Masked Marvel

 

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A few days ago I wrote that if you were a National Hunt breeder and were looking to send your mare to a stallion, then Haras de Montaigu’s No Risk At All (My Risk) should merit consideration.

Well, the same can be said about Masked Marvel, who stands at Haras de la Tuilerie for a slightly more affordable fee of €12,500. From the stout German family of Waldmark (Mark Of Esteem), the bay son of Montjeu won four of his 21 starts, including the Gr.1 St Leger, and earned more than £350,000 in prize money. He is a half-brother to the Gr.3 Prix Penelope winner Waldlerche (Monsun; dam of the Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Gr.1 Prix Ganay, Gr.1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Gr.1 Criterium de SaintCloud winner, Champion Older Male and sire Waldgeist).

Bred by Newsells Park Stud, he was purchased by Jeremy Brummitt for €260,000 at the Arqana Yearling Sale in 2009. Trained originally by John Gosden, he made his debut at Sandown Park in 2010 and won by two lengths. It was no surprise to see him upped in grade on his next start, which was in the Gr.3 Autumn Stakes, but he was well beaten and was sent for his winter break. The following season he returned to the winner’s enclosure in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood and the Gr.3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket’s July course. After a short break, he won Britain’s final Classic of the season, the St Leger at Doncaster, defeating Juddmonte’s homebred Sea Moon (Beat Hollow), who was a three-time Gr.2 winner and stands at Burgage Stud.

Masked Marvel was third to the Ballydoyle-trained St Nicholas Abbey (Montjeu) in the 2012 renewal of Epsom’s Gr.1 Coronation Cup, before he changed hands to Robert Hickmott at the end of that season. As he started his new racing career down under in 2013, he was further placed in Randwick’s Gr.2 Bacardi Hills Stakes and the Gr.3 Craven Plate.

One of Masked Marvel’s early successful runners was Maskada, who was originally trained by Stuart Edmunds and won four times under his guidance, including the Listed Mares’ Chase at Leicester. She was then purchased online via ThoroughBid for £80,000 by Coolmara Stables and was sent into training with Henry de Bromhead. She was pitched into the deep end on her stable debut, but finished a creditable fourth in the Gr.1 Novice Chase at the 2022 Punchestown Festival behind Willie Mullins’s subsequent Gr.1 winner Blue Lord (Blue Bresil). It did not take long before she found herself back in the winner’s enclosure, this time at Limerick in a handicap chase, and she duly followed that up with further success at Cheltenham during the Festival in the Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase. She has been placed two further times at Stakes level, both in the Gr.2 Hilly Way Chase and the Listed Opera Hat Mares Chase.

It was not long before Masked Marvel sired another high-profile winner, which came in the form of the French-bred Teahupoo, who in 2020 was purchased by Robcour after he won over hurdles at Auteuil. He was sent into training with Gordon Elliott and won on debut at Fairyhouse in 2021 by a wide margin, and, similar to his sire’s racing career, was soon stepped up in grade, where he contested the Gr.3 Juvenile Hurdle, a race that he won easily. In the spring, he was runner-up to Noel Meade’s Jeff Kidder (Hallowed Crown) in the Gr.2 Juvenile Hurdle. As the 2021-2022 season started to wind up, Teahupoo returned to the track and won the Gr.2 Limerick Hurdle, the Gr.3 Fishery Lane Hurdle and the Gr.3 Red Mills Trial Hurdle, before only finding Henry de Bromhead’s superstar mare Honeysuckle (Sulamani) too good in the Gr.1 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and Punchestown’s Gr.1 Champion Hurdle. After a winter break, he showed improved form to win his first Gr.1 race, the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, and in doing so, ended Honeysuckle’s winning streak of 16 wins under Rules. He then followed that up by winning Gowran Park’s Gr.2 Galmoy Hurdle, before taking the trip over the Irish Sea to line up in the Gr.1 Stayers’ Hurdle as the well-backed favourite. However, after a troublesome run throughout when the gaps kept disappearing and having nowhere to challenge, he had to settle for third place behind his stablemate Sire Du Berlais (Poliglote). In 2023 he won the Hatton’s Grace for the second consecutive year when defeating the dual Gr.1-winning hurdler Impaire Et Passe (Diamond Boy). All roads then led back to Cheltenham, with the hope to try and avenge his defeat from 12 months ago. Success was never really in any doubt, as he travelled strongly throughout and won by three and three-quarter lengths. He followed that up by winning the Irish equivalent, but by a much larger distance. It was around that time when Masked Marvel’s stud fee began to increase.

Over the English Channel, Masked Marvel has been well represented by many runners in France, but Hector de Lageneste and Guillaume Macaire’s Sel Jem is the standout. A six-time winner from 12 starts, his biggest success came in the 2022 Gr.1 Grande Steeple-Chase de Paris over 6000m. He has sired many other successful runners in France, including Olympic Story, who has never been out of the first three in five starts over hurdles, winning the Listed Prix Girofla and the Gr.3 Prix de Chambly, before finishing runner-up in the Gr.2 Prix Magalen Bryant. Furthermore, Daniela Mele is responsible for saddling La Danza to victory in the Gr.3 Prix Morgex, where she got the better of Sel Jem.

Recently we have seen more of Masked Marvel’s runners grace the track, but one in particular does stand out. Originally trained by Jack Teal, Kalypso’chance was a wide-margin winner of a point-to-point at Corbridge in the spring of 2024, which saw him gain the attention of Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud, and he was purchased for £85,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale. He won on his stable debut at Punchestown last year in November and was then stepped up in grade, where he ran out a decisive winner of the Listed Future Champions INH Flat Race. It is a race that has been won by previous winners of the Gr.1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the Festival, including both Sir Gerhard (Jeremy) and Envoi Allen (Muhtathir), who went on to win at the highest level over obstacles. Having remained unbeaten in three starts, he is now the 6/1 favourite for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper next month.

Something which I have noticed from writing this piece is how well Masked Marvel’s progeny have progressed with age. Some of his runners this weekend include Gordon Elliott’s Kurasso Blue, who won the Prix Finot in Auteuil before he was purchased by Robcour, and Paul Nicholls's Jeriko Place. Masked Marvel is likely to be well represented at the Cheltenham Festival this year, with progeny entries in the Gr.1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the Gr.1 Baring Bingham Novices’Hurdle, the Gr.1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper, the Gr.2 Mares'Novices’ Hurdle, the Gr.1 Stayers' Hurdle and the Gr.1 Triumph Hurdle.

Given how a variety of Masked Marvel’s progeny have that blend of both speed and stamina, or whether it be one or the other, there is every hope that Kalypso’chance can follow in the footsteps of his stablemate Teahupoo and provide his sire with further success at the top level.