"When he ran in a race, let alone won, he fulfilled Ned's prophesy for us"

Il Courra was not only maintaining a perfect sequence for Peter and Mary Griffin but confirming a sage prediction when he struck in a bumper at Wexford late last month.

Just one of the first three foals to have appeared from King's Theatre mare Village Queen would have been enough for most one-horse breeders to dine out on but Griffin, a long-serving practitioner based at the Slaney Veterinary Centre in Baltinglass, County Wicklow, and his wife Mary can already lay claim to Desert Orchid Chase winner Bun Doran and two individual Grade 2 scorers in the shape of Portrush Ted and Shantou Village.

Il Courra, the fourth, is the only one they have sentimentally decided to keep.