Cresswell Breeze came onto my radar as a good chasing mare by Midnight Legend just at the time I was trying to put together a band of mares to support Telescope’s early stud career. She was produced by a 125 rated mare who won four chases and a Point-to-Point and who was sired by a good NH stallion; and was full-sister to 5-time winning hurdler / chaser Cresswell Legend (OR 136, RPR 137), from the family of Cheltenham Gold Cup third DOOR LATCH. Whilst not quite a top-class mare, she was tough, game and jumped and stayed very well; it was the potential combination of these qualities with Telescope’s middle-distance brilliance that appealed to me.
At the time ‘Breezy’ was owned by a four-person syndicate that included her breeder, Bruce Mackay; and, when the third race of her 7yo / 8yo season gave indications that she might prefer to retire to the paddocks, I enquired of both Bruce and trainer Anthony Honeyball whether she might be available as a broodmare. After she ran badly in her next race it transpired she was; and eventually a deal was done at the maximum price I felt reasonable, plus a contingency if one of her siblings gained Black-Type. Probably unfortunately for all of us, this wasn’t triggered.
We collected Breezy from Anthony’s stables in the Spring of 2018, having a good look round evening stables followed by an enjoyable evening in the local hostelry. We took her straight to Shade Oak for her hot date with Telescope.
In due course this eventually produced a filly that, when she was here for the Autumn after she was weaned, proved a real handful, aided and abetted by her sibling out of Ring Back (later named Phone Home). In one particular incident they were out in a field and refused to be caught for two days, despite being deprived of their meals. Trying to catch them via a technique I thought I had adopted from the famous ‘horse whisperer’, Monty Roberts, I chased them away, waiting for the ‘licking and chewing’ motions indicating surrender. However, the effects were not as expected.
Cresswell Breeze’s filly raced away from me, straight towards the wire-fenced field divider. I anticipated a horrendous crash as she would inevitably slam on the brakes approaching the wire – but no! The foal took the fence in her stride, judged the jump and hurtled over it – other than giving herself a nasty cut when she caught it with her knee.
What human psychology failed to achieve, equine psychology now did; for one of the three mares in the next field took a decided dislike to the interloper and thought it best to show this by baring her teeth and chasing her away from her friends. Suddenly, the thought of human company seemed distinctly preferable to that of a large, aggressive mare; and, once she had been driven by the equine herdswoman towards the gate, a human attaching a lead-rope to her head collar didn’t seem such a bad option.
Without her leader, the other filly foal soon saw sense. The episode did cost several hundred pounds of veterinary bills to stitch up the cut knee, though fortunately the filly’s jumping was fairly accurate and no long-term damage was done.
In honour of my friend, bloodstock journalist Martin Stevens, who once confessed to having an aversion to both long horse names with no spaces (they make lining up the columns more difficult) and Margaret Thatcher (based on possibly biased information provided by his parents), I decided to name the filly ‘Ladysnotforturning’. However, when we attempted to set up a syndicate to race her with Breezy’s former trainer, Anthony Honeyball, it turned out that two potential members apparently held similar views to Martin’s parents; so, being of a tolerant and diplomatic nature, I agreed to change the name to the equally appropriate ‘Wanttobreakfree’ – after the song by Queen.
This proved to be a unnecessary concession; for, after showing a great deal of promise in pre-training with Denis Leahy, the filly came up with what seemed like a ‘capped hock’ – a minor swelling under the skin on the back of the hock – whilst on a summer break at Ballincurrig. The local vet drained the fluid from the hock, but it came back. I asked if he had taken X-rays to check for bone chips etc. and was told he had.
He drained it again and it came back again. I asked once more about the cause and was told the vet had said he had ‘checked the hock’. He then carried out a more complex draining operation recommended by the local veterinary hospital, and after box rest the swelling did not return. Accordingly, she was then sent back to Denis for her final piece of pre-training before coming back to England, with the future looking bright.
Within two weeks it looked decidedly less bright, for Denis found that in light canter work the filly was not moving properly. He then got his own vet to X-ray the hock and was told there was a significant boney growth (possibly caused by a minor knock) that had stimulated excess bone formation. When Denis called the original vet to ask what had shown on his X-ray, it turned out that he had indeed done an X-ray – but when he checked his records he found it had been carried out 18 months earlier, on a different part of the body for a different issue!
By now, the prognosis for a successful operation and full recovery to allow a successful racing career were reported (by more reliable vets) as ‘not good’; so the dream of racing the filly and winning one of the new NH Junior Hurdles introduced in the 2022/23 season ended there and then. Sadly, the poor lady had to turn after all, in a direction none of us would have wished.
However, the good news (we need some after that sad saga) is that Breezy’s later foals have so far proved rather more tractable, probably due to them not spending too much time with Dorte when they were youngsters. Her handsome 2020 colt by Telescope was sold privately via Michael Moore. He was pre-trained by Denis Leahy and proved slightly backward, but his new owner, Ray Connoly (a friend of Michael Moore – and I hope he stays that way!) has shown appropriate patience and he will go into training as a late 4YO.
As a racemare, Cresswell Breeze won three hurdle races (gaining an Official Rating of 130) and two chases (her OR being 137), her best runs being her win in the Southern National and her third in the London National, where the RPR awarded to her was 144. She won from 2½ to almost 3½ miles, and at intermediate distances placed second in the Listed Charnwood Forest Mares Chase (behind Desert Queen but beating the good mares Tagritta, Kassis and La Vaticane) and Punchestown’s Glencaraig Lady Mares Hcp Chase (Grade C), beaten less than a length by horses to whom she was giving over a stone in weight.
I hoped that the mating of such a mare to a high-class middle-distance horse would one day produce an ideal combination of class, stamina, jumping ability, determination, all with the necessary good luck! Perhaps her second, third and fourth foals, all by Telescope – the middle one a filly sold privately to Ashton Selway and the other two colts – will prove this to be the case; but there will be no others.
In 2022 Breezy foaled a handsome colt in mid May, then got in foal to Logician on the second cover. On October 1st she was found to have lost the foal; and, not looking in top condition, she was put on a special feed regime with two other barren mares. On November 8th, when I was at the Fairyhouse Sale, Peter Hockenhull told me he had some bad news; Breezy had been found dead in her field, with no obvious cause of death. Some mares seem to be lucky, others not so. I really hope for the sake of Breezy’s last three foals and their owners that her entire story as a broodmare will not be one of bad luck or disappointment.
