Even with such a rich history of graduates from Little Lodge Farm over the years, Jackie Chugg admits there was something quite rare about the quality shown by The New Lion.

At Newbury just after Christmas, Dan Skelton’s gelding took the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle without appearing to break sweat.

It had been much the same case in each of his previous three starts, prompting JP McManus to make a private offer to buy him from owners Darren and Annaley Yates.

The success has continued a fine partnership.

Chugg’s husband Robert, a Cheltenham Festival winner as an amateur and a charismatic, cherished figure among the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s ranks, died just under three years ago and was a firm friend of the Skeltons.

The families jointly-owned The New Lion’s older sister, Kateira, who won a Grade 3 hurdle at the last Grand National meeting.

“When he won his first race over hurdles at Chepstow I thought to myself this could be just the best horse we’ve bred,” Chugg says.

“It was the way he won that day, and also when he won his bumper he just accelerated right away from them, in the same manner Kateira won her bumper. I’d just thought, ‘You’ve got that bit of something special’ – and that’s what it takes to win races.”

The New Lion – and Kateira – are out of unraced Astarabad mare Raitera and by the much-missed Overbury stalwart Kayf Tara. The younger sibling was taken as a foal by Little Lodge to the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale, where he was bought by Katie Rudd for €45,000.

“He was a very correct, lovely looking foal and he was good on the day,” Chugg recalls.

“It’s really an amazing coincidence that he ended up at Dan’s, considering we hadn’t seen him for a few years.

“Dan did tell me back in August that he’d get black-type this winter. I think the feeling was he was very special then, they thought a lot of him.

“We actually last won this award when Le Milos won the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury – and it’s funny that they were both horses that Dan’s trained. He was out of our very good mare Banjaxed Girl.”

Raitera, now 20, cost €25,000 when the Chuggs saw her as a yearling at Arqana back in 2006.

“When she was four she was like a little tank and we thought we’d breed from her,” she continues.

“She has a great temperament and although she doesn’t measure much in height she’s so strong, and she breeds them all very correct.”

Among her other progeny are El Presente, a winner of the Badger Beers Chase, while Raitera has emerged as a half-sister of both the Grade 1-winning two-miler Golden Silver and of Diamond Boy – sire of top-class jumpers such as L’Homme Presse and Impaire Et Passe.

“The pedigree never stopped improving; Diamond Boy wasn’t even in existence then,” explains Chugg.

“He was trained by Francois Doumen and won quite a few decent races on the Flat. He dropped off the radar then was suddenly he was standing as a stallion! It was quite exciting and he’s doing very well now.

“The family has had a few winners since and the mare has done very well. The first foal we took to Ireland, again as a filly foal by Presenting [La Pinede]. She was bought by a Frenchman, Bertrand Le Metayer, and went to France. She’s bred three winners now and there’s a few more in the pipeline.”

Chugg is both nervous and measured about The New Lion’s future prospects, laughing that she is happy to take it “one day at a time”.

In more than 40 years of breeding National Hunt horses from their farm in Worcestershire, the Chuggs have produced other stars such as Mary Reveley’s brilliant mare Marello and International Hurdle winner Guard Your Dreams.

With Raitera now producing such a dynasty, Chugg agrees she has probably now become Little Lodge’s most important broodmare.

“In terms of black-type winners, I think she has,” she says.

“I’ve got another four-year-old filly out of her that I’ll breed from in the spring and then there’s a lovely two-year-old filly by Blue Bresil.

“I sold the filly foal last year by Nathaniel. Sadly she wasn’t in foal last year, so we’ve got to sort out where she’ll be covered and take it from there.”