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Never So Brave, Daytona and the Legacy of the Late Christopher Hanbury


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Over three years have now elapsed since the death of Major Christopher Hanbury, but still his influence is all over the success his Triermore Stud has enjoyed in recent weeks, continuing the legacy of a man whose colourful life brought him winners everywhere from the Cheltenham Festival to the Breeders' Cup.

Just last month Hanbury was among the successful breeders at Royal Ascot again when Saeed Suhail's Never So Brave proved himself a handicap blot in the Buckingham Palace Stakes. The son of No Nay Never then took the step up to Pattern company in his stride when recently returning to Ascot to win the G2 Summer Mile, with the promise of better to come should he take up his next intended engagement in the G1 City Of York Stakes.

“Sure, he looks like a different horse this year, doesn't he?” sums up stud manager Paul McDonnell, who oversees the day-to-day running of Triermore Stud, which was once Hanbury's childhood home. Now, the County Meath operation is home to around 15 mares belonging to the family, headed up by Hanbury's widow, Bridget.

Chica Whopa (Oasis Dream), the dam of Never So Brave, has quickly proved herself an invaluable member of that broodmare band. As well as Never So Brave, she has already produced the G2 Richmond Stakes-winning sire Barraquero, Listed scorer Pirate Jenny and a Wootton Bassett filly who fetched 420,000gns last year at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

“We bought her privately on the back of Barraquero,” McDonnell says of Chica Whopa. “For her first covering we went to Exceed And Excel and we bred Pirate Jenny. She was a Listed winner and made a lot of money at the sales last year [when bought by Amo Racing for 500,000gns].

“Never So Brave was a nice, big foal, typical of No Nay Never, and he sold well as a yearling [at 240,000gns]. He's obviously improving and I think he has a Group 1 target next.”

He adds, “Chica Whopa was barren last year. We had a couple of little hiccups, but she's safely in foal now to Auguste Rodin and due in January.”

 

Never So Brave wins the Group Two Summer Mile Stakes at @Ascot!

The son of No Nay Never takes the rise in Class in his step, mowing down the tearaway Point Lynas in the closing stages to score for @AndrewBalding2 and @davidprobert9!

Where would you go next if you owned him? pic.twitter.com/LP8w32pjeS

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 12, 2025

 

Victory at the top level for Never So Brave would see him cement his position among Triermore Stud's most famous graduates, alongside the likes of Line Of Duty (Galileo), the Godolphin purchase who completed Hanbury's journey from Cheltenham Festival-winning owner to Breeders' Cup-winning breeder when landing the Juvenile Turf in 2018.

Another landmark occasion was provided by Line Of Duty's half-sister, Onassis (Dubawi), who Hanbury raced himself in Triermore Stud's pink silks with blue cap. She preceded Never So Brave as a Royal Ascot winner when landing the 2020 Sandringham Stakes, before adding a pair of Listed victories to her tally later that year.

Line Of Duty and Onassis both feature among the best progeny of Jacqueline Quest, who was memorably demoted after passing the post first in the 1,000 Guineas of 2010, before developing into arguably Triermore Stud's most prized mare after being bought for 600,000gns at the following year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

Jacqueline Quest, who also produced the ill-fated G3 Rathbride Stakes winner and G1 Prix de l'Opera second Jackie Oh (Galileo), sadly died in May 2022 at the age of 15, with her loss coming a matter of days after the death of Hanbury himself.

Under those circumstances, the Hanburys could have been forgiven for scaling back their breeding enterprise in the subsequent years, but instead there exists a determination to develop further what was built by the family's patriarch, with the hope being that a couple of Jacqueline Quest's daughters can step up to assist them in their aims.

“He was a lovely man who seemed to get on with everybody,” McDonnell says of the late Christopher Hanbury, before revealing the extent to which things have changed in his absence.

“If anything, we've bought more mares,” he continues. “Chica Whopa would have been one of the last mares we bought whilst Mr Hanbury was still with us. Since his passing, Mrs Hanbury has upped the ante a little again and we've purchased five or six mares. At the minute we'd have around 15 broodmares of our own, with a few private mares here as well for a client.

“We were a bit unlucky last year with Jackie Oh. She looked like she could have been very good at one stage as well, but we have Onassis and an unraced Wootton Bassett filly out of Jacqueline Quest called Yam Sing. Onassis has a lovely Frankel yearling – I'd say this year we've probably got as nice a group of yearlings for the sales as we've had.”

Another member of that group who comes in for a favourable mention is the Wootton Bassett filly out of Detailed (Motivator), whose pedigree could yet receive a significant update before her appearance at a major yearling sale this autumn, with her two-year-old full-brother, Daytona, looking destined for stardom judged on his two starts to date.

 

A colt going places ⬆

Wootton Bassett colt Daytona defies obvious greenness to win the Listed Pat Smullen Stakes with loads in hand.

He's a horse we're going to be hearing plenty more about. @coolmorestud | @Ballydoyle 🔵🟠 pic.twitter.com/FocxbrAB9N

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 5, 2025

 

More on Daytona shortly, but first a word for the dam who battled back from a career-ending injury to gain a place among the select broodmare band at Triermore Stud, having been bought for 250,000gns at the 2019 December Mares Sale.

“She was bought in partnership with Paget Bloodstock and Clare Castle,” McDonnell says of Detailed. “She was a good, tough racemare. She was a Listed winner and placed in black-type races multiple times, so it all made sense.

“She's not overly big and most of her stock seem to be better looking than her, if you know what I mean. But she's had some good coverings and she gets nice, quiet horses who are easy to deal with. Wootton Bassett has put a bit of size into Daytona and the filly for the sales this year isn't just as big, but she's a lovely, sweet filly with a great walk.”

Whilst Detailed's first two runners didn't pull up any trees on the racecourse, she certainly appears to have come good with Daytona, who followed his debut win at Gowran with an emphatic victory in the Listed Pat Smullen Stakes at Naas to earn Classic quotes for next year.

A European Classic winner might have eluded Hanbury in his 78 years on this planet, but there remains that chance for another posthumous accolade, with Daytona featuring among the two-year-olds of 2025 who were conceived just a short time before the stud owner's death.

For a man whose achievements spanned so many of this sport's biggest stages, wouldn't it be a fitting way for him to go out as a breeder if Daytona could progress sufficiently to take his chance at Newmarket or Epsom next year?

“It would be, definitely,” McDonnell agrees. “He looks like he could be anything, so I suppose it's wait-and-see time. The buzz doesn't wear off when you get a horse like him and it's lovely for Mrs Hanbury to have him to get excited about.”

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The post Never So Brave, Daytona and the Legacy of the Late Christopher Hanbury appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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