East meets West in Majborough's pedigree

By John Ingles

Horse Racing

Mon February 09, 2026 · 1d ago

John Ingles takes a closer look at the season's new top jumper and his Japanese sire, Martinborough.

Watching the racing from Leopardstown on the big screen near the parade ring at Musselburgh last Sunday, it was hard not to be impressed with one performance in particular.

Majborough was a revelation in the Dublin Chase wearing cheekpieces for the first time and reverting to being ridden from the front again by Mark Walsh. Beaten at short odds on his two previous starts – he tended to jump left at right-handed Cork and then raced too freely when ridden with more restraint at Leopardstown at Christmas – there were no such negatives in Majborough’s latest performance.

He clearly likes to get on with things, so his enthusiasm in front was an asset this time, and so was his jumping which was much more fluent than usual. The result was a win by nearly twenty lengths, leaving the likes of Marine Nationale, who had finished in front of him last time, and Found A Fifty, who had beaten him at Cork, toiling in his wake. No surprise then, that in a season when the Gold Cup contenders have been beating each other and struggling to find a clear leader, Majborough has leapt to the top of the Timeform jumps ratings.

This was Majborough’s third appearance at the DRF. Having won his only previous start in France, Majborough was thrown in the deep end on his first run for Willie Mullins in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle in 2024 but showed promise in making most of the running before finishing third to stablemate Kargese. Improving plenty for that first run for ten months but still looking far from the finished article, Majborough was then able to turn the tables on the winner in the Triumph Hurdle.

Majborough on his way to an emphatic victory

The imposing Majborough was the pick of the Triumph field on looks, a chasing type for sure, so was fast-tracked to fences the following season. Successful beforehand on his chasing debut at Fairyhouse, Majborough made his second appearance at the DRF in the Irish Arkle and landed the odds with plenty in hand, another occasion when his rivals couldn’t live with the strong gallop he set. For the second Cheltenham Festival running, Majborough’s task was seemingly made easier by the absence of Sir Gino, but unlike in the Triumph, he couldn’t make the most of the opportunity in the Arkle.

This was when Majborough’s jumping let him down the most, almost coming down after a bad mistake two out but rallying to still be in with a shout late on until Jango Baie’s dramatic late burst relegated him to third. ‘Still much the best prospect in this field if his jumping technique can be polished up’ was Timeform’s verdict on Majborough afterwards. He made amends with a wide-margin win over the Arkle runner-up Only By Night at the Punchestown Festival, though even there his jumping left something to be desired for a would-be top two-mile chaser.

By the way, Majborough’s winning debut in France had come in a newcomers race at Auteuil for Daniela Mele, running in her own colours. It surely wasn’t a case of ‘buy one, get one free’, but J. P. McManus also purchased the same stable’s other runner in the race who finished fifth. That was none other than Kaid d’Authie who, earlier on Sunday’s Leopardstown card, also ran a career best in winning the Ladbrokes Novice Chase for Majborough’s connections.

Much like Douvan whose early success was largely responsible for his sire Walk In The Park moving from France to Ireland as recounted in last week’s column, Majborough’s sire Martinborough has made the same move. Previously stationed in France, he stood his first season at Capital Stud in County Kilkenny in 2025.

Martinborough should therefore prove a more familiar name in Britain and Ireland in due course, but for now Majborough is one of only seven winners for his sire on this side of the Channel. But 2026 has started very well for Martinborough. Also owned by J. P. McManus, the mare Jamaicaine recently completed a hat-trick over hurdles for Neil Mulholland, while Diamant Dore made an excellent impression when storming away with a bumper on heavy ground at Ayr last month for Adrian Keatley.

Majborough is now fully 40lb clear of the next-best jumper by Martinborough on Timeform’s base, that being the French chaser Kapaca de Thaix who has also had a good start to the year, finishing second in the Grand Prix de Pau for Majborough’s former trainer.

Martinborough’s stud career in France yielded Flat winners too, the pick of them being Elusive Princess who showed smart form, finishing second in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary and winning the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks during a spell in the States.

Martinborough’s current role siring jumpers in Ireland is certainly not a job he was bred for or could predictably have made a success of, having raced half a world away on the Flat in Japan. He won seven races there, including a couple of Group 3 contests over a mile and a quarter, but had close relatives who were successful at a higher level still. His half-sister Halwa Sweet produced three Group 1 winners, including the 2017 Japan Cup winner Cheval Grand and Vivlos who won the Dubai Turf earlier the same year.

Martinborough’s dam was a half-sister to the Prix Vermeille winner Mezzo Soprano, while his grandam was a half-sister to Sheikh Mohammed’s top-class globe-trotter Singspiel, he too a Japan Cup winner as well as a Dubai World Cup winner in a terrific career with Sir Michael Stoute. In other words, there was enough in Martinborough’s pedigree to give him some appeal to breeders in France, though as a son of Deep Impact he was very much a pioneer, being the first son of the multiple Japanese champion sire to stand in Europe, though others have followed since.

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While Majborough’s sire might not have a jumping background, he comes from a very successful French jumping family on his dam’s side and one that has had success at the Cheltenham Festival before. Majborough’s unraced dam Janimone is a sister to Majala whose wins for Tom George included the Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick, while his grandam was a half-sister to Majadal who was third in a Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, and to Turthen and Majadou who both had successful chasing careers after their export to Britain.

Turthen finished third in the Badger Ales Trophy when trained by Paul Nicholls and later did well in hunter chases, finishing runner-up in the Foxhunter at Cheltenham. Majadou had gone one better at the Festival, proving a handicap blot as a five-year-old novice when running away with the Mildmay of Flete in 1999 for Martin Pipe and Tony McCoy at odds of 7/4.

As well as another French chaser placed in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris – runner-up Doumaja – this is also the family of Janika and Janidil who have made their mark in Britain and Ireland. Janika went close to emulating Majadou at Cheltenham, finishing runner-up in the Plate as the Mildmay of Flete had then become, but also winning the Haldon Gold Cup for Nicky Henderson. Janidil was a high-class chaser at his best for Majborough’s connections, finishing placed in the John Durkan, Irish Gold Cup and Ryanair Chase in the 2021/22 season.

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