Breeding Ground - 3 July 2025

HIYA BUTT (t1) wins the first Star Sports Derby Semi-final from Droopys Acrobat (t4) and Murrys Act (t5) with Droopys Buick (t2) missing out in fourth. Towcester 24th June 2017. Photo: Steve Nash

Breeding Ground - Richard Devenish

Stud keeper Richard Devenish has confirmed the retirement from stud duties of Hiya Butt, just three months short of his 12th birthday. 

Bred by Siobhan Duffy from the Lifford owning family, the black son of Hondo Black (the American import only threw black offspring) and Hather For Pat was, arguably, the best dual sprint/standard open racer of his generation. 

Trained by Hayley Keightley, he was beaten a head in the Northern Sprint and finished third in the National Sprint yet was good enough to reach English Derby Finals at both Wimbledon and Towcester. He also won a Peterborough Derby (435m) and English Laurels (470m). 

As a British based sire, he wasn’t heavily used siring 49 litters in total though his offspring were almost a throw-back to Butt’s old Irish bloodlines. 

Rab McNair recalled that his Hiya Butt litter out of Queen Anna were ‘absolute savages’ in rearing. On more than one occasion he found the remains of foxes in the paddocks following their unsuccessful raids to the pups food bowls, even when they were only a few months old. 

The point is, that aggression did not transmit to the track. All seven in the litter won races including four in minor open company. Four are still racing with 106 wins from 427 races between the litter. A near 25% strike rate surely suggests something about their ‘will to win’! 

However, it will be the two litters bred by Kevin Ferguson who will best represent Hiya Butt’s legacy. 

The August ’18 litter out of Acomb Ruby were Butt’s first British bred pups. Acomb’s Fatima, Hugo, Jenny, Lillian and Winston all won opens with Winston and Jenny both finishing runners-up in Cat One finals. 

Between them they won 79 of their 287 races. A strike rate of 27.5%. 

However they were outshone by repeat mating whelped in March ‘21.  

Although three of the were injured midway through their careers, between them Acombs Alfie, Felix, Irene, Jasper, Johnny and Mabel have contested 515 races – an average of 86 races each. 

Cat One winner Felix has 48 wins from 108 races (a 44% strike rate), Irene has 30 from 94 (32%) and along with Johnny, are still racing as veterans. 

Devenish said: “It is the right time for Hiya Butt; he is still in good health. Hayley and Mark (Keightley) come and see him and Roxholme Nidge on a regular basis. In fact, we have become very good friends. We visit them at their home in Spain.” 

The kennels other two stud dogs Roxholme Nidge and Coolavanny Shado “cover the odd bitch or two” according to Richard, though the decline in British breeding has severely limited their opportunities. 

Coincidentally it will be a Nidge litter, out of Tea For Tess, that will ultimately signal the end of the Richard and Dilys Steels’ four decade breeding and training careers. 

There were originally nine in the litter Oct ‘21 which included one male pup who had no interest and was kept as a pup by Lisa Sampson. 

Richard said: “Of the other eight, there was a bitch who was injured early and was re-homed. The rest have been re-homed as their racing careers have come to an end, barring four who are still active. 

“Three of them are off the track with minor soreness and I am not prepared to travel to Yarmouth with just the one runner.  

“But I expect them to come back eventually. If they get rehomed in the meantime, so be it. But that will be the end.” 

Looking through our ‘Fastest of Year’ table yesterday, some of our eagle-eyed readers will have spotted a connection between a Towcester track record holder and the quickest sprinter at Shelbourne this year. 

Epic Ace (18.47 350 Shelbourne) and Lennies Desire (28.39 500m Towcester) are litter brothers, by Signet Ace out of Free From Desire. 

The dam might not be familiar to many UK readers as she only race in Ireland though she did finish runner-up to Droopys Curio in the Irish Puppy Oaks. 

She is interesting though as she is a litter sister to Peter Harnden’s brilliant Hunt Cup/Cesarewitch winner Salacres Pippy. 

Thus they are both younger full sisters to Irish Derby winner Good News. 

Regular readers will recall a piece about Pat Guilfoyle’s exciting youngster Magical Luka.  

The fact that Pat Guilfoyle’s pup broke the Tralee 500 yard track record on three occasions has to be tempered by the fact that the 525 and 550 clocks have also been broken this year. Clearly the track is flying. 

That said, Luka’s current record is seven-from-seven with an aggregate winning distance of just under 66 lengths. 

At the time of the write-up, we suggested that there were at least “a couple of others at home” with similar talent. 

On Saturday, Luka’s litter brothers Magical Major and Coloursaregreen will go to traps for the Celtic Cooling sponsored €15K to winner novice stake final at Shelbourne Park. 

Major won his heat in 28.23 (525), Coloursaregreen won his semi in 28.36. 

The trio are by King Sheeran out of Magical Mary.