Ebor Festival: Bargain buy seeks seventh win of season

There will be more valuable races run at York this week. And higher-profile winners that could project their worth into a different stratosphere as the next generation of stallions.

But no horse will boast a more prolific winning record than Luna A Inbhir Nis should the rapidly progressive sprinter become the first to tick off a seventh success for the season on Wednesday.

On a day when the pre and post-races headlines will invariably be dominated by Obudsman’s International rematch with Eclipse conqueror Delacroix and the return of dual Derby hero Lambourn in the Great Voltigeur, the Ire Incentive, It Pays To Buy Irish Fillies' Handicap will slip by almost unnoticed.

For trainer Katie Scott and owner Stephen McCluskey, whose Summerstorm Bloodstock operation continues to make steady gains on the northern circuit, it will be the next staging post on a journey through the grades that may yet lead both to a breakthrough success at Pattern level.

It started at Newcastle in March, when Luna A Inbhir Nis - a Scots Gaelic phrase meaning Moon over Inverness - turned over a 1-6 shot in a two-runner novice event. So thin did that form look, the daughter of Rajasinghe was sent off as a 100-1 rank outsider for her handicap debut in a Class 6 over the same track and trip. She duly performed in line with market expectations, trailing home last of nine runners.

Since then, however, it’s been a tale of continued improvement. Wins at Ayr as a 50-1 shot, Musselburgh twice and then Haydock - from marks of 57, 63, 69 and 74 - were punctuated only by a fifth-place finish at York. Given the first four home that June day were drawn in the four lowest stalls, her chances were clearly compromised by stall nine.

Any notion that Luna A Inbhir Nis may not be suited to the nuances of the Knavesmire was put to bed by her latest victory there, over the extended five furlongs, under Oisin Murphy. A 5lb rise for that sixth success of 2025 has earned Scott’s charge a step up in grade from Class 4 to this heritage handicap worth £100,000. Not bad for a filly whose owner paid just 1,000 guineas for her as a foal.

McCluskey said: “When I went to that particular sale, there were four or five foals I was interested in and wanted to look at. Luna wasn’t one that was necessarily on my radar. But I like Rajasinghe as a sire, so I thought I’d go to see her as I felt she might make a cheap buy at 3,500 or 4,000gns. 

“She looked like a wee Clydesdale, but she had the right build and her confirmation was good. I couldn’t believe it when the hammer came down at a grand! Her breeder Sarah Moorbey was disappointed at the time but I promised to keep her in the loop with Luna’s progress. Sarah’s been to the races with us three or four times now, which has been great.”

A land developer to trade, McClusky admits it’s been a case of the stars aligning at the right time for his latest Summerstorm torch-bearer. None more so than how she came to be named. The Scot, whose green-and-white hooped silks are a nod to his favourite football team Celtic, added: “She was one of two fillies who I was going to send to Jim Goldie for breaking-in, but at that time Jim and his son George were at capacity with their yearlings. I’d met Katie at the races and was impressed by her, so it felt like the right time to support her.

“My daughter, who’s also called Katie, is a huge Harry Potter fan. We gave them the nicknames Luna and Hermione after two characters in the books. One day afterwards I was working up in Inverness, where we have a shellfish company. I’d worked on later than I probably should have done and by the time I finished it was dark. I’d booked some accommodation on the Black Isle, which is a beautiful part of the world to the north of Inverness. But it’s also quite rural and I was driving around looking for where I was staying. 

"I phoned one of my business partners, Lachie Murray, to tell him I was lost and to ask him to double-check I was in the right area. He asked where I was, then told me just to follow the moon over Inverness! Luna means moon in Gaelic, so I guess it was fate telling what name to register her with the BHA as!

“I knew she would be backwards as a two-year-old, but she’s been absolutely brilliant this year. Credit to Katie, too. She’s done a superb job with her. She wasn’t wild about trying Luna over five-and-a-half furlongs last time because she thought it might just stretch her. Even though she won, you’d have to say Katie was right. She won by a head, but if you stopped the race after five furlongs Luna would have won much more comfortably. The fact we’re going back to the minimum trip on Wednesday is a plus.”

McCluskey operates at the opposite end of the spectrum to the sport’s superpowers. He buys well-bred fillies by some of the leading sires who are maidens or have had sufficient niggles to be moved on by the bigger operations. Along with wife Vicki, McCluskey is steadily building up a collection of mares to breed from. He has horses in training with Borders-based Scott and compatriot Jim Goldie, but recently sent a couple of youngsters to Amy Murphy in France as part of his plans for expansion.

Horses are more than just a passion for McCluskey. They’re almost an obsession. In addition to his business and bloodstock ventures, the 56-year-old is also somehow cramming in studying for a Masters degree in Equine Veterinary Science between the Kentucky Equine Research centre and Oxford Brookes University. It will be his fourth degree having previously graduated with qualifications in quantity surveying, project management and through the Chartered Institute of Building.

“I’m fascinated by the genetics and nutrition side,” says McCluskey, who was born and bred a stone’s throw from Hamilton Park, where Summerstorm were crowned champion owners for the first time last season. “It’s definitely the hardest of the four degrees I’ve done. I’m about 80 per cent of the way through it. Hopefully I’ll get it finished in the next few months.”

For now, his focus is on Luna A Inbhir Nis’ next mission. Should the three-year-old take another leap forward on Wednesday, whether that be in the shape of a seventh win or a near-miss, McCluskey is eyeing a tilt at the Arran Stakes, a Listed event for fillies on the Friday of Ayr’s Gold Cup Festival, and some prized Black Type for her page.

He also possesses a huge amount of faith in Scott, whose Galashiels base stands as a beacon for Flat racing amid Scotland’s prime jumping territory. The 37-year-old - on course to better her career-best haul of 18 winners set two years ago - does much of her work with moderate horses. But her deeds with Gweedore, a 12-time winner whose mark rose from 64 to 100, and now Luna are evidence of her understated talents with better types.

McCluskey concurs, adding: “I’ve got a lot of time for Katie, as a person and as a trainer. She has that wee bit of something about her. 

“She’s a really good horsewoman for starters, and is really hands-on in how she trains. She treats every horse as an individual and spends a lot of time thinking about each and every one of them and how to get the best out of them all. She comes up with a lot of really good ideas.

“In 10 years' time, I could see her training Listed and Group winners regularly. I genuinely think she has the talent for that. It’s just a case of giving her the right ammunition. We’ll continue to support her and one day hope we’re able to provide her with that ammunition.”

Scott, for her part, is excited for Wednesday. She is thrilled to have Jason Hart, who last week rode his 1,000th career winner, back on board after steering her charge to two of her victories. She is also poised to saddle last-time-out Musselburgh scorer Curious Rover in the Ebor Festival curtain-raiser.

Scott said: "Luna is really well and we'll have our fingers crossed for a low draw. We'd prefer genuinely good ground, so it might be a little livelier than ideal, but I couldn't be happier with her.

"To have two runners at high-profile meetings like the Ebor Festival is what we're always working towards. It will be a big ask for Curious Rover, but he comes in fresh and is as well as we've ever had him. I'm delighted with them both."