Coeur Sublime proving employee loyalty pays off for Paul Croke

Although there has been little by way of remuneration for Paul Croke in breeding a new face in the Champion Hurdle market, at least his bosses will be happy with him.

For the Irish National Stud’s head stallion man has proved a loyal footsoldier by advertising his workplace’s value option Elusive Pimpernel in the most pro-active of ways with Coeur Sublime spearheading his sire’s entrance into the dual-purpose ranks.

In fact, the mating was something of a final roll of the dice for Croke’s Lomitas mare Love Knot, a Darley-bred winner of a minor race in France whom he had bought for small beer back in 2007.

"It was 2014 and I was kind of contemplating whether I’d cover the mare at all because nothing had come onto the page, a few of those that she had produced weren’t doing anything and I wasn’t getting the sales, they weren’t doing anything either," he explains.

"I work at the Irish National Stud and I look after Elusive Pimpernel. When I knew he was coming to the stud in 2014 I decided that I could just cover her with him. He was cheap and cheerful at €1000 and I’d see what I got.

"I got a colt, he made €4,500 as a foal, he was sold on to Aidan O’Ryan as a yearling at €31,000. Then after he won his maiden on the Flat he was sold again to Chris Jones for €260,000, so it’s been a great progression for everyone that had him along the way."

Coeur Sublime looked a rising star of the division when bolting up at Down RoyalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

A week after Croke offered Coeur Sublime at the Goffs November Foal Sale, he parted company with Love Knot for just €2,000. Insofar as hindsight being a wonderful thing, his decision would have appeared judicious at the time and Yannick Fouin, who is now breeding from the mare in France, is also waiting to receive much return on investment.

"You don’t wish anyone any bad luck, that’s the main thing, you want everyone to get a few bob out of it," he says magnanimously.

"I bought her in foal to Diamond Green, who turned out to be a flop, but a few things popped up in the pedigree. Her half-brother Playfellow was third in the Champagne and won a Listed race at Pontefract as a two-year-old for Michael Jarvis. He went to Godolphin, where it didn’t really happen for him, but he won plenty of races overseas.

"She didn’t really produce much and there were a couple of issues with foals who weren’t very correct. You’d get plenty of lookers at the sales but they wouldn’t chance them because of correctness. Coeur Sublime was probably the most correct one she’s had, and although I only got €4,500, that’s the way it is. He was a lovely foal, good and strong."

Elusive Pimpernel’s prowess has been recognised by a price hike for 2020, doubtless in no small part due to Coeur Sublime’s performances for Gordon Elliott in finishing second in the Triumph Hurdle and entering the senior ranks with poise in last month’s WKD Hurdle at Down Royal.

"I look after him every day," says Croke, who is currently on a brief break from duties following the birth of his first child. "He’s a placid horse, he has his odd quirks okay, but we’ve figured them out and he’s no problem to work with.

"He’s still getting two-year-old winners, he had a nice one on the last day of the Flat at Naas and he’s now €3,000, so three times the money he was last year.

"He’s got a lot of decent horses over the jumps. It's funny actually, because Coeur Sublime's dam Love Knot is a half-sister to Carolobrian, who has also bred a Graded-placed horse by Elusive Pimpernel in Ex Patriot, so the family seems to click with him."

Croke, a graduate of the INS management course, has a rounded background in the industry as his parents Geoffrey and Patricia have Donoughmore Stud in Clonmel. It is, however, an indubitably smaller concern than that of his day job.

"We only have two mares at home," he explains. "This would probably be the best horse we’ve bred - my parents bred a horse called Two Rockers, who Alan King trained. He was a good hurdler, won his first three and a Grade 2, and then went off the boil.

"I have one mare called She’s a Pistol, I bought her in foal in 2016 for €18,000 at Goffs, she had a foal by Brazen Beau and we managed to get €44,000 for that, which was nice. It keeps the interest anyway."

A lot more will be learned about Coeur Sublime’s championship aspirations when he reappears at either Leopardstown or Limerick over Christmas. As he is still available at around 16-1 for Cheltenham, Croke might be wise to be considering a small ante-post compensation policy.

"It looked like he has improved from his juvenile days to the race in Down Royal, he was very impressive winning by 15 lengths. Then the horse who beat him in the Triumph, Pentland Hills, was beaten in the International at Cheltenham, but [trainer] Nicky Henderson is Nicky Henderson so he might have just left a bit to do on him. He pulled a bit hard but I’m sure they were happy enough.

"Espoir D’Allen won the race at Limerick and he won the Champion Hurdle, so it can be done with a four and five-year-old. Coeur Sublime is a slick jumper, he’s kind of like Buveur D’Air in that he flicks the top of the hurdle, he doesn’t jump high or anything, and that’s what you need in a Champion Hurdler."

There might not be many better times for an employee to have shown their dedication in driving a fellow colleague forward in their career. It is Christmas bonus season, after all.

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