Potential top-notcher Torpillo shines light on little known sire Alanadi

We are used to seeing high-class jumpers imported from France to Britain and Ireland hail from some pretty obscure sires but a horse who has sprung to the head of ante-post betting lists for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival takes things to a new level.

Torpillo, a son of the entirely unheralded Alanadi, strolled to a 22-length success in the Unibet Juvenile Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

The chestnut gelding has now won both his starts for his new connections, having also triumphed by 23 lengths at Sandown last month. He was sourced privately from France after scoring over hurdles at Nancy for previous handler Augustin de Boisbrunet last April.

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Although his British victories have come on heavy and soft, and he may encounter better going at Cheltenham in March, bookies are taking no chances and have cut him to as low as 8-1 for the Triumph.

He is the only runner in Britain and Ireland by Alanadi under rules, and one of only 14 in France to have graced a racecourse. In fact, he is one of only six offspring by the sire born in 2015 according to France Galop statistics.

Alanadi has been represented by three other winners in France – Beau Diamant, an eight-year-old who has scored six times and is one of eight from his first crop; and Catastrophe and Wittelschach from a second crop that numbered 14.

There are no winners to date from the sire's output of four foals born in 2013, nor any from a batch of four born a year later.

Alanadi has five three-year-olds on the ground, a pair of two-year-olds and just one yearling recorded with France Galop.

Even the usually exhaustive stallion directory of website France-Sire contains only the barest bones of information about Alanadi, and no details of his present whereabouts.

What we do know about the stallion is he was bred and initially owned by the Aga Khan, but was unraced before presumably being sold privately as a stallion prospect.

The 13-year-old is a King's Best half-brother to French Group 3 winner and Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes runner-up Alnadana out of Alnamara, a Listed-winning daughter of Linamix.

Alnamara, meanwhile, was out of Alharir, a winning Zafonic half-sister to Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Sakhee. This is also the family of celebrities Celestial Storm, Pressing and Mastercraftsman.

Although breeding from unraced stallions makes the process of trying to produce talented horses even more of a lottery, it might be pointed out that King's Best tasted some success as a jumps sire through the likes of King's Socks and Seventh Sky, and that his son Creachadoir is the source of the brilliant Footpad.

Linamix has also been an important influence in jumps breeding, with Al Namix, Carlotamix, Fair Mix, Fragrant Mix, Martaline and Reefscape among his sons to have provided Grade 1 winners over obstacles.

Indeed, Al Namix's son Elixir De Nutz was a determined winner of the Tolworth Hurdle later on the same Sandown card on which Torpillo won.

Torpillo himself was bred by Gildas Blain out of the Balko mare Astherate, who finished last on her only start in France. Blain is also the breeder of Balko, a Grade 2-winning hurdler by Pistolet Bleu who has sired Balko Des Flos, Gitane Du Berlais and Vision Des Flos.

Torpillo is, remarkably, the only winner produced by any of his first three dams. Mansony, a dual Grade 1-winning chaser for Arthur Moore, is a more distant relative.

Torpillo's victory on Saturday came at the expense of another cross-Channel recruit, but one by a much better known stallion. Runner-up Fukuto, trained by David Bridgwater, is a son of Cokoriko – sent 234 concubines at Haras de Cercy last year to break the record for number of mares covered by a stallion in France in a single season.

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