Three locally bred horses win at Royal Ascot

By Thomas Conway

Tipperary is a county synonymous with horse-racing. Many a winner has passed through the gates of Coolmore and Ballydoyle down south, where Aidan O’Brien and his world-class team consistently train and produce high-calibre horses for the global stage.

But last week, at Royal Ascot, there was another Tipperary place-name on the lips of the punters and trainers - Nenagh. Not one, not two but three Nenagh-bred horses found success on the Berkshire flatlands, making it a historic couple of days for the area.

Garden of Eden, co-bred by Mark Hanly and his wife Sally Ann Grassick, sped to victory on Thursday in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes.

On Wednesday, Ombudsman, a horse bred by Mark’s uncle James, galloped to a comfortable win in the Prince of Wales Stakes.

To cap it all off on Friday, the Willie Mullins trained Ethical Diamond started the favourite and finished the winner in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes. Ethical Diamond originated in Tullamore Park, owned, and run by local trainer William Kennedy.

All in all, it was an extraordinary week, a clear illustration of the horse-racing prowess that exists in the north of the county.

Reflecting on the successES, Garden of Eden co-breeder Mark Hanly, of Grange Hill stud, was still elated, still living off the buzz of being in Ascot and witnessing his filly cruise home in front of the thousands.

“It’s absolutely incredible,” he said.

“To even breed a horse going to Ascot is one thing, but to breed a winner - and in the style she did it in - is absolutely incredible. It’s just unimaginable because you’re on the biggest stage on Earth for flat racing. It just doesn’t get any better.”

Did Mark see it coming? To an extent. Garden of Eden is Aidan O’Brien trained, and Hanly says the mood music was fairly positive after a promising showing in Naas some weeks ago, but even he struggled to convince himself that she had it in her to take a win in Ascot.

“She won a good race over a mile-and-two up in Naas, a listed race, a few weeks ago,” he said of her recent form.

“So, we knew she was pretty good then. But the Coolmore team and Aidan O’Brien were very confident going over to Ascot that she could get on well.

So, look, I knew she had a chance, but when you’re on this big a stage, when you’re taking on the best horses in the world, even when you know you have a chance, you don’t think it’s going to come true.”

Grange Hill

Both Mark and his wife, ITV broadcaster Sally Ann Grassick, bred Eden in Grange Hill outside Nenagh, a family enterprise that has existed as a farm for generations.

“It’s a family business here,” he revealed.

“We’re on a third-generation farm.

“In terms of my whole background, I was in college in Dublin, and I realised I wasn’t really the office sort of person.

“So, I decided to go to Australia for a year-and-a-half and work down there for Coolmore Stud. And then I went to a guy called Flash Conroy down in South Tipperary, who’s part of Coolmore Stud as well. Then I got my green cert and I decided to come home and do my own thing.”

Mark attributes much of his racing knowledge to the education he received with both Coolmore and Conroy, but he also praises his wife and indeed his wider family, all of whom were instrumental in this success.

It was, he says, a particularly special week over in England, due to the victories achieved by the other Nenagh trainers, each of whom hail from similarly small but significant studs in the area.

There is no secret ingredient when it comes to achieving success in the horse racing industry, but Mark maintains that the quality of the land in Tipperary plays a crucial role in enabling the county’s stud farms to churn out top quality race horses.

“The land we have up here, we’re extremely lucky to have it,” he revealed.

“We’re only a forty minute drive from Coolmore Stud, and the land here isn’t any different to down there in Coolmore, and they’re breeding the best horses in the world.”

The plan now for Mark, Sally Ann, and the rest of the team at Grange Hill is to keep sailing on their upward trajectory and hopefully produce more winners in the near future.

“We just keep doing what we’re doing. As I said, the backbone to all this, to this success, is the land - and hard work. They’re the two things, what it’s all down to,” Hanly concluded.