Brother and sister team set to take on breeding superpowers with unbeaten Zihba

There are regally bred sons of Galileo, Frankel and War Front due to represent the biggest owner-breeders around in Saturday's Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas, but only one colt heads to Ireland's first Classic of the year with an unbeaten record to defend.

That horse is Zihba, who was last seen winning the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes, where he saw off his elders by a cosy length and a half. He may rate as one of the most exciting prospects in the field, but he comes from far more humble beginnings than most of his blue-blooded rivals.

He was bred by brother and sister duo Mark and Caroline Hanly at the family-run Grange Hill Stud in Nenagh, North Tipperary, and is out of a mare who was picked up for a mere 6,000gns.

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Despite the price Mark Hanly paid for Fancy Vivid at Tattersalls back in 2010, she boasts an interesting profile of her own. Although she was winless during her own racing career, she had cost €400,000 as a yearling, and is by the mighty Galileo and out of the Cadeaux Genereux mare Starchy, a sister to the Group 2-winning Land Of Dreams - the dam of Dream Ahead.

"She was very cheap and I was very surprised I got her for that price," Hanly says, who cut his teeth working for the likes of Ciaran 'Flash' Conroy and Coolmore Australia.

"The biggest attraction was that she's by Galileo, it's as simple as that really. She's a very good-looking filly though, and she has a lovely back pedigree. Dream Ahead is in there and he was joint-champion two-year-old with Frankel the year that I bought her."

Galileo: the damsire of Classic hopeful ZihbaCredit: Peter Mooney

While Hanly may have enjoyed a stroke of luck in acquiring Fancy Vivid for such a nominal sum, the mating that produced Zihba came about entirely by design. He is from the final northern hemisphere-bred crop of Choisir, who stood in 2014 at a fee of just €12,500

"I always had the Galileo - Danehill combination in mind for her," he says. "She's been to three Danehill Dancer horses and Choisir was the third one (Fast Company and Mastercraftsman were the others). He really clicked with her and she produced Zihba."

It is a cross that Hanly has persevered with, even when upgrading Fancy Vivid's covering.

"She's visiting Kodiac this year and has a foal by Kodi Bear that'll probably be going to the sales - he's a very, very nice colt," he adds.

And such were Fancy Vivid's striking good looks that it did not take long for others to become interested in taking a share, as Hanly explains.

"I selected the mare over in Newmarket and when I brought her home my sister completely fell in love with her and kept asking and asking to buy into her so eventually I agreed. That's how we came to breed Zihba together," he says.

Zihba powers clear of his rivals in the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes at LeopardstownCredit: Patrick McCann

Having bred and raised Zihba, the next chapter of the story came at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, where Hanly and his sister sold the colt to de Burgh Equine for €62,000.

"He was a lovely yearling, a very fluent mover," Hanly recalls. "A lot of people remarked that he has the same head as Galileo, obviously that comes from being out of a Galileo mare, and he was very popular at Fairyhouse so I was quietly optimistic he was going to do well on the day. I'm delighted he went to Fozzy [Stack]."

Zihba remains unbeaten after three starts for Stack, having landed a pair of races at Dundalk before winning the Amethyst Stakes earlier in the month. Among those to have been impressed by Zihba's rapid improvement are the Al Shaqab Racing team, who purchased the colt privately in the lead up to his Classic engagement.

Despite operating on a comparatively small scale, the Hanly family, who keep a broodmare band comprised of 14 Flat mares and six National Hunt mares, are no strangers to the big occasion. Their past graduates include the likes of Hurricane Alan, who won the 2003 Craven Stakes before finishing seventh behind Refuse To Bend in the 2,000 Guineas, and dual Aintree Hurdle hero Oscar Whisky.

Oscar Whisky: the dual Aintree Hurdle winner was bred by Stephanie HanlyCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"Oscar Whisky winning two Aintree Hurdles was a phenomenal thing and we've got six sisters to him breeding - they're the crown jewels on the farm," says Hanly, before expanding on the mood in the Grange Hill Stud camp ahead of the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

"I'm fairly relaxed about the whole thing," he says. "It'll be nerve-wracking about an hour before the race but for now it's just nice to look forward to it.

"The family will be going up to the Curragh on Saturday. We're going to have to cherish these days as it's not too often you have a runner in a Classic so we'll be making the most of it.

"An awful lot of hard work goes into it when you're a family-run operation foaling 20 mares, but a horse like Zihba makes a long breeding season feel very easy."

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