Unlike America, the foal crop in Britain and Ireland has been gently on the rise in recent years, up to 13,438 in 2023, compared to 12,778 in 2020, though within that combined number for last year, the Irish crop rose by 4% to 9,082 while the British number was down by 4% at 4,356. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues this year.

Those behind the stallions will be all too aware of the dilemma faced by some of their clients. In Monday's TDN, Coolmore's Mark Byrne said, “Now more so than ever breeders will need to steady the ship and use the good stallions that they can afford.” 

As we discussed in Part II of this series, which looked at stallions under the £/€10,000 mark, for those attempting to breed commercially and second-guess which way the winds of fashion and favour will blow, it truly is a game of chance. As we go up another tier in price, we will try to offer some perspective on both up-and-coming and established stallions which could offer value. This will not include any of the stallions standing their first season this year who were dealt with in Part I of the series.

Proven sires

While for many breeders the Juddmonte high-flyers of Frankel (GB) and Kingman (GB) are out of reach, it is hard to look past two stalwarts of the roster in this division. Bated Breath (GB) had a quieter year in 2023 by his own standards but he has the offspring of his strongest crop on paper to run for him this year and he's a stallion we will surely be hearing plenty more from. Having spent a couple of years at £15,000, he is back down to £10,000 and when considering his yearling average in 2023, of £48,300 for 60 sold, this does look a very workable price for a horse who generally gets good-looking sprinter-milers.

Then there is his fellow resident Oasis Dream (GB), who has been a friend to the British breeding industry for 20 years now and last year had a yearling average of just over £55,000. Yes, he's 24, but at his lowest fee of £15,000 (his career high having been £85,000 ten years ago) he's a decent choice to get a young mare off to a good start. We all know what Oasis Dream can do: his best horses among his 18 Group/Grade 1 winners include his champion two-year-old son Native Trail (GB), who has recently retired to Kildangan Stud, the brilliant Midday (GB) and top sprinter Muhaarar (GB). Oasis Dream is versatile as a sire and increasingly influential as a broodmare sire – from brilliant juvenile sprinter Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) to talented stayer Quickthorn (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). 

And that brings us to Nathaniel, who some now seem to consider a National Hunt sire but that's sheer madness. With a Derby winner and an Oaks winner already in his portfolio, Nathaniel added another two Group 1 winners to his list last year in the Champion Fillies and Mares S. winner Poptronic (GB) and the aforementioned Quickthorn. Both of these horses raced for their breeders, and I guess Nathaniel has a proper owner-breeder profile, but look at how the Blunts and the Blyths have been rewarded for their patience: Poptronic was sold for 1.4 million gns after her Champions' Day success, having also racked up racecourse earnings of £459,815, and Quickthorn has earnings knocking on the door of £800,000.

Nathaniel's fee has gone up again a little this year. After spending three years at £15,000, he is now back at £17,500, but he's still worth it. 

Golden Horn (GB) is another with a National Hunt label around his neck since his move to Overbury Stud but again, if you're an owner-breeder with a bit of patience, he really should not be forgotten. Admittedly, it remains a disappointment that from his early expensive books he has still not produced a Group 1 winner. That is surely coming, but it didn't happen soon enough to stop his fee dropping from £60,000 to £10,000 (having been at £8,000 last year when he covered 162 mares). Sure, plenty of breeders have had their fingers burnt, but he is now at a price which is workable. He had nine stakes winners in 2023, including three Group 2 winners, putting him ahead of some fairly big names, and he certainly should not yet be considered solely a jumps sire.

On the rise

Territories (Ire) is quietly compiling a decent record and is one who could easily be overlooked in the rush for the new stallions. He shouldn't be. Haydock Sprint Cup winner Regional (GB) became his second Group 1 winner last year after the Prix de l'Opera heroine Rougir (Fr), and he was represented by another seven stakes winners in Australia, Britain, Italy and Germany last year. His fee has been pretty consistent: £12,000 for his first four years and £10,000 for the next four. Territories is not necessarily flashy but, from the family of Shamardal and Street Cry (Ire), he has a solid feel to him.

There's a lot of love for Kodi Bear (Ire), particularly in our house, because he is from the family of Roy Rocket (Fr). But that pointless fact aside, he made a decent start with his first crop which included the Group 2 winner Go Bears Go (Ire) and Oaks runner up Mystery Angel (Ire). He needs to build on that, but he has some bigger and more expensive crops on the way through following his early success. This season's two-year-olds were conceived from his lowest fee of €6,000. He's been at €15,000 for the last two seasons and remains at that figure in 2024. Crucially, the market seems to retain faith in his stock.

Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) caught a few people by surprise with the early results of his first two-year-olds, his 18 winners including the G2 Vintage S. winner Haatem (Ire) and giving him a 36% winners to runners strike-rate. His fee for 2024 has been reduced by a third from his opening price of €15,000, and €10,000 seems a reasonable level for this good-moving Classic winner.

Heading into the second season

In France, Sealiway (Fr) was the busiest new stallion of 2023 and, a good juvenile himself, it would be no surprise to see him make a reasonably fast start with his runners. That won't be until 2026, but considering the leap his own increasingly popular sire Galiway (GB) has made, from €3,000 to €30,000, Sealiway's fee of €12,000 may look reasonable in years to come, and he has certainly been lent some support to get his career off to a decent start.

For his personalised breeder bonus scheme alone, which returns for his second year at stud, it is worth taking a chance on Stradivarius (Ire), who covered 120 mares in his first year and remains at £10,000. He's unlikely to get you the Brocklesby winner but if he sires horses in a similar mould to himself, there could be plenty of fun and rewards to be had down the line.

TDN Value Podium

Bronze: Gleneagles (Ire), Coolmore, €17,500

From a top-drawer family, Gleneagles had weighty expectations on his shoulders from the start. While he may not have quite lived up to that level, and his fee has come down accordingly, he has steadily proved himself to be more than useful and was represented by nine group winners last year, while his daughter One Look (Ire) was the easy winner of the Goffs Million on debut, having been picked up for €65,000 as a yearling. In the last two years another three of his daughters have sold for in excess of 500,000gns at the December Mares Sale.

Silver: Ardad (Ire), Overbury Stud, £12,500

Ardad could have a big year in store. From being the leading first-season sire in Britain in 2021, when his son Perfect Power (Ire) won the G2 Norfolk S., G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S., his numbers dropped off keenly to just 18 foals in his third crop, but the success of his first runners meant that his book soared to three figures, and he has 101 two-year-olds in 2024, with 144 yearlings to follow those. From a lowest fee of £4,000 in 2021, he has since then stood at £12,500, which keeps him in a commercial bracket, with a yearling average last year of almost seven times his fee.

Gold: Study Of Man (Ire), Lanwades, £12,500

One of the best-bred stallions in Europe, this son of Deep Impact (Jpn) made a really promising start with his first two-year-olds last year and is another who could be set for a big season. His most obvious Classic prospect from his nine winners at a strike-rate of 35% is Deepone (Ire), winner of the G2 Beresford S., a race whose previous winners include Sea The Stars (Ire), Saxon Warrior (Jpn), and Luxembourg (Ire). But there are others who could well step up on impressive performances last season, including the French-trained Birthe (Ire) and Newmarket winner Sons And Lovers (GB). One would expect his stock to be progressive and there's a number of well-bred youngsters yet to make an appearance, not least a half-brother to the Derby winner Desert Crown (GB).

Breeder's perspective: Tom Whelan, Church View Stables

Gold: Kodi Bear (Ire)

Silver: Supremacy (Ire)

Bronze: Space Blues (Ire)

Breeder and pinhooker Tom Whelan says, “I've had great luck with Kodi Bear so I'd have to put him forward as being the best-value stallion in this bracket. He gets great-looking horses and they all have a great attitude and lovely size for a son of Kodiac (GB). He's just very hard to knock. I'm a huge fan.  

“I have been very taken by some of the progeny of Supremacy. He looks to have a real chance. Another one who had his first foals last year was Space Blues and, while I might be a bit biased here because I got decent money for one, I'd be happy to use him going forward. I better give a mention to two others, Phoenix Of Spain and Lucky Vega (Ire), as they are producing the goods at this level as well.”

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Consigned by Barton Sales as lot 15, Jack Darcy, the G3 Glorious S. runner-up, is out of a half-sister to Group 1 winners Elmaamul (Diesis {GB}) and Reams of Verse (Nureyev). This is the close family of champion, six-time Group 1 heroine Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Freville, lot 25, conditioned by Christopher Head, found success in the G3 Prix d'Aumale at ParisLongchamp in early September and the juvenile filly hails from the female family of Linamix (Fr) (Mendez {Fr}). She will be offered with her entry in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac-Criterium des Pouliches, where she is considered one of the favorites for the contest.

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As an aside, one wonders how much the clamour to run two-year-olds at Royal Ascot affects some decent juvenile races that follow in the wake of that meeting. At Ascot the six juvenile contests drew a total of 117 runners, while the four Group 2 two-year-old races in England and France in the last week attracted just 27.

When it comes to the current batch of second-crop stallions, it is notable that a number of them in both Europe and America have featured among this year's Classics. Cracksman (GB) has the best three-year-old colt in France, if not in Europe, in the Prix du Jockey Club winner Ace Impact (Fr). Havana Grey (GB) may not have sired a Classic winner yet but he is streaking ahead with stakes winners, the latest being the G2 Kingdom of Bahrain July S. winner Jasour (GB).

Five years ago, Justify and Good Magic finished first and second in the Kentucky Derby, but the latter is now a Kentucky Derby-winning sire thanks to the exploits of his first-crop son Mage. Justify, however, has since seized the limelight, both in his native country, where he stands at Coolmore's Ashford Stud, and in Europe.

Last weekend he was responsible for two head-turning juvenile group winners, first at Newmarket, where the beautifully made City Of Troy stepped up on his impressive Curragh maiden win to post an emphatic success in the Bet365 Superlative S. for the Ballydoyle team. Rain-softened conditions from a torrential day on Friday may have exacerbated the winning margin but there was no disputing the scintillating manner of his performance.

You don't need to take my word for that, however. On Monday morning, Timeform revealed its rating for City Of Troy, whose dam Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was a smart juvenile herself as the winner of the G1 Fillies' Mile. The son of Justify was duly given a mark of 119p, the highest ever awarded to a winner of the Superlative, and six pounds higher than that of Master Of The Seas (Ire), who went on to be beaten a short-head by Poetic Flare (Ire) in the following year's 2,000 Guineas (and indeed returned at the age of five to win Saturday's G2 Summer Mile by four lengths).

On Sunday, the Justify bandwagon rolled on as his daughter Ramatuelle continued her fine season which opened on April 11 when she became the first juvenile winner of the year for her fast-rising trainer Christopher Head. The G2 Prix Robert Papin was added to her earlier win in the G3 Prix du Bois and, as night follows day,   a start in the G1 Sumbe Prix Morny on Aug. 20 is now very much the obvious target. The Deauville juvenile highlight is a race that has seen horses from this Scat Daddy sire-line play a major role in recent years, with Scat Daddy's son and daughter, No Nay Never and Lady Aurelia, triumphing in 2013 and 2016 respectively, while No Nay Never's son Blackbeard (Ire) won last year. 

Justify, a member of Scat Daddy's penultimate crop, won solely on dirt in America, and he has been represented on that surface by last month's GI Woody Stephens S. winner Arabian Lion. Back on Belmont's turf track, however, his purple patch continued with the win last weekend of the Glen Hill Farm-bred Aspen Grove (Ire) in the GI Belmont Oaks. Trained by Fozzy Stack, she races for Glen Hill's Craig Bernick in partnership with Sue Magnier, and was a Group 3 winner in Ireland last season but disappointed when last in the Irish 1,000 Guineas prior to shipping to New York. We can look forward to her resumption in the Saratoga Oaks. It is also worth noting that Justify is leading the first-season sires' table in Australia, where he has the G2 Riesling S. winner Learning To Fly (Aus).

We have of course seen plenty of examples of what members of this sire-line can do on the grass, and in fact Aspen Grove's close relative is the G1 Moyglare Stud S. victrix Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy), who is a half-sister to the filly's dam Data Dependent (More Than Ready), who raced solely on turf.

Ramatuelle's dam Raven's Lady, whose sire Raven's Pass featured as the broodmare sire of two of the three group winners at Chantilly on Sunday, was also a turf runner who won the G2 Goldene Peitsche and G3 Summer S. for Marco Botti before being transferred to the US.

Unsurprisingly, Justify's European feats have not gone unnoticed by the team at Ashford Stud, particularly as both City Of Troy and Ramatuelle were raised there. Coolmore's Adrian Mansergh Wallace said on Monday, “City Of Troy getting seven furlongs so comfortably early on as a two-year-old bodes very well for him being effective over a mile as a three-year-old.

“Versatility is what this business is all about. If you look through his best runners so far, Arabian Lion is out of a Distorted Humor mare, Aspen Grove is out of a More Than Ready mare, Learning To Fly is out of a Fastnet Rock mare, City Of Troy is obviously out of a Galileo mare, and Verifying is out of a Repent mare. I think the fact they they are winning on all surfaces will only add to his legacy, and that was something that was very apparent with Scat Daddy, who was probably the best stallion we've ever stood here at Coolmore America.

“The line that is most synonymous with our farm here is the Storm Bird line and now we are very privileged to be standing the sixth and seventh generation of that line. It was noted for horses with precocious, two-year-old speed, but who trained on and got the Classic distances, as Justify obviously did in winning the Triple Crown.”

He added, “He's going to be leading freshman sire in Australia, he was one of the leading freshman sires up here last year in a strong group, and he's well on his way to perhaps being the leading second-crop sire up here. Hopefully the European runners will keep coming, but having Arabian Lion win a race as prestigious as the Woody Stephens on Belmont day is also very encouraging, then our own Verifying was second in the Blue Grass and won the Indiana Derby, and that keeps the dirt aspect of his career open.”

Take Note of Seabhac

Another son of Scat Daddy who entered the stallion ranks at the same time but with far less fanfare than Justify is Seabhac, and he should not be overlooked. He won the GIII Pilgrim S. on turf as a juvenile and joined Larissa Kneip's Haras de Saint Arnoult in 2019, with 58 foals resulting from that first crop.

Kneip sadly died last year but, ever the enthusiast in her varied roles in the business, it is easy to imagine that she would have taken great pride in Seabhac's success so far this year. Leading the way among his offspring is the G2 German 2,000 Guineas winner Angers (Fr), and his success was followed by that of Rue Boissonade (Fr) in Friday's G2 Prix de Malleret. The Mikel Delzangles-trained filly was bred by Kneip in partnership with United Breeders and was one of five group winners out of Galileo mares in Europe in the last week including the aforementioned Persian Dreamer and City Of Troy, and the G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Fr}).

Seabhac, whose name is pronounced 'Shoke' and means hawk in Gaelic, has subsequently been moved to Haras du Taillis, where he stands alongside Fantastic Moon (GB), though this Group 3-winning son of Dalakhani (Ire) should not be confused with this year's German Derby winner of the same name but different suffix.

Diamond Days

There was plenty to enjoy both at Newmarket's July meeting and in France over the last week, and no horse was given a greater reception, even in the ceaseless rain, than Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}). It is always a joy to see Classic winners remain in training past the age of three, but Nashwa's owner/breeder Imad Al Sagar could have been forgiven if he had started to wonder if he had done the right thing after his burly filly suffered two defeats in her first two starts of the year. 

Nashwa, however, simply saved her best for top-class company on her home track where she returned to a mile for the first time since April of last year, and she blitzed her rivals to win the G1 Tattersalls Falmouth S. For the Gosden team by five lengths. 

Extra glory was to come for Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud when Nashwa's half-brother Louganini (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}), a treble winner in England, added to his tally with a victory at Ta'if in Saudi Arabia. Then on Sunday, the Blue Diamond-bred Araminta (GB) (Gleaneagles {Ire}) won the G3 Prix Chloe at Chantilly for Henry Candy, who mooted the possibility of the three-year-old filly heading next to Glorious Goodwood and the G1 Nassau S., in which Nashwa will attempt to defend her title. 

Bought as a yearling from Tattersalls for 82,000gns, Araminta hails from a family which has been successful for various members of the Rothschild family over the decades, most recently for Lady (Serena) Rothschild, who died in 2019, prompting a dispersal of her Waddesdon Stud stock. It was from there that Araminta's dam, the Group 3 and treble Listed-winning sprinter Mince (GB) (Medicean {GB}), was purchased by Blue Diamond Stud. Sadly she produced just the one foal for the breeder as she died the following year at the age of 12.

Araminta's co-owner Alex Frost, CEO of the Tote, posed the question as to whether there has been a more veteran trainer-and-jockey combination to land a group race than Henry Candy and Gerald Mosse at 78 and 56 respectively. We think that prize may go to Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning with Poetic Flare but, nevertheless, it was noteworthy teamwork by the highly respected duo. Candy also saddled the July Cup runner-up Run To Freedom (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) during a memorable weekend for his stable. We'll hear more about that horse's conqueror, Shaquille, in tomorrow's TDN.

As for Araminta, she is owned by a partnership consisting of Frost, his fellow owner-breeder Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock, and old friend Alex Acloque, who is a grandson of the noted Classic-winning breeder Lord Howard de Walden.

“It's just wonderful for Henry and for everybody, especially considering she only made her first start in April,” Frost told TDN. “This is the third Group 3 winner we've had and by some considerable way she was the most expensive.”

Araminta, who has been beaten only once in four starts when third in the Listed Conqueror Fillies' S. at Goodwood, subsequently returned to the Sussex track to win the Listed Height Of Fashion S. before heading to France.

“The way she races you would be mad keen to go to a mile and a half with her but it doesn't make any sense on paper, though Gleneagles does seem to be imparting plenty of stamina to his offspring,” said Frost, who owns Ladyswood Stud in Gloucestershire.

He added of the partnership, “Alex is an absolute racing nut and he has always been involved in horses with me, and Andrew got involved in this filly. The idea was to buy a broodmare together but we kept getting priced out of the broodmare market so we thought we'd have to try to make one, which can often be an expensive mistake. But so far, so good.

“We all live very close to each other. Andrew is a good mate and a Tote investor, and he's always been very supportive. Alex I've known since I was six or seven; we grew up together.”

Frost and his father have been long-term supporters of Henry Candy's stable at Kingstone Warren. He said of the trainer, “Henry understands every inch of a horse. That's what it's all about really, the total appreciation of an animal. He's a trainer who goes to see his horses every night, day, morning, feels every leg. There's nothing he wouldn't know about each horse.

“We were very tempted to push to run her at two but he said, 'She'll tell us when'. What I love about her is that she does nothing at home and it's only when she gets to the racecourse that she gets really stuck in. I always think that's a sign of a good horse.”

Juddmonte Sires to the Fore

Juddmonte Farms celebrated a Grade 1 winner at Saratoga in the Diana S. with the former Roger Charlton-trained Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio), and the operation's stallions Frankel (GB) and Kingman (GB) were also each represented by Group 1 winners in the past week. 

The aforementioned Nashwa claimed her third and became the eighth Group 1 winner for Frankel this year, while Kingman's Feed The Flame (GB) delivered on his early promise this season with victory in the Grand Prix de Paris on just his fourth start. He continued a fine year for his co-breeder and vendor Ecurie des Monceaux, which is also co-owner of Ramatuelle, and raised and sold the treble Group 1 winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) for the Wildenstein family's Dayton Investments. Incidentally, both Feed The Flame and Paddington are out of mares by Montjeu (Ire). To add a cherry on top of this good run, Monceaux also bred Shaquille's sire, Charm Spirit (also from a Montjeu mare).

There was also a welcome return for another Kingman three-year-old, Nostrum (GB), a one-time 2,000 Guineas fancy who made a successful belated seasonal return in the Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. and will surely be back in group company before long. 

But it was two longstanding Juddmonte names, Oasis Dream (GB) and the late Dansili (GB), who combined in the pedigree of arguably the most notable performer of the week. The Gestut Fahrhof-bred Quinault (Ger) has been a revelation this year since joining the stable of Stuart Williams from Godolphin, and the three-year-old has now won six handicaps on the bounce, starting on a rating of 59, and claiming his most recent success on the July Course off a mark of 90. An expensive purchase at the Craven Breeze-up Sale for 310,000gns, Quinault returned to the same ring a little over six months later to fetch 25,000gns to TJE Racing. He has proved worthy of every penny of that outlay at the Horses-in-Training Sale, with his earnings now closing in on £150,000 and a shot at stakes company clearly not beyond the realms of possibility. 

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A Triple Crown-nominated colt for the connections of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Jonathon Poulin and St. Elias Stable, SOUTH SIDE (Curlin) was a $500,000 yearling purchase out of the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale. His dam, while unplaced herself, is out of the graded stakes winning mare Mariah's Storm (Rahy), who readers will recognize as the dam of none other than the full-brothers by Storm Cat, Giant's Causeway and Freud. In addition, this is the family of several Galileo full-siblings including: MG1SW and sire Gleneagles (Ire), MG1SW Happily (Ire), G1SW Joan of Arc (Ire), MGSW & GISP Taj Mahal (Ire), G1SW Marvellous (Ire), GSW Coolmore (Ire), G1SP Toy (Ire), and G1SP Vatican City (Ire). And while the prolific family goes on and on, South Side will seek to write his own chapter under the tutelage of Todd Pletcher with jockey Emisael Jaramillo aboard. TJCIS PPS

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To be fair, trade would not remain quite as consistently wild as had been the case across the two preceding catalogues. While unsatisfied demand from Book 2 was transparent in no fewer than eight six-figure transactions, a 26,000gns median was actually unchanged on the equivalent session last year. That suggests a degree of cherry-picking. But a gain of 10 per cent in the average, to 30,960gns, did attest to some overflow into this lower stratum from the sheer, nearly impenetrable strength of the sale to date.

Indeed, the biggest price of the day was actually paid by one of the key protagonists at the front end of Europe's premier yearling sale. For when a Gleneagles (Ire) colt from Croom House Stud was knocked down to Cormac McCormack at 140,000gns, it turned out that he was bidding on behalf of M.V. Magnier.

“The horse was well placed by his owners in the sale and they got well paid,” McCormack said. “He's the nicest horse in the sale. Great step to him, good pedigree, a touch of class about him.”

That pedigree had something old and something new, together creating something nicely “blue” in terms of blood: the colt's fourth dam was a sister to none other than Mill Reef, while his mother is a sister to the dam of last month's G1 Grosser Preis von Baden winner Mendocino (Ger) Adlerflug {Ger}).

The best operators, demonstrably, don't drop their attention at any stage and that's a compliment to be divided between consignor and purchaser: Croom House's 2,400,000gns Frankel colt in Book 1, the second highest price of the whole sale, was also bought by Magnier (in partnership, in that instance, with White Birch Farm).

Rising Tide Floats All Boats For Whitsbury

There's not so much a buzz around Havana Grey (GB), as a deafening barrage of fireworks. After members of his second crop, conceived at 6,500gns, had realized up to 325,000gns in Book 2, here he accounted for two of the three highest prices of the session.

One of the Whitsbury stallion's first big advertisements is Listed St Hugh's S. winner Cuban Mistress (GB), whose full-sister raised 115,000gns from Anthony Stroud, acting for an unnamed client. This filly was presented as 1482 by her sire's own farm, whose director Ed Harper was ecstatic about the way his flourishing sires are moving up the home herd.

“It's been a year of updates for our mares,” he said. “Mares that were in the twilight zone are now zipping up the escalator and suddenly look exciting. When you get two stallions on your roster like Showcasing (GB) and Havana Grey (GB), they're just constantly doing favours to the broodmare band. It's just magic, it's been a fantastic year.”

He explained that mares are recruited to work across the board, “so they can just hop around the roster”. But Whitsbury had stumbled across “an uncanny nick” between Sakhee's Secret (GB) mares–like the dam of this filly–and Havana Grey, which has so far yielded not just Cuban Mistress but also G3 Cornwallis S. winner Rumstar (GB) and promising debut second Destined (GB). “That's from three runners,” Harper marvelled. “I think anyone with a Sakhee's Secret mare must be ringing me at the moment!”

No Grey Areas For Foley

Another six-figure hit for Havana Grey was the first foal of So Brave (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), presented by Carmel Stud as Lot 1499 and purchased by Joe Foley for Clipper Logistics at 125,000gns.

“A lovely filly,” Foley remarked. “We saw her yesterday, the first one we saw: she was recommended to us by the breeders and by Ed from Whitsbury. She's a really good-looking filly from a fast mare who I remember when she was with Archie Watson, a real speedy 2-year-old. Importantly the breeders are mating the mare well: she has a foal by Showcasing (GB) and has been to Pinatubo (Ire), which is encouraging.

“Havana Grey is a highly promising young stallion. We underbid on a colt yesterday and were keen to buy a nice one. Last year you could see they were all of a mould: he was either going to be a very good stallion or a very bad stallion. Luckily for the team at Whitsbury, he is the former! They are so genuine, like himself.”

With 55 yearlings so far corralled for Clipper and the associated Bronte Collection, Foley could hardly be better placed to gauge the astonishing buoyancy of the market.

“It has been strong from the start and strong today, which is brilliant to see,” he reflected. “It just shows the fortitude of this business. It's a great sport, a great business, and people get fun out of investing in racehorses. Maybe after the negative times we have had in the recent past, and maybe will have in the future, people are keen to spend some money and have some fun.

“Investing in the bloodstock industry is fun investment: you can love football or cricket all you like, but you can't invest in them. You can love racing and invest in it, get double the kick. I have seen first-hand the fun the Bronte syndicate has had together this year, going to Royal Ascot with four runners and having the filly placed in the [G2] Queen Mary. Investing in stocks and shares, you don't get to go and have a bottle of champagne with your mates and say, 'Yes, we won the Listed race!'”

Trio Swing For The Fences Again

Whitsbury's established heavy hitter Showcasing (GB) also achieved a big score on the back of a smart juvenile. For his daughter Swingalong (Ire) has turned out to be 120,000gns well spent in Book 2 last year for Blandford Bloodstock, Karl Burke and Sheikh Juma Dalmook al Maktoum, the G2 Lowther S. winner having run a very creditable fourth when upped to the elite tier for the GI Cheveley Park S. And the same triumvirate was duly on the lookout for another daughter of Showcasing, whose farm filled that need with Lot 1384 at 115,000gns.

This filly's half-brother Shouldvebeenaring (GB) had elevated the page since it went to press, winning a valuable Goffs UK sale race at the Ebor meeting and following up in listed company at Ripon 11 days later. That makes their dam Lady Estella (Ire) (Equiano {Fr}) well found at the end of a modest racing career, in this ring in 2015, for just 12,000gns.

“Sheikh Juma was very keen to get another Showcasing,” confirmed Richard Brown of Blandford. “But we've been beaten on everything we wanted so far. Then I saw this filly early yesterday and immediately called my vet–and then immediately called Sheikh Juma! She's from a very good farm, and of course she had a good update.

“Funnily enough I was in there this morning and along came Karl and I thought, 'I know where you're going!' And sure enough he pulled her out. Luckily we were able to align, with the help of Sheikh Juma, and if she can be half as good as Swingalong we'll be all right.”

As for that filly's prospects from here, Brown added: “I was delighted with her run in the Cheveley Park–she was the biggest filly in the field and should get farther next year. Whether she'll get a mile, I don't know, but seven should definitely be in her range and I imagine she'd start off in one of the trials. It's not my decision but if I had to guess I'd say she might go to Newbury for the Fred Darling.”

Another Night To Remember

It had become immediately apparent that the overall momentum of the sale was going to be maintained, with the first six-figure transaction recorded for only the sixth animal into the ring. Moreover the 100,000gns docket signed by Nick Bell for a Night of Thunder (Ire) colt from Ballyhimikin Stud also extended a more specific streak for sire and consignor combined.

Night Of Thunder had topped the Book 2 rankings by aggregate, his 25 sales totalling 4,025,000gns, and three of his top five in that catalogue graduated from James Hanley's farm–which had also sold a colt and filly by the Darley stallion in Book I for 475,000gns and 425,000gns respectively.

This lad is out of French Listed winner Kambura (Fr) (Literato {Fr}), sibling to several group performers and/or producers. He will be trained by Bell's father Michael for Peter Trainor. “We have put a few horses up to him over the last few weeks,” Bell Jr. said. “I think he'd thought he had got away without having to buy one! But this looks like he good be a real fun horse next summer. The stallion needs no introduction, and this looks a really solid horse. It's been tough, and the nice ones you have to give a little bit extra for. I'm delighted we got him.”

Taking Your Time Now Takes Money Too

Alex Elliott had a succinct summary of the current market after going to 68,000gns for a Masar (Ire) colt from Maywood Stud [1421].

“Fifty grand is the old 10 grand!” he exclaimed. “You used to be able to pick up these stayers for 10 grand, but you can't buy a nice horse for that now.”

This was the fourth of five scheduled picks for the Lucra Partnership, with a stipulated average of 50,000gns. The pressure was on for the fifth, then, albeit one of their first investments was G2 Royal Lodge S. winner New Mandate (Ire) (New Bay {GB}). “And we sold him for a lot of money, so everyone is on the pig's back because of that!” Elliott said.

That syndicate's trainer Ralph Beckett will also be receiving the preceding lot [1420], a 100,000gns Sea The Moon (Ger) colt consigned by Jamie Railton and purchased on behalf of the nascent Valmont syndicate foiled only in a photo for last week's G3 Oh So Sharp S. with Lose Yourself (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

“Ralph trained this colt's dam, who was a very good race filly,” Elliott recalled of Listed winner Mountain Bell (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}). “I actually bought [her] last year, off Qatar. And I thought this horse was a stand-out today, more of a Book 2 horse: he has size, scope, he vetted well, and I am a big fan of the stallion. He will want a bit of time, but we don't mind giving them that.

“We generally buy 3-year-old types [for Valmont]. There's a little bit of a gap in the market there, if you've got the patience. Because once you're on the wheel, you've got the action: early next year we should have that first batch running in Guineas trials, Oaks trials, and then this year's purchases will come through after that. We had thought the first year was going to be a bit slow, but when you have Ralph Beckett in your corner it's a huge help.”

Redvers Finds Another Camacho Nugget

While hugely looking forward to QIPCO Champions' Day, like his patron Sheikh Fahad, David Redvers kept his eye on the ball to dig out a Camacho colt [1571] from Lodge Park Stud for 105,000gns.

“That's why we hang around for Book 3,” the Tweenhills man said. “You do find the odd golden nugget.”

The vendors' homebred mare Alyssum (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) had mustered updates from both her previous winners, Dandy Alys (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) finishing second in the G3 Sweet Solera S. and Hard One To Please (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) confirming his stature in Scandinavia by winning the G3 Stockholm Cup. Throw Camacho into the mix, and Redvers was always going to be interested.

“He's been a phenomenally lucky sire for us,” he said. “I must have bought five or six stakes winners by him. And the mare catalogues up unbelievably well now, with the updates. In my view, this filly would have deserved a place in Book 2 and would have made twice as much there. I loved her physical, too. I have bought her entirely on spec, but I will put her up to Sheikh Fahad and David Howden and we'll see what happens. I'm in for a good bit of her.

“The farm is probably in the top five best breeders in Europe. I bought Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}) from them [for 150,000gns in Book 1 three years ago] and she's now a Grade 1 filly.” [Won Gamely S.]

As for the imminent spectacle at Ascot on Saturday, Redvers added: “I'm really looking forward to it. There will be a massive crowd, hopefully the sun will be shining and the going will be perfect. The best horse in the world will be running and it's what championship racing is all about.”

Calyx Pinhook Solid As A Rock

One of the pinhooks of the day was the work of Rockview Stables, which found a filly from the first crop of Calyx for €12,000 as a foal at Goffs last November. Daughter of an unraced Dubawi (Ire) mare culled by Godolphin, she was brought here as Lot 1426 and realized 105,000gns from BBA Ireland.

“We just thought she was a very attractive, racy filly and of course she was out of a Dubawi mare,” explained Eleanor Dunne of Rockview. “But we got very lucky with the update. We knew that there was a first foal in Tom Dascombe's, but Felix Natalis (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}) has gone on and won a couple of times again [since the catalogue was published] and then just on Saturday he got the black type at York [third in Listed Rockingham S].

“She's been fantastic since she got to the farm, thrived all the way through her prep: she has a wonderful temperament and has been a pleasure to be around.”

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Shortly after Dornoch Castle coasted home to win for the second time from as many outings, his trainer Mark Johnston revealed that he has some major ambitions for the 2-year-old, mainly the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood. 

If you thought things couldn't get any better for Thompson and all of the team at Tinnakill, you thought wrong, because this Monday was about to go from memorable to unforgettable.

As if it were written in the stars, just a few hours later, Dornoch Castle's half-brother Claim The Crown (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who Thomson and Tinakill also bred, landed the feature handicap at Ripon. 

All of this excitement was provided by Crown Light (GB) (Zamindar), a mare that Cantillon acquired for just 800gns at the Tattersalls Autumn horses-in-training sale in 2013, and the 11-year-old hasn't missed a breeding season on the farm ever since.

Speaking after the success of Dornoch Castle, a 30,000 euros Goffs Sportsman's purchase, Thompson sensed something special could be in store, and said, “Funnily enough, his [Dornoch Castle's] half-brother Claim The Crown runs this evening so it could be a double whammy. He has been very well-backed so it could be one of those days. Let's hope so.”

It certainly was one of those days. A Monday that Thompson and the team will never forget. But the most exciting aspect of it all is that there will be even bigger days ahead, especially in the case of Dornoch Castle. 

“It's exciting,” said Thompson. “The great thing about him is that he's bred to get better. He was a fine big horse when he was younger so everything about him would suggest that this is only the beginning for him. 

“The female pedigree would be a middle-distance one and you wouldn't really imagine her to be having lots of 2-year-old winners so it makes it even more exciting.”

He added, “This is what it's all about. The buzz before the race and the excitement after he won. You can't beat it–it's what we do it for.”

This wasn't the only momentous moment for those associated with Crown Light. Less than four years after Cantillon bought the mare, her half-sister Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) won the G1 Prix Vermeille. But that's not to say that Crown Light has not been hanging onto the coattail of her half-sister. 

She has proved herself worthy of an upgrade in terms of the quality of stallion she has visited every season and a decision to support up-and-coming sire Gleneagles (Ire) is proving to be an inspired one with his son Dornoch Castle emerging as a smart prospect for the Johnston team. 

Thompson explained, “We thought Gleneagles was a good young sire and everyone was crying out for a nice son of Galileo (Ire). He was the one with the best credentials and it was a commercial decision to back a young son of Galileo who we thought was going to click. 

“She also has an Australia (GB) filly foal and is back in foal to Acclamation (GB). Dermot bought four horses at the horses-in-training sale in 2013, all for relatively small money, and she was just 800gns. She had a decent pedigree but wouldn't have been the best physical.”

He added, “Since we bought her, though, her half-sister [Bateel] won a Group 1 in France so we got the mother of all pedigree updates. Not only that, she has produced stock who look a lot better than she does and, as a result, she has been getting upgraded matings every year. Her progeny are delivering on the racetrack and she's really clicked now so it's very exciting.

“She's very fertile. She's had a foal every single year since she was a 3-year-old. That's the one thing you can't really put a price on when you are buying from the horses-in-training sale as you've no idea how fertile they will turn out to be. It's all down to luck.

“I am involved with seven or eight mares now at this stage. I own a few of them myself but am in partnerships with either Dermot or somebody else with the rest. She's the best of them by a mile.”

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“I wanted to get a good break, that was the most important thing,” said McCarthy, who was celebrating his first win at the highest level. “He broke well last time, but he just got annihilated at the break. Today, he was really handy the whole way for me. The pace was pretty slow, but the whole time he was just carrying me, carrying me, carrying me. At the 5/16 pole I let him go and started to make an early move. I just wanted to get away from the other guys and it sure paid off. He made up a ton of ground the first time he ran in America and got shut off really bad at the break, but he made a good rally.”

“It's a great feeling,” McCarthy said of winning his first Grade I. “To win it for [trainer] Graham [Motion], who has given me so much support in my career, it's really special. My father started riding for Graham and we got to be good friends with them and his family. I started at 15 and worked for Graham. As soon as I started to learn how to ride, I stayed at Fair Hill for three years. I would come in on the weekends and days off of school and ride out for him which was great. I learned so much from him and all his employees there at the time. To win it with so much history with him is great.”

Originally based with Paul Cole in England, Highland Chief was well thought of enough to contest the 2020 G1 Investec Derby, where he finished 10th before a pair of seconds going 1 1/2 miles at the Group level. He made just one start last year, checking in fifth in Epsom's G1 Coronation Cup June 4, and found 8 1/2 panels at Aqueduct too sharp when ninth while making up significant ground late in his Stateside debut Apr. 14.

“In fairness, Alex Cole, the manager for the owners, told me that if he runs back to his European form, he's very competitive with these horses,” said Motion. “He won a race at Ascot. That's not easy to do. Trevor had a strategy–he knew he couldn't leave him too much to do. He broke better today, which made a difference because he wasn't so held back at the start or too much ground to make up. Trevor gave him a great ride. I said to Trevor, 'I can't believe somebody broke slower than we did.”

Of potential future plans, Motion said, “We'd have to think about the [June 11 GI Resorts World] Manhattan, but it was mentioned to go to Europe after this race if he ran well. Originally, they talked about running in the Dubai World Cup and I knew he just wasn't ready for that. [The owners] think very highly of him.”

As for the beaten favorite, trainer Charlie Appleby said, “That's him. He did that here last year. That's his style. He did it [when second in the Mar. 26 G1] Sheema Classic as well. We intentionally did not want him to be as slow out, but his run style is to come off the pace… Unfortunately, we had rain here last night and rain again today and it's just on the slower side of where he likes to hear his feet rattling. For his acceleration, it just blunts it slightly. Take nothing away from the winner, he held decent form back in Europe in his 3-year-old career there and he had to be respected. We ran our race, but in an ideal world if you asked me what I'd like to have had, it would be no rain.”

Appleby said last year's champion turf horse would likely be back in the States for the Aug. 27 GI Sword Dancer S. at Saratoga.

Saturday, Belmont Park
MAN O' WAR S.-GI, $651,000, Belmont, 5-14, 4yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:17.04, fm.
1–HIGHLAND CHIEF (IRE), 118, h, 5, by Gleneagles (Ire)
     1st Dam: Pink Symphony (GB) (GSW-Ire, MSP-Eng, $186,684), by Montjeu (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Blue Symphony (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
     3rd Dam: Blue Duster, by Danzig
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. O/B-Mrs. Fitri Hay (IRE); T-H. Graham Motion; J-Trevor
McCarthy. $375,000. Lifetime Record: 12-3-2-2, $501,862.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: B.
2–Gufo, 124, h, 5, Declaration of War–Floy, by Petionville.
O-Otter Bend Stables, LLC; B-John Little & Stephen Cainelli
(KY); T-Christophe Clement. $130,000.
3–Yibir (GB), 124, g, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Rumh (Ger), by Monsun
(Ger). O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charles Appleby. $70,000.
Margins: 1, NK, 2 3/4. Odds: 19.20, 2.45, 0.55.
Also Ran: Easter (Fr), Abaan. Scratched: So High (GB). Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Highland Chief hails from the first crop of MG1SW miler Gleneagles, who was a distant last in his lone U.S. start when trying the dirt in American Pharoah's GI Breeders' Cup Classic procession. He is one of 10 graded/group winners for the Coolmore Ireland resident.

Montjeu, meanwhile, has 37 Northern Hemisphere graded/group winners as a broodmare sire to go with 17 foaled south of the equator.

The winner's dam was a 400,000gns TATOCT yearling purchase in 2008 by Paul Cole on Hay's behalf, and she helped repay that investment with a score in the 1 1/2-mile G3 Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F. Give Thanks S. in 2011. A half to MGSW/MG1SP Fantasia (GB) (Sadler's Wells)–a Group 3-winning producer herself–and MGSW/MG1SP Western Hymn (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}), Pink Symphony is a granddaughter of Europe's 1995 champion 2-year-old filly Blue Duster. She has a 2-year-old full-brother to Highland Chief and a yearling filly by Churchill (Ire).

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12.40 Curragh, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, f, 7fT
TOY (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the eighth foal out of the remarkable G2 Cherry Hinton S. winner You'resothrilling (Storm Cat), which makes her a full-sister to the G1 English and Irish 2000 Guineas hero Gleneagles (Ire), the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Marvellous (Ire), the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and the G1 Moyglare Stud S. scorer Happily (Ire) and this year's G1 Prix de Diane winner Joan of Arc (Ire), as well as the smart Taj Mahal (Ire), Coolmore (Ire) and Vatican City (Ire). Among the opponents of the Ballydoyle blueblood are the CBR Partnership's Ha Ha Ha (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a £400,000 Goffs Orby graduate and Jessie Harrington-trained half-sister to the G1 Irish Oaks runner-up Jack Naylor (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}).

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This weekend, the Juddmonte sire exceeded even his own lofty standards by siring Godolphin's Irish Derby winner Hurricane Lane (Ire), and thus giving him victory in both the English and Irish Derbys following on the heels of Adayar (Ire) at Epsom–a feat Frankel's sire Galileo (Ire), who has become synonymous with Derby success, has thus far been able to accomplish only once with two different horses, Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) and Sovereign (Ire) in 2019. Since the turn of the century, the only other sire to have done so is Montjeu (Ire) in 2005 with Motivator (GB) and Hurricane Run (Ire).

While the last four weeks have seemingly answered any lingering questions about Frankel's scope as a sire, they have also reignited the what-could-have-beens of his racing career. Could he himself have excelled at a mile and a half? Doing so at Epsom or The Curragh in June seems a much greater question mark, given his early exuberance, but as he settled into the finished product and got the mile and a quarter at York and Ascot with ease, it is difficult to imagine that he didn't have a G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. or G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe victory within him. Now, we'll have to rely on his sons and daughters to fill those voids, and Adayar and Hurricane Lane could be among those to get the chance. Charlie Appleby, trainer of both horses, noted after the Irish Derby that future targets for both colts would depend upon how Adayar performs against older horses in the July 24 King George. While Adayar has remained ensconced at Moulton Paddocks since his blue riband win, Hurricane Lane has given him a significant boost, having himself been third at Epsom.

As it had been when Adayar and Essential Quality (Tapit) won Classics for Godolphin on opposite ends of the Atlantic on June 5, Saturday was another red-letter day for the royal blue transatlantically, with Maxfield (Street Sense) easily winning the GII Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs. He forms part of an enviable squad that Godolphin America will have for that country's marquee middle-distance races this summer and autumn, joining Essential Quality and G1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), who makes his return in Saturday's GII Suburban H. at Belmont Park. Godolphin's stallion arm, Darley, will have some serious ammunition to add to its stud ranks on both sides of the Atlantic in the coming years. While Appleby has already left the door cracked open for 4-year-old campaigns for both his Derby winners, they will surely eventually take up residence at either Dalham Hall or Kildangan Stud, and likely alongside Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). And while Godolphin and Appleby's 3-year-old ranks have been fast off the blocks this year, the divisional ranks are far from decided within Moulton Paddocks, with talented Dubawi (Ire) colts like Master Of The Seas (Ire), Highland Avenue (Ire) and Naval Crown (GB) still in with a chance to make their mark at the highest level.

Big Day For Night Of Thunder

Those sons of Dubawi will have lofty footsteps to follow in thanks to Night Of Thunder (Ire). The standout young Darley sire reached an important milestone this weekend, with the progressive 4-year-old filly Thundering Nights (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) giving him his first European Group 1 winner in Sunday's G1 Pretty Polly S. at The Curragh. Victorious over the Group 1-winning Albigna (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in last summer's G3 Snow Fairy Fillies S. at The Curragh, Thundering Nights was beaten a head in the GII New York S. at Belmont Park just three weeks ago, and bested the highly regarded Santa Barbara (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) on Sunday. Thundering Nights is owned by Shapoor Mistry, whose Manjri Farm is one of the most renowned studs in India. Thundering Nights's dam, Cape Castle (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), was exported to India in foal to Dawn Approach (Ire) after being bought by Mistry for 32,000gns-the same price Night Of Thunder cost as a yearling–at the Tattersalls February Sale in 2017 while carrying Thundering Nights. Thundering Nights was herself offered as both a foal and yearling and failed to sell for €17,000 and €19,000.

The G1 2000 Guineas and G1 Lockinge S. winner Night Of Thunder burst onto the scene as a freshman sire in 2019 with seven stakes winners in his first season, equaling a 19-year-old record. His upward trajectory continued last year, with three of his first-crop 2-year-old stakes winners adding black-type success at three and eight additional members of that crop winning stakes races. Night Of Thunder's fee was hiked to €75,000 from €25,000 for 2021, so without a Group 1 winner upon the completion of his first crop's 3-year-old season it was crucial that he achieved that feat this year. He accomplished it Down Under on May 29 with the New Zealand-bred Kukeracha (NZ)'s win in the Queensland Derby, with Thundering Nights continuing the momentum up north.

Night Of Thunder remains his sire crop's leader across most parameters, with Gleneagles (Ire) closing the gap on the heels of a highly productive first half of 2021. Gleneagles has 14 overall stakes winners compared to Night Of Thunder's 17, but one more stakes winner (six) in 2021 alone. Novemba (Ger) became his first Classic winner in the May 30 G2 German 1000 Guineas, while Loving Dream (GB) burst onto the scene with victory in the G2 Ribblesdale S. at Royal Ascot and 2-year-old filly Velocidad (GB) won the G2 Airlie Stud S. at The Curragh on the weekend.

Japan's Arc Dreams Alive

Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) looked the real deal when winning Hanshin's G1 Takarazuka Kinen for the second consecutive year on Sunday. It was the fourth Group 1 win for the 5-year-old mare since her victory in the 2019 G1 Shuka Sho, and she is firmly on course to be the latest Japanese challenger in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 3. Can she at last break her country's hoodoo in the race they most want to win? Her sire, Bago, won the 2004 Arc, she has won over 2400 metres and looks versatile ground-wise. In the realm of racing, however, the Arc is still eons away, and with more immediate implications is the fact that Chrono Genesis and her compatriot Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), second and third in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March, have both flattered the winner, Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), with Group 1 wins since. Mishriff returns in Saturday's G1 Eclipse S.

Also from the Takarazuka Kinen, it is also worth noting the excellent second-place performance of Unicorn Lion (Ire) (No Nay Never). An 850,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling purchase by JS Company, Unicorn Lion was his sire's most expensive first-crop yearling and while the 5-year-old has been slow to come to hand, he has shown marked improvement in 2021, earning a first black-type win in the G3 Naruo Kinen earlier this month and holding on valiantly after setting the pace on Sunday.

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At the moment, of those currently at 20/1 or shorter in the betting, there's certainly the potential for there to be a good story attached to the winner and, let's face it, the great old race in its first year of Cazoo sponsorship, certainly could do with that.

Who wouldn't love to see the Derby trophy return to Kingsclere 50 years after the great Mill Reef swept from Epsom glory to the Eclipse, the King George & Queen Elizabeth and on to the Arc? Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) hasn't shown himself to be of Mill Reef's calibre yet but he cornered nicely at Chester to land the Vase, seeing out the extended 1m4f well despite his relatively sprint-orientated bottom line. He doesn't look terribly big, but then neither was Mill Reef.

The same can be said for Third Realm (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who sealed a good week for Roger Varian and his owner/breeder Sheikh Mohammed Obaid when freewheeling down the hill at Lingfield to overthrow the Godolphin favourite Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}). It was also a good day for Third Realm's dam Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), who is compiling quite the record at stud, with the Lingfield Derby Trial winner becoming her fifth black-type performer. Another of them, Cape Byron (GB) (Shamardal), landed a competitive sprint at Haydock on Saturday at the age of seven, having also won last year's G3 Bengough S. for the Varian team.

While Third Realm looks to be on course for Epsom, the trainer's El Drama (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), bought as a yearling for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid for 425,000gns, is more likely to head to the Prix du Jockey Club following his win in the listed Dee S. at Chester.

Varian also saddled the runner-up in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, Save A Forest (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), for the Gredley family, but his big market mover for the Cazoo Oaks last week was the twice-raced Teona (Ire), who was last seen winning a Newcastle maiden in November. Despite the margin of that victory being nine lengths, the Ali Saeed-owned filly must be tearing up the gallops to have been cut to around 5/1 for Epsom even before she steps out for her formal trial in Wednesday's Tattersalls Musidora S. Not only does she have the Derby winners Sea The Stars (Ire) and Authorized (Ire) as her sire and broodmare sire respectively, Teona comes from a family which has already brought her trainer Group 1 success. Her dam Ambivalent (Ire) won the G1 Pretty Polly S. as well as being third to Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) in the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Following some lacklustre performances by Ballydoyle representatives in various trials, normal order was restored somewhat at Leopardstown on Sunday, where Aidan O'Brien claimed a record 14th victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial. Following the route utilised for his first two Derby winners, the trainer opted for the Ballysax S./Derrinstown trial double for Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) and, emulating his sire Galileo (Ire) in victory, the dark brown colt shot into clear Derby favouritism as quickly as he accelerated away from his rivals off the home turn at Leopardstown. 

He has every right to be at the head of the market following that imperious display but it's worth remembering that O'Brien's three Derby winners in the last four years have been sent of at odds of 40/1, 13/2 and 25/1, and on each occasion he has had at least six runners in the race. There is, then, arguably a case to be made for Urban Sea's female-line descendant Sir Lamorak (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who could be seen at York on Thursday. 

There's almost no getting away from Urban Sea when it comes to the Classics, and fans of inbreeding to superior mares will appreciate the appearance of Galileo and his fellow Derby winner and half-brother Sea The Stars in the pedigree of the facile winner of the Newmarket S., Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), making him inbred 3×3 to the bluest of blue hens. He would also be a poignant, posthumous winner for Sheikh Hamdan.

Thrilling Continuity

One mare quickly propelling herself into that rarefied territory with the help of Urban Sea's son Galileo is You'resothrilling (Storm Cat). The sister to Giant's Causeway was not Urban Sea's equal on the racecourse but she was no slouch, winning the G2 Cherry Hinton S. and G3 Swordlestown Stud Sprint S. as a juvenile. On Sunday, she extended the record of her black-type-winning offspring to seven from seven when Joan Of Arc (Ire) became the latest in the G3 Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial and is now likely to attempt to emulate her sister Marvellous (Ire) by winning the Irish 1000 Guineas. 

The 16-year-old You'resothrilling has been mated exclusively with Galileo, but if it ain't broke there's no point trying to fix it. Gleneagles (Ire) followed the mare's first foal, Happily, to become a Classic winner, winning the English and Irish versions of the 2000 Guineas as well as the G1 St James's Palace S. He too has enjoyed a good run of late via his offspring and currently boasts a 33% strike-rate of winners to runners.

Late developer Insinuendo (Ire) landed the G3 Blue Wind S. for Willie McCreery on  only her third start on Saturday, while 3-year-old Eaglefield (Ire) made two quick back-to-back appearances at Gowran Park on Wednesday followed by Leopardstown on Sunday, where he held on for the win for the in-form Jim Bolger stable. So far in May, Gleneagles has also been represented by the listed winner Too Soon To Panic (Ire) as well as the smart G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Baby Rider (Fr). 

Classic Sires

In the year that Dawn Approach (Ire) moved back to stand at the stud where he was born, he is another former 2000 Guineas winner enjoying something of a purple patch. Of course his own Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) has been the highlight and was one of seven winners from just 12 runners in Britain for the stallion in the last fortnight. During that same period in Ireland, he has added the listed winner Lunar Space (Ire) to his record, along with 3-year-old maiden winner Texas Moon (Ire) and juvenile scorer Strapped (Ire).

The 2014 Derby winner Australia (GB) has been enjoying a similarly good run. Mare Australis (Ire), Broome (Ire) and Sir Ron Priestley (GB) combined for a group-race treble on the first weekend of May, while Freedom Of Speech (Ire) was another winning 2-year-old from the Bolger stable last week. 

Sir Ron Priestley is set to make a swift return at York on Friday and is currently favourite for the G2 Yorkshire Cup. A burly horse who is nevertheless light on his feet, he runs in the trailblazing fashion so typical of those from the Mark Johnston stable and it would be no surprise to see him post some bold opposition to Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), not to mention his own half-brother Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), in the top staying races this season.

Follow The Bear

Kodi Bear (Ire) was a smart miler in his day for Clive Cox and owner Olive Shaw and, now at Rathbarry Stud, he is starting to look a good value option for breeders at his current fee of €6,000. During a particularly fruitful spell he has been responsible for the listed-winning fillies Measure Of Magic (Ire) and Mystery Angel (Ire), while Sienna Bonnie (Ire) and Go Bears Go (Ire) have both been impressive winners from his second crop of juveniles in the past week. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the son of Kodiac (GB) has had some success when crossed with mares by his Rathbarry stud mate Acclamation (GB), and two of his three stakes winners to date are out of mares by Acclamation's sire Royal Applause (GB) and son Dark Angel (Ire). 

That Dark Angel cross features in Mystery Angel, who heads to Wednesday's G3 Musidora S., and in A Pint Of Bear (Ire), who won for the third time on Monday. 

It was also a notable weekend on the international stage for Germany's leading sire Soldier Hollow (GB). A rare foray to Britain for a German runner ended in victory for the Andreas Wohler-trained Axana (Ger) in the G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. at Lingfield. That same day, another daughter of Soldier Hollow, the 3-year-old Reine d'Amour, took the listed Henkel-Stutepreis at Dusseldorf, while on Sunday the veteran son of In The Wings (GB) featured as the broodmare sire of G1 NHK Mile winner Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) in Japan. The 3-year-old colt is out of Gestut Wittenkindshof's G1 Preis der Diana winner Serienholde (Ger) and was bred by Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm. He joins recent stakes winners Waldkonig (GB) and Wirko (Ger) in being a son of Kingman from a German family replete with class and stamina.

Lanwades Goes Global

Lanwades Stud suffered the loss of Leroidesanimaux (Brz) and Archipenko in 2016 and 2017, but the lingering influence of both stallions has been felt recently, particularly in Australia.

On May 1, Wyclif (GB) (Archipenko) won the listed Port Adelaide Cup and that was followed by a stakes double for Leroidesanimaux down under when Le Don De Vie (GB) won the listed Warrnambool Cup on Thursday and Zaaki claimed the G2 Hollinsdale S. at the Gold Coast on Saturday. All three were bred at Lanwades by Kirsten Rausing. 

The breeder has, however, enjoyed black-type success closer to home and in her own colours on consecutive weekends. The G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) got her season off on a positive footing by winning the listed Daisy Warwick Fillies' S. at Goodwood, but she was trumped in some style on Saturday when Albaflora (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) stormed to a seven-length victory in the listed Buckhounds S. The greys are descendants respectively of the Group 1-winning Alzao full-sisters Albanova (GB) and Alborada (GB).

Albaflora was not the only winner for the family and Rausing on Saturday as her 3-year-old Ralph Beckett stable-mate Aleas (GB) (Archipenko) posted his third consecutive win at Haydock in just four starts, and by a similarly impressive margin. 

We Must Do Better

The TDN team in New Jersey will keep us abreast of the saga of the latest failed drug test for a Bob Baffert runner. That it was Medina Spirit (Protonico) in America's biggest race of all, and a result which had provided a first major success for a significant new owner to the sport, not to mention the thrill of a lifetime for the horse's small breeder, only makes this story even sorrier.

Racing is in trouble all around the world, and every trainer, owner and breeder is beholden to maintain the highest standards of welfare at whatever level of the sport at which they participate, even if that means resting a horse rather than reaching for the corticosteroids to perform permitted veterinary procedures. In fact, especially so. 

Without the horses, racing is nothing. If we continue to allow situations which appear to show horses being abused in the name of our entertainment, then we will have nothing, and that is all that we deserve. 

Clutching at straws in the maelstrom of this latest bad-news incident for racing, the one positive aspect is the loyalty shown by Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan to the trainer in the aftermath of Sunday's revelations. He ended his verbal show of support for Baffert with the phlegmatic line, “This, too, shall pass.”

It not only shows a temperament which looks ideally suited to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune which racing can often throw at its participants, but a sense of loyalty which is all too often missing in the sport. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be misplaced.

The post The Weekly Wrap: Trials And Tribulation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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