Quevega's son Facile Vega among the next wave from the Willie Mullins stable

There was another figure with a red jacket who appeared once a year in Britain and Ireland to spread a good deal of seasonal cheer.

The difference was that, in her long and glittering career, Quevega was never seen over the Christmas period, with Willie Mullins usually having her in slow preparation before her targets at Cheltenham and Punchestown in the spring.

Quevega is a broodmare now and her owners, Hammer & Trowel Syndicate, can enjoy seeing their colours carried at Leopardstown on St Stephen's Day by her son Facile Vega.

In 2014, after claiming an unparalleled sixth consecutive victory at the Cheltenham Festival, the French-bred daughter of Robin Des Champs was retired for a breeding career. The syndicate have welcomed a string of foals at the Irish National Stud and also retained Quevega's first foal, the Beat Hollow-sired Princess Vega, who scored on her very first attempt in a hurdle at Tramore in May 2019.

She has failed to build upon that in three subsequent outings and was unsold at €30,000 when offered at the sales last month.

Facile Vega, a four-year-old gelding and Quevega's second foal, is by the red-hot Walk In The Park, which would make him a hot property notwithstanding his illustrious dam's ability. Mullins has booked his son Patrick for the mount in the concluding bumper (3.30) that the pair have won with Blackbow and Bacardys in recent years.

Gordon Elliott's Cool Survivor, the £175,000 second top lot at the Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale, has more experience and lies in opposition.

Beholder was a three-time winner at the Breeders' CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

A marathon Boxing day for pedigree enthusiasts might stretch on long enough to include another helping of cold turkey and putting the Death In Paradise Christmas special on pause.

The fourth race at Santa Anita (8.37pm) will see the debut of just about the most beautifully bred youngster in American racing. Q B One is the first foal out of four-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder, the multimillionairess who captured 11 Grade 1 races in an incredible career with Richard Mandella. She is also the sibling of Mendelssohn and US powerhouse stallion Into Mischief.

Appropriately, Mandella has taken charge of the Uncle Mo colt for owner-breeders Spendthrift and he is set to tackle six rivals in a maiden special weight race over six and a half furlongs.

Mandella said earlier this week that Q B One had suffered from a few minor problems and hinted that it might be just a race to watch.

"He trains good and I think racing will make him better but I don't know that his mind is really on it yet," he said. "We'll get a race into him and I'd expect going short he'll probably settle back and finish well, getting him started for better things down the road."

The big Christmas jumps meeting will also see the unveiling of some hefty sales purchases.

One of them to join the Mullins conveyer belt is Ballybay (entered at Leopardstown and Limerick on Tuesday), another Walk In The Park who achieved the joint second highest price at last year's Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.

Gallagher Equine Ltd and Russell MacNabb went to €195,000 for Ballybay, a daughter of bumper-winning Maple Lady, who has already produced three-time winner and last year's Champion Bumper fifth Eskylane, who is also due out over the next few days for Gordon Elliott.

Ballybay made €195,000 at last year's Derby SaleCredit: Tattersalls Ireland/Healy Racing

Ballybay's price was eclipsed at that sale only by Altior's Walk In The Park half-sister Bellatior, who was recently off the mark for Elliott at the first time of asking.

There are plenty of other Mullins entries to pick over but one notable member should be State Man (St Stephen's Day, 12.00) in Leopardstown's curtain-raiser.

The Doctor Dino colt is a sibling of the stable's Statuaire, sired by Doctor Dino's father Muhtathir and the recent winner of the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle for ML Bloodstock.

It's a fine jumping family and the year-younger State Man looks to have been recommended to Joe and Marie Donnelly having finished second on his only start to Joseph O'Brien's decent young chaser Busselton in last year's Prix Wild Monarch at Auteuil, a popular event for recruiting hot French prospects.

Hughie Morrison's bumper runners are always worth noting and he has a relative of a current National Hunt flagbearer in Final Encore (Wincanton, Boxing Day, 3.45).

He is a Dunaden half-brother to Third Wind, the winner of this year's Rendlesham Hurdle for owner-breeder, and the former trainer, Mouse Hamilton-Fairley.

Third Wind did not manage to win a bumper but made quick progress in novice hurdles, including in a Grade 3 at Sandown. The presence of Dunaden, who was lost to the stallion ranks prematurely but has shown promise with what he has bequeathed, could allow his sibling to be a slightly more precocious type.

There were few more impressive bumper winners than Sgt Reckless, who bolted up at Wincanton for Mick Channon almost a decade ago and went on to lock horns with the likes of Vautour and Faugheen.

The Radford family, who owned Sgt Reckless, have been involved in breeding some of the others out of Danzero broodmare Lakaam, such as five-year-old Presenting mare Diddly Do, a very easy winner for Jamie Snowden on her second start at Wincanton in February.

So it would not be a surprise to see Diddly Do's year-younger Kayf Tara half-sister Scallywags (Sedgefield, Boxing Day, 3.10) show a bit of ability for Laura Morgan, the capable young Leicestershire trainer.

Smart filly La Rioja is now a broodmareCredit: Edward Whitaker

La Rioja, a daughter of Hellvelyn, won the Dick Poole Stakes for Henry Candy in her first season racing and was fourth in the Commonwealth Cup, part of a string of good performances at Pattern level. Criollo (Tuesday, Newcastle 4.20) is the first representative of a filly who proved a terrific buy by David Redvers for Qatar Racing as a yearling for 50,000gns at Tattersalls Book 2.

Bred under the banner of The La Rioja Partnership, the Qatar Racing-owned grey daughter of Dark Angel is in the William Haggas stable, which suggests she ranks highly among the operation's homebred types.

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