true, but in this game nobody knows what will happen.”

Gerry is right, of course, we should be wary of thinking we can predict the future when it comes to sires; but, nevertheless, he must surely have had some sort of sixth sense about the quality of those foals to have singled out an otherwise overlooked sire for praise?

“I suppose you’re right,” he conceded. “We did all genuinely love the Darley-bred foals by him we had on our own farms, they were really smashing. More to the point, though, there’s a lot of very good breeders out there who kindly show us their foals and give us honest feedback, and there was always a lot of positive chat about them.

Night Of Thunder - Gerry knew!Credit: Patrick McCann

“It’s well-known that he toes out a bit in front, and there was some trepidation that he would reproduce it, but he never threw one who toed out as much as he does himself, at least from what I saw.

“They were generally very correct, with powerful bodies, and they looked fast. The rest, as they say, is history; he has shown himself to be a serious sire. It’s hard to aspire to be an heir to Dubawi, as he’s done amazing things, but this fella is certainly doing his best.”

Gerry watched on from Kentucky as Night Of Thunder built on the foundations he had helped lay during his time at Kildangan. First came the record-equalling seven stakes-winning two-year-olds and stonking 58 per cent strike-rate of winners in his first crop, and then followed a constant stream of high-class horses headed by Highfield Princess, Isaac Shelby and Suesa.

Reflecting on managing Darley’s Stonerside and Raceland Farms in the Bluegrass for the past five years, he said: “My wife Muffin is from Kentucky, and she likes being close to her family. It’s a good life, and I love working with the mares, foals and yearlings here, although I definitely miss my family and friends in Ireland.

“I worked very closely with Joe Osborne, Jimmy Hyland and Eamon Moloney, it was a great team of people at Kildangan, but luckily it’s a small world and I get over and back fairly frequently.”

Gerry is returning to Ireland this month for the Godolphin Flying Start 20th anniversary conference at the K Club, so will soon be catching up with all of his old friends – as well as Lexi’s Love, his unconventionally bred and sourced mare who produced the exciting filly Passionately.

Lexi’s Love is a Louisiana-bred by the obscure Big Top Cat out of Princess Margaret Stakes third Rosehearty, a daughter of Rahy from the family of top-level winners Americain, Elliptique and Jovial, as well as current high-class miler Light Infantry.

She won four races in her native state, including a restricted black-type race over six furlongs on dirt at Fair Grounds at two, and was bought out of a claimer at the same track at five, for a mere $17,500.

“I wanted to get into a mare but couldn’t afford to buy into a young filly who could run, so I thought I’d do something a bit different and claim one out in Louisiana – hence Big Top Cat isn’t exactly something you see every day,” reported Gerry.

“Big Top Cat was only a minor stakes winner but he was a son of Storm Cat bred by Overbrook, so he had to have a good pedigree. He’s out of Golden Attraction, who was a champion at two and a three-time Grade 1 winner, and she was by Mr Prospector out of Kentucky Oaks winner Seaside Attraction, so he’s actually bred impeccably for all that he ended up being a stallion in Louisiana.

“Lexi’s Love is probably his highest rated runner. She’s got lots of speed and class on the dam’s side, so I thought there was a chance that she could produce some good, fast horses and it looks like, thankfully, Night Of Thunder has helped her out big time too.”

Passionately is the third surviving produce but first winner out of Lexi’s Love, following a couple of placed performers by Ribchester. The dam, who is boarded at the Hyland family’s Oghill House Stud just up the road from Kildangan, has a Ghaiyyath colt foal at foot and has been covered by Space Blues this year.

Gerry is of course enjoying his newly gained status as a winning breeder, but he confesses that keeping Lexi’s Love serves a more important purpose: namely building a bridge across the Atlantic to cherished friends at home in Ireland.

“Do you know, the greatest joy in breeding this horse and boarding the mare at Oghill is having a reason to interact with the Hylands,” he said. “Hugh and Pat are unfortunately no longer with us, but I can just imagine the kick they’d have got out of this; they used to get more satisfaction out of your success than their own. They were just absolute gentlemen.

“Johnny’s doing a great job of keeping things going at the farm. It’s got to be tough on him, and I’m just so happy for him to get results like this. He always really liked the filly and he rang me straight after the race and said, ‘See? I was nearly right, I told you she’d win a race by the first of June and it’s only five days past’.

“He’s been sending me pictures of the Ghaiyyath half-brother, and he’s delighted with him as well. He does look like a nice, strong colt. I’ll get to see him and catch up with Johnny and the family when I’m back in a few weeks’ time. It’s so enjoyable to be doing something with them. They’re just great people.”

Gerry couldn’t chat much longer as he was being bombarded by messages of congratulations from all his friends in Europe.

“It’s so funny seeing the number of calls and texts coming in,” he said. “People have obviously seen the result and used it as an excuse to reach out and catch up. This is some industry.”

Maxfield - does Gerry know?!Credit: Darley

I couldn’t let Gerry go without one more question, though. Having tipped up a winning outsider in Night Of Thunder five and a half years ago, can he repeat the trick and give us another Darley sire flying a little under the radar, this time in his adopted home of Kentucky?

“It has to be Maxfield,” he replied without hesitation. “Brendan Walsh trained him for us, and he was brilliant on his day.

“He’s by Street Sense, and of course we’d love to get a son of his to take on the mantle of successor. He’s just a big, masculine, very attractive horse, and his first foals are going down well, so he’s my top pick for the future. You heard it here first!”

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Pedigree pick

Aidan O’Brien tends to target Thursday’s seven-furlong maiden at Leopardstown (5.30) with his more exciting two-year-old fillies.

The Ballydoyle maestro’s future Irish Oaks heroine Bracelet won in 2013, multiple Group 1-placed September struck in 2017 and top-flight winner Together scored in 2010, while two of the best fillies he has ever trained also ran in it – Minding taking second in 2015 and Love coming fourth in 2019.

O’Brien unleashes three beautifully bred fillies in today’s renewal. Buttons is by Kingman out of Oaks runner-up Wonder Of Wonders, a maternal granddaughter of Urban Sea; Content is by Galileo out of dual Nunthorpe winner Mecca’s Angel; and Opera Singer is a Justify half-sister to Group 1 scorers Brave Anna and Hit It A Bomb.

Ryan Moore has plumped for Buttons, which probably says something, but Opera Singer is out of a mare who has already produced multiple crack juveniles, so I'll side with her instead.

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