How John O'Kelly turned a riding school castoff into the dam of a Goodwood star

Auctioneer John O'Kelly can now add Group race-winning breeder to his lengthy list of talents after Steel Bull, who he bred from the Equiano mare Macarthurs Park, ran out a decisive winner of the Markel Insurance Molecomb Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Wednesday.

The multilingual O'Kelly is a familiar face on the Tattersalls rostrum, but the dam of the Group 3-winning juvenile came into his ownership not through an appearance at public auction, but an altogether more unusual route.

Taking up the story, O'Kelly says: "I was looking for a mare to go to Gregorian when he retired to stud. Maurice Burns of Rathasker Stud suggested her to me and I took her. She was actually found in a riding school! Someone was trying to get rid of a couple of mares and I happened to be the lucky recipient at the time."

Although his purchase now looks a particularly shrewd buy, O'Kelly admits he wasn't privy to any great insight before buying Macarthurs Park, saying: "She was just a chancy mare, it's as simple as that."

Steel Bull wins the Markel Insurance Molecomb StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

However, he had crossed paths with the dam's family before in his role as a Tattersalls auctioneer.

Macarthurs Park was sold for €35,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sale and was later offered at the 2016 Tattersalls July Sale, but was bought back by her vendor at 9,500gns. She is out of La Tintoretta, who in turn is a daughter of Desert Prince and the Haydock Sprint Cup heroine Lavinia Fontana.

"I'd actually sold a member of the Lavinia Fontana family years ago at Tattersalls when I was on the rostrum, so I sort of knew the pedigree from that," says O'Kelly. "Brian Grassick had bought another part of the family, and the Grassicks have La Tintoretta so it's a nice story."

O'Kelly sent Macarthurs Park, who retired from racing as a 36-rated maiden, to Gregorian as planned during his second season at the National Stud. That mating yielded Urban Boom, who is among the reserves for the Leopardstown Club 30 Handicap on Friday.

Next she visited Rathasker Stud stalwart Clodovil for the tryst that resulted in the unbeaten Steel Bull.

"She's a small, neat little mare and Gregorian stands over plenty of ground so there was merit in putting the two together," says O'Kelly. "I've had a share in Clodovil going back years, and obviously he's the sire of Gregorian so it was a chance to see if the cross worked.

John O'Kelly in full flow on the Tattersalls rostrumCredit: Edward Whitaker

"She's not overly big, but this fellow Steel Bull isn't overly big either, he's just a ball of muscle. I sent her back to Gregorian, who now stands at Rathasker, and she had a filly foal this year. She went back to Clodovil this year but unfortunately she didn't take."

Steel Bull is not the only talented runner O'Kelly has bred by Clodovil, with the auctioneer also responsible for Alben Star and Brazos, who boast peak Racing Post Ratings of 114 and 109 respectively.

Expanding on his breeding activities, O'Kelly says: "I keep a couple of mares with Maurice, nothing grand, and sometimes they're lucky and sometimes they're not. Steel Bull has really come up trumps though. It's all about breeding a horse to run at the big occasions and we've struck gold this time around."

O'Kelly sold Steel Bull as a foal, with Rathasker's Madeline Burns picking up the colt at Tattersalls Ireland in November 2018 for a mere €5,000.

He went through the sales ring on two further occasions, with Andrew Lynch's Kilbrew Stables pinhooking him for £15,000 at the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale before reselling him to trainer Michael O'Callaghan for £28,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale.

Despite having sold a major talent for minor money, O'Kelly plainly has no regrets.

"I'm absolutely living the dream!" he says. "It's one of those lovely stories as she wasn't an expensive mare. When this colt went to the marketplace everyone seemed to like him but he wasn't especially 'commercial', but isn't it wonderful to see what they've now achieved?"

With racing continuing to be held behind closed doors, O'Kelly could not be there to see Steel Bull's victory first hand, so was watching from his home in the Ardennes region of Belgium.

He says: "I think I saw more of it than Michael O'Callaghan as he was trying to watch at home and his internet connection failed him!"

More to read...

A £400,000 strike sees Gordon Elliott deny McCoy and Swan for Doncaster top lot

Emotions run high as Mohaather writes a Whitsbury Manor Stud fairytale

Wonderful week for Maurice Burns as the Rathasker stallions hit red-hot form