'It feels like really hard luck' – some sad tidings about a budding blue hen mare emerge out of Tweenhills

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On this occasion, Martin Stevens speaks to David Redvers about the farm's star-crossed blue hen mare Roheryn– subscribers can get more great insight every Monday to Friday.

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This was supposed to be an article highlighting why the 2011-foaled stakes-winning Galileo mare Roheryn has to be considered a budding blue hen but – sadly – it has turned into an obituary.

When I rang David Redvers at the weekend to find out more about the in-form producer, who he bought as a yearling and managed on behalf of Qatar Racing, he told me that she had succumbed to colic after foaling a Justify filly in Kentucky during the spring.

“Typical, isn’t it?” he remarked bitterly. “You expect it more in National Hunt breeding, as mares are much older by the time they have a few progeny on the track, but it feels like really hard luck losing a good Flat mare when she was still in the prime of her life.”

Recent events have shown Roheryn to be an immense loss to the broodmare ranks.

Defiantly, the four-year-old son of Kameko who is her sixth foal, bolted up by five and a half lengths in the Prix Kergorlay at Deauville on the Sunday before last, having also won a marathon handicap at Glorious Goodwood by a wide margin last month. 

The gelding’s most recent victory earned him a ballot-exempt guaranteed start in the Melbourne Cup this year and his trainer Joseph O’Brien confirmed after the race that he would indeed be aiming him at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.

Remarkably, Defiantly could become the third black-type winner out of Roheryn to run in the Melbourne Cup after the six-year-old Middle Earth and seven-year-old Buckaroo.

Middle Earth – the mare’s fourth foal who is a little more than a half-brother to Defiantly as he is by Roaring Lion, like Kameko a son of Kitten’s Joy – is a dual-hemisphere Group 3 winner and finished third behind Half Yours in last year’s renewal of the Melbourne Cup, while Buckaroo – their dam’s third produce by former Australian champion sire Fastnet Rock – is a Group 1 winner and eight-times Group 1-placed down under, although he has been out of luck twice in the race that stops a nation.

Roheryn’s other three foals are all decent winners too. Kihavah, her first foal by Harbour Watch, competed at a high level under both codes, winning nine races and finishing second in the Ebor; Thousand Oaks, her second foal by Kingman, won a Newmarket novice stakes in impressive fashion; and Siege Of Troy, her fifth foal by Siyouni, won a Curragh maiden and was multiple black type-placed. 

Simply put, Roheryn has never missed a beat as a broodmare. 

Her six runners have Flat RPRs ranging between 122 and 93 and between them they have won around £3,275,000 in prize-money.

There could be more to come too, as she has a two-year-old colt by Siyouni who was sold to Godolphin for €600,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale last year and is in training with Charlie Appleby under the name Arrow River, and then she has that priceless Justify filly foal who turned out to be her final progeny.

Defiantly and Dylan Browne McMonagle return after winning the Sumbe Prix KergorlayCredit: Racing Post/Burton

Roheryn was entitled to do well at stud as she had an impeccable pedigree, not only being by Galileo but also being out of the Albany Stakes and Summer Stakes winner La Chunga, by More Than Ready. The blueblooded mare joined Qatar Racing when she was bought by Redvers for $400,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2012.

“Her page made obvious appeal both as a racehorse and a longer-term breeding prospect,” recalled Redvers. “I remembered La Chunga easily winning the Albany Stakes when it was run at York well. She was a superb racemare with a good American pedigree.

“The only thing was, I didn’t appreciate at the time that box-walkers didn’t have to be announced by the auctioneers at Keeneland, and after we’d bought her it rather looked like she’d been placed in that sale because she tended to go a bit nuts in her stable.

“However, in the end, it didn’t matter a jot. She went to Ger Lyons and won a Listed race at Leopardstown and finished placed in a heap of Group races. She was a very good racemare without being a star. 

“The interesting thing was that she was every inch her father’s daughter as she thrived over 12 to 14 furlongs, whereas her mother had been an out-and-out sprinter.”

Roheryn has passed on that stamina to her offspring, all of whom have been tough, progressive and at their best over middle distances, regardless of the preferences of their sires.

“She’s been extraordinarily consistent,” said Redvers. “Kihavah, who we sold early in the piece, was a wonderfully tough and genuine campaigner and showed a lot of ability both on the Flat and over obstacles. He was the perfect horse to own, really.

“Defiantly and Middle Earth are also marvellous horses who have done well over at least 12 furlongs and excel over even further. They just seem to have huge heart and lung capacity, and you’d have to say that probably comes from Galileo. 

“I could never have imagined how well Roheryn would turn out when I bought her all those years ago. She was down to the final three for broodmare of the year at the TBA awards this year and hopefully Defiantly will push her into the top spot next time.”

Buckaroo on his way to landing the Underwood Stakes at CaulfieldCredit: Racing Photos

Roheryn has proved a point about the nature of commercial breeding made by Redvers in an interview in this space in 2024: in a nutshell, that truly commercial horses are those who are able to win the most lucrative races over ten furlongs and further and accrue high resale value on the global market, rather than here-today, gone-tomorrow two-year-old sprinters.

Two years on, does he think more people have come around to that way of thinking?

“Not really, although certain trainers are absolutely alive to it,” he replied.

“But look at the value of the stock that has come out of Roheryn. Sheikh Fahad has sold 50 per cent in a number of the horses out of her, including Buckaroo and Middle Earth, for more individually than you would get for five early winners by a speed stallion.

“There is a huge international market for those sorts of horses. Buckaroo, Middle Earth and now Defiantly are all able to make serious money at the top of the staying division in Australia. Buckaroo has earned £2 million, Middle Earth has earned £700,000 and is still only getting going, and it looks as though Defiantly will be in that ballpark too.

“The resale market for sprinters on the other hand is really tough unless you’ve got a colt who could be a stallion. Put it this way: those speedier horses might give owners some form of quick return, but it is highly unlikely they will give owners a really big return. 

“There’s no two ways about it, middle-distance horses give owners the best chance of that really big return. That’s what made Roheryn an absolute diamond, producing a whole host of those horses who were high-class and in demand on the international stage.”

Roheryn might be gone but two of her three daughters – Siege Of Troy and the Justify filly foal – are still owned by Sheikh Fahad, with the other – Thousand Oaks – having been sold, carrying a Kameko filly closely related to Defiantly, to Herbertstown House Stud for 45,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale last year.

“Siege Of Troy is in Japan,” revealed Redvers. “Sheikh Fahad has a racing operation there, on a much smaller scale, and he had a very good result at the JRHA Select Sale last month, selling a Contrail colt foal out of the Grade 2-winning Screen Hero mare Art House to Koji Maeda for 140 million yen (£646,000 or €755,000).

“Sheikh Fahad decided he wanted to send another high-class performer with a proper pedigree to join his broodmare band in Japan and so he chose Siege Of Troy. She was covered for the first time this year and is in foal to Suave Richard.

“The Justify filly foal is at Hunter Valley Farm in Kentucky at the moment and is absolutely lovely. We haven’t made a definite plan for her as obviously it's very early days but I would hope she’d come back and race in Europe, probably for Joseph [O’Brien].”

Middle Earth (right) beats King Of Conquest in the Aston Park StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Roheryn’s posthumous exploits are bittersweet but the Tweenhills sires’ recent achievements are the cause of more straightforward celebration.

Defiantly was one of four black-type winners by Kameko in the space of 11 days this month, along with Wimbledon Hawkeye in the Prix Gontaut-Biron, Mirik in the Grand Prix de Clairefontaine and War Socks in a Group 3 at Ovrevoll in Norway.

“Those results have completely changed the season for him,” said Redvers. “He’s now got one of the highest strike-rates of black-type winners to runners among the third-season sires, along with King Of Change. 

“He’s proven beyond doubt that he can get a good horse and it was gratifying to see his lots sell well at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in Doncaster last week in what, it has to be said, was a bit of a depressed market.”

Interestingly, many of Kameko’s best performers – including the recent black-type winners Defiantly, Mirik and Wimbledon Hawkeye, as well as this season’s Hampton Court Stakes scorer Generic – are out of mares who needed at least ten furlongs themselves.

Being able to deliver those truly commercial horses who improve and stay well from matings with middle-distance performers – rather than producing something too slow for Flat racing – makes him something of a precious commodity for breeders.

“That’s almost unheard of: Sea The Stars is the only other sire I can think of who does that,” said Redvers. “Most stallions want speed mares, but he seems to be the opposite.”

King Of Change, who was snapped up to stand at Tweenhills this year after making hay with his small, modestly bred first two crops, is still exceeding expectations. His ratio of black-type winners to runners in 2026 stands at a mightily impressive 10.53 per cent.

The son of Farhh did, however, hit a bump in the road recently with the sale of his son Shayem, who took the scalp of long odds-on shot Talk Of New York when he won the Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood last month, to continue his career in Hong Kong.

King Of Change's ratio of black-type winners to runners in 2026 stands at a mightily impressive 10.53 per centCredit: Tweenhills

Redvers has not taken the news well. He disagreed vehemently when I suggested it was a mixed blessing, as it at least showed that the sire was capable of producing the sorts of horses who find themselves the subject of big-money deals to race abroad.

“It’s far from a mixed blessing, it’s a huge blow,” he said gloomily. “When Karl [Burke] told me it was happening at the sales in Doncaster last week I could have burst into tears. I was absolutely gutted because I really thought that the horse had a strong chance of eventually winning a Group 1 in Europe. 

“Shayem didn’t just break the track record when he won at Goodwood, he smashed it, and he did it in a really gutsy manner. He’s one of those horses who only just does enough, and I think he took Karl slightly by surprise at the speed of his progress.

“He was clearly improving at a rate of knots and he didn’t have to do an awful lot more to be knocking on the door in a Group 1 race. When a horse with his willing attitude gets in the groove there’s no knowing where they’ll end up.

“It wouldn’t have been the biggest surprise to see him running a big race in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qatar Racing British Champions Day at Ascot in October.”

Redvers does at least agree that King Of Change’s reputation should withstand the departure of Shayem, as there are plenty of other good advertisements for him.

“Oh, he’s a proper piece of kit,” said Redvers. “He has an unbelievably high percentage of horses rated 100 or higher in Britain and Ireland, putting him up there with the likes of Frankel and Dubawi. It wouldn’t take much for his statistics to take another leap forward, either. 

“Coedana ran a good race in a ten-furlong Group 1 in Germany and appears to be crying out for a mile and a half, while Regal Charm is still unexposed and will perform better than she did last time when she gets some cut in the ground. Then there’s Miss Of Change on the continent who looks capable of winning more big races.

“What I love most about him is that he gets smart performers from five furlongs to 12 furlongs and if you look into all his black-type performers so far you’ll see that he’s upgrading mares out of all recognition. 

“That’s what’s so exciting. There’s no limit to what he can do when his better mares reach the track. He ended up covering 111 mares this year after a few dropouts and the book contained more elite mares than he had received in his whole career up to that point.”

The sale of Shayem to Hong Kong might be frustrating but it is nothing compared to the unexpected need for an obituary for the phenomenally dependable broodmare Roheryn. 

Defiantly and his siblings look set to hammer home just how great a calamity her premature death in the spring really was.

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“An agent was spotted climbing out of a hotel room window in the wee small hours – which threw up more questions than answers,” writes James Thomas in his latest sales diary. 

Pedigree pick

Nemorino is making a belated debut for Henry de Bromhead in the 12-furlong maiden at Roscommon today (6.55) but his pedigree suggests that he will be worth the wait. 

The three-year-old gelding is by champion sire Dark Angel and out of Swordlestown Little’s star mare Nisriyna, which makes him a half-brother to seven winners including Group 1 place-getters Arrest, Detain and Dinozzo and Listed third Spring Loaded.

Nisriyna is an Intikhab half-sister to dual Group 3 winner and Nassau Stakes runner-up Narniyn from the family of this year’s Gamely Stakes heroine Thought Process and former Poule d’Essai des Pouliches runner-up Maiden Tower and Prix Marcel Boussac third Copperbeech. 

Nemorino18:55 Roscommon

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Jky: Robbie Colgan Tnr: Henry De Bromhead