TDN Q&A With Mark and Caroline Hanly

Grange Hill Stud in Tipperary has a long history of breeding high-class horses both on the flat and over jumps, and the farm came into focus recently following the success of the Fozzy Stack-trained Zihba (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) in the G3 Amethyst S. at Leopardstown last weekend. The TDN's Daithi Harvey caught up with the Grange Hill brother-and-sister team of Mark and Caroline Hanly, who bred Zihba, to find out a bit more about the farm and its growing activities.

DH: Can you tell us a bit about Grange Hill Stud, where it's located and a bit of the history associated with it and notable winners bred?

MH: Grange Hill Stud is based just outside Nenagh, North Tipperary. It has been in the family for the past three generations and is currently owned by our parents Eoin and Stephanie Hanly. The farm sits on 250 acres including a satellite farm nearby. We have our own herd of beef cattle which we run alongside our band of around 20 broodmares. It is a true family farm and everybody has their own role to play in its success, from my parents to my sister Caroline and myself. On the flat, horses such as Hurricane Alan, Mukaddamah, Rocky Ground, Unsinkable, Hoku and Aaim To Prosper, who is the only horse to ever win the English Cesarewitch twice, have been bred by our family on the farm. Our leading homebreds over jumps include top class hurdler Oscar Whisky, Kahuna and Lucky Baloo.

DH: You bred last weekend's Amethyst winner Zihba. That must have been quite exciting watching him maintain his unbeaten record?

MH: We were quietly optimistic before the race last Sunday after he was so impressive on both occasions in Dundalk. We were at Leopardstown and it was a very exciting moment for both of us to see him win like that against older horses and maintain his unbeaten record. He ran an unbelievable race and looks like being a real contender for the Irish 2,000 Guineas. All credit to his trainer Fozzy Stack, who has done a brilliant job with him.

DH: Have you ever bred a Classic, or Group 1, contender or winner before?

MH: Hurricane Alan, who won the [G3] Craven S. and then went on to finish seventh in the [G1] 2000 Guineas. He was placed on multiple occasions at Group 1 level during his career and won two Group 2 races. Hoku, a Holy Roman Emperor filly, also ran in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac in France.

DH: You bought Zihba's dam, Fancy Vivid (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), quite cheaply at the sales in 2010. Can you tell us what attracted you to her?

MH: Quite simply, Galileo. I had always wanted to add a Galileo mare to our broodmare band. On top of that she was a very good-looking filly who had cost €400,000 as a yearling so that speaks for her looks. Also her dam is by Cadeaux Genereux, who is a top-class broodmare sire and I've always been a fan of his. She is from the same family as Dream Ahead, who was joint champion 2-year-old with Frankel that year. I wasn't expecting to get her as cheaply as I did but that was a bonus as I really liked the filly. I always had the Galileo-Danehill cross in mind as it's the best combination in the world, but Danzig also works very well with Cadeaux Genereux.

CH: When Mark arrived home with Fancy Vivid, I took one look at her and I was adamant that I wanted to buy into her. It took much persuading but luckily, I have a generous brother! As Mark said, she was the full package. She is the perfect broodmare model as well as a lovely mover and by the best stallion in the world.

DH: Zihba was the most expensive yearling out of her to date when selling for €62,000 to Hubie De Burgh at Tattersalls Ireland. Were you always confident he would make up into a classy racehorse?

MH: Zihba had great presence from an early age and was always a great walker. I remember at the sales that a lot of people remarked how similar his head was to Galileo's. He was very popular at the sales as he was such a fluent mover. We have followed his career closely since then and he always looked like being a talented racehorse.

DH: The mare has been a wise investment so far but Zihba's win at the weekend has really boosted the pedigree up top, so you could be in for some lucrative years ahead with her future stock. What did she foal this year and is she back in foal?

MH: She had a Kodi Bear colt this year and we are finding it very hard to fault him. Standing at Rathbarry Stud, Kodi Bear looks like being one of the most exciting first season sires. We have three of his progeny on the farm and they are all very good- looking individuals with a lot of substance. The mare visited Kodiac this year, who is a phenomenal stallion. Aidan O'Brien's promising 2-year-old filly Fairyland, who made 925,000gns as a yearling, is also by Kodiac and she is from the same family as Fancy Vivid.

DH: Apart from the breeding side, what other aspects of the industry are you involved in?

MH: We are predominantly flat breeders, however we have six national hunt mares who are all sisters to Oscar Whisky. This family has been the crown jewel of the farm for many years. We own the majority of the mares on the farm and we also consign our own foals, yearlings and stores at the sales. We have around 20 broodmares in total on the farm and we have a nice bunch of yearlings and foals by sires such as Footstepsinthesand (GB), Society Rock (Ire) and Acclamation to send to various different sales later this year.

DH: Can you tell us a bit about your own backgrounds, how you got involved in the business and your route to where you are now?

MH: After graduating university where I studied Business and Auctioneering, I went to Coolmore Australia where I completed a breeding season and a yearling season. When I returned to Ireland I went to work for Ciaran 'Flash' Conroy at Glenvale Stud. He gave me a thorough introduction to the industry and I learnt a lot from my time there. I moved back to the family farm in 2008 to carry on what my parents had started and help them expand the business further.

CH: After finishing college, I went into the transport side of the industry spending three years with Olive and Brendan Gallagher [now of Frankfort Park and Monomoy Girl fame]'s Emerald Bloodstock. A four-year stint with BBA Ireland followed that. It was an interesting time shipping some of the best racehorses and stallions and I gained a wealth of experience in a different part of the industry. The breeding side of things was always where I wanted to be so it was inevitable that I would eventually return to the family farm which I did in 2016 in conjunction with setting up my own independent business.

DH: What has been your best/most satisfying day in the business so far and what are your main objectives for the coming years?

MH: There have been quite a few good days, including Hurricane Alan winning the Craven and Oscar Whisky winning two Aintree Hurdles-that was just unbelievable. Like everybody else in this industry the dream of breeding a Group 1 winner is what gets us through the hard days. We have upgraded the quality of our stock in recent years and plan on continuing to do so. We have some exciting prospects yet to emerge this year but in the short term we are all looking forward to a few more good days out thanks to Zihba.