Weekly Wrap: A Legend Departs

One horse overshadowed all other news items of the past week as the bloodstock world came to terms with the death of Galileo (Ire) at the age of 23. 

Fulsome tributes have been paid to him from across the globe with the overwhelming feeling being that we will never see his like again. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that many of us felt the same when his own extraordinary sire Sadler's Wells died 10 years ago. That colossus of the breeding world appeared in the third or fourth generation of four group winners at Newmarket's July meeting–Starman (GB), Snow Lantern (GB), Sir Ron Priestley (GB) and Sandrine (GB). That's just a snapshot of course, but it is indicative of how Sadler's Wells still shapes the modern-day Thoroughbred even a decade after his death, and often through that most effective of conduits, Galileo. The same will be true of Galileo in the decades to come.

As the suffixes of the above-named horses show, British breeders enjoyed a good week in Newmarket, with both Group 1 races falling to relatively small operations. David Ward's pride and joy Starman, a son of Dutch Art (GB), gave his breeder deserved compensation for having to miss Royal Ascot with both his intended Group 1 starters when the weather turned foul. 

When interviewed by TDN in May, Ward outlined his hopes for a future stud career for the Ed Walker-trained Starman, whose sole defeat in six starts came in very soft ground on Champions Day last year. Swerving that soft ground again at the Royal Meeting was understandable, and Starman now has the Darley July Cup on his CV along with the G2 Duke Of York S. 

Snow Lantern, who became the fifth Group 1 winner this year for Frankel (GB) when winning the Falmouth S., compensated for the narrow defeat in the same race as her Classic-winning mother Sky Lantern (Ire) (Red Clubs {Ire}) and become the first top-level winner for Ben and Martha Keswick's Rockliffe Stud. The Gloucestershire farm is home to their nine broodmares and Snow Lantern will presumably eventually return there herself, through encouragingly the Keswicks have expressed a wish for the loose-moving grey to race on at four.

The two Group 1 winners at the July meeting are also a feather in the cap of Ed Sackville, who is the bloodstock advisor for both Rockliffe Stud and David Ward, who keeps his mares at Whatton Manor Stud.

Bobby's Girl

The smartest of the juvenile fillies at this stage of the season is certainly Kirsten Rausing's homebred Sandrine (GB), who represents the fourth generation of Lanwades' Sushila (Ire) family. Just as the unbeaten Sandrine–who added the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S to her victory in the Group 3 win at Royal Ascot–is helping to raise the profile of her young sire Bobby's Kitten, so did Sushila's son Petoski (GB) for his sire Niniski. 

The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner of 1985, Petoski was a member of the first crop of Niniski, the first stallion stood by Rausing after her purchase of Lanwades Stud in 1980. Petoski's victory in the G2 Vintage S., along with the success of that season's champion 2-year-old Kala Dancer (GB), helped Niniski–winner of the Irish St Leger and Prix Royal-Oak–on his way to becoming the champion first-season sire of 1984. He was later succeeded at Lanwades by his Classic-winning son Hernando (Fr).

It would be fair to say that Rausing wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to her own stallions and, in a terrific season for runners bearing her famous white-and-green-hooped colours, it is a good bet that none has given her more satisfaction than Sandrine, who at this early stage is the ante-post favourite for the 1000 Guineas.

Her victory continued a real purple patch for Rausing, who the previous weekend had celebrated the success of Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G2 Lancashire Oaks. Rausing's most recent Group 1 victory came with Madame Chiang (GB) (Archipenko) in the British Champions Fillies & Mares S., and it would be no surprise to see Sandrine or Alpinista add to that tally before long. 

Andrew Balding, who is also enjoying a fine season, indicated that he would like to give Sandrine a brief spell before tackling the G1 Cheveley Park S., a race the trainer won last year with Jeff Smith's Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never).

The latter, who has gone on to win the G1 Coronation S. this season, had to settle for third in the Falmouth behind Snow Lantern, but Smith's colours were spotted in the winner's enclosure on the July Course aboard Frankella (GB), the second foal of his talented but tiny G1 Juddmonte International winner Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

The maiden win for the juvenile filly was another example of Frankel working well with a Dubawi mare. The same cross has been season this season in Derby winner Adayar (Ire) and listed winner Mostahdaf (Ire), as well as Frankella's full-brother Spirit Mixer (GB). The 2019 G1 Jebel Hatta winner Dream Castle is also by Frankel and out of Dubawi's Group 2-winning daughter Sand Vixen (GB).

Brothers In Command

The draft of Shadwell fillies, mares and horses in training accounted for almost a sixth of the turnover at a very strong edition of the Tattersalls July Sale last week, and runners bred by the late Sheikh Hamdan also fared well on the track. 

Vying for leading honours were the full-brothers Hukum (Ire) and Baaeed (GB), sons of Sea The Stars (Ire) and the listed winner Aghareed (Kingmambo) trained respectively by Owen Burrows and William Haggas.

Hukum, now four, was a star for Burrows last season, winning the King George V S. at Royal Ascot before landing the G3 Geoffrey Freer S. and finishing fifth in the St Leger. He has continued in similar vein this year with a listed win at Goodwood in May and now his second group win in York's John Smith's Silver Cup.

This came two days after his year-younger sibling Baaeed remained unbeaten when posting one of the most visually impressive wins of the meeting at Newmarket in the listed Sir Henry Cecil S. Baaeed looks capable of contesting bigger and better targets, and though his three wins have all come at a mile, he should be effective over further. His dam won the listed Prix de Liancourt over 10 furlongs for John Hammond, and she is out of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Lahudood (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), herself a great grand-daughter of Height Of Fashion. 

Another mare in line for top broodmare honours this year is Susan Hearn's Reckoning (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), though there were mixed fortunes for her two star offspring last week.

On the day that Sir Ron Priestley (GB) (Australia {GB}) posted his third stakes win of the season after returning from a 571-day absence, it was revealed that his half-brother, the impressive Ascot Gold Cup winner Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), has suffered a leg injury and has been ruled out of running again this season, if not for good.

That regrettable news, particularly for Subjectivist's owner Dr Jim Walker, was partially softened by the latest hard-earned success of Paul Dean's Sir Ron Priestley, who ground out his second Group 2 win in the Princess of Wales's S. in utterly determined fashion over the strongly backed Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). We may see him next in the King George unless he is supplemented to take his brother's place in the Goodwood Cup.

Ireland On Tour

Aidan O'Brien would certainly have preferred to see Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) notch a double at Epsom, but instead their Derby and Oaks wins came in the New York version, with Ryan Moore in the saddle for both Grade 1 victories at Belmont Park. Santa Barbara's win is particularly noteworthy as she becomes the third consecutive Group/Grade 1 winner for her dam Senta's Dream (GB) (Danehill) after Iridessa (Ire) (Ruler Of The World {Ire}) and Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}).

The overseas runners from Ireland were rampant at the weekend with Ken Condon taking another Group 1 at Deauville in the Prix Jean Prat with Laws Of Indices (Ire) (Power {GB}), who finished just a head in front of the Joseph O'Brien-trained Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The latter, like Santa Barbara, was bred by Aidan and Annemarie O'Brien's Whisperview Trading.

They were backed up by the victory of the Jessica Harrington runner Loch Lein (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a homebred for Denis and Joan Brosnan of Crooom House Stud, in the listed Prix Amandine. 

Laws Of Indices may well go down as the bargain buy of the year, though he has a rival in that department in Helvic Dream (Ire), who less than two months ago became the first Group 1 winner for their sire Power when defeating Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Helvic Dream was a €12,000 Tattersalls Ireland September yearling bought by Peter Nolan, while Laws Of Indices was bought for €8,000 by Dermot Farrington at the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale.

Laws Of Indices had already proved himself a talented individual last season when beating Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) to win the G2 Railway S. He is a fine advertisement for the ability of his trainer who also sent out last year's G2 Lowther S. winner Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}). The filly was another value buy as a £7,500 Ascot yearling after selling for just €1,000 as a foal.

They followed the 2019 G1 Prix Jacques le Marois victory of the Condon-trained Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who has just completed his first season at Haras de Bouquetot.

It was also a good week for Power's sire Oasis Dream (GB), who was represented by the winner of the G2 Superlative S., Native Trail (GB). The colt had been a decent pinhook by Norman Williamson, who bought him for 67,000gns through Mags O'Toole at Book 1 and resold him at Tattersalls in April at the Craven Breeze-up sale for 210,000gns to Godolphin. Native Trail, who is unbeaten in two starts, became the fourth winner of the Superlative S. For Charlie Appleby in the last six years following Boynton (GB), Quorto (Ire) and Master Of The Seas (Ire).

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Classic Clues in Abundance on Sunday

There is no doubt that the Flat is back on Sunday, with the action at Leopardstown and ParisLongchamp featuring several Classic contenders jostling for position. In the G3 Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” 1000 Guineas Trial at the Foxrock venue, Coolmore hold a strong hand with last year's G1 Moyglare Stud S. heroine Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) saddled with just a three-pound penalty despite those exploits. Ryan Moore has picked her over Aidan O'Brien's promising maiden winners Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Joan of Arc  (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with their illustrious pedigrees suggesting there could be plenty to come as 2021 rolls on. Joan Brosnan's Loch Lein (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was impressive when winning a six-furlong maiden at Cork in September and represents the Jessie Harrington yard, while Shadwell's Mehnah (GB) (Frankel {GB}) looked a filly with a bright future when scoring on her debut over seven furlongs at Dundalk in September.

While the Listed Ballylinch Stud “Red Rocks” 2000 Guineas Trial S. lacks the same strength as the fillies' version, there is nevertheless intrigue with a clutch of aspiring Classic protagonists attempting to meet the form standard of Shadwell's G2 Beresford S. runner-up Monaasib (GB) (Bobby's Kitten) and Jim Bolger's G3 Killavullan S. scorer Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}). Of the Ballydoyle trio, Ryan Moore has opted to ride the Mar. 21 Curragh maiden scorer Horoscope (Ire) (No Nay Never) while in the 10-furlong G3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax S. he is on Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was fifth in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October. Another of Rosegreen's Derby types is the Dundalk maiden winner Lough Derg (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while the Harrington stable puts forward Fiona Carmichael's Naas maiden scorer Taipan (Fr) (Frankel {GB}). There is also the G3 Eyrefield S. first and second Flying Visit (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) and Wuqood (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), with the latter carrying TDN Rising Star status for Shadwell and Dermot Weld.

At ParisLongchamp, the 10-furlong G2 Prix d'Harcourt boasts Jean-Claude Seroul's high-class Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) bidding for a seventh Pattern-race success as he meets Jean-Louis Bouchard's returning G2 Prix Greffulhe winner and G1 Grand Prix de Paris third and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe fourth Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}). The card's nine-furlong G3 Prix la Force sees G1 Prix du Jockey Club hopefuls go to post including Godolphin's Erasmo (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who captured Chantilly's seven-furlong Listed Prix Saraca in October, while in the G3 Prix Vanteaux over the same trip the cast of fillies is headed by Miguel Castro Megias's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and G3 Prix Francois Boutin winner Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}). Only second in Saint-Cloud's Listed Prix la Camargo Mar. 21, she faces Juddmonte's exciting Petricor (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who won her sole start over 7 1/2 furlongs at Deauville in August when the Camargo winner Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) was last. In the G3 Prix Noailles over the Jockey Club trip of 10 1/2 furlongs, Bernard Giraudon's progressive Pretty Tiger (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) looks to re-establish his dominance over another Juddmonte representative in Media Stream (GB) (Frankel {GB}) with the pair separated by seven lengths when first and third in the Listed Prix Francois Mathet at Saint-Cloud Mar. 21.

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Jessica Harrington: Covid Casts A Different Light On Communication

It has been a strange year and the Covid pandemic has meant that we have had to revolutionise the way we try to keep owners informed. We use a very good system now called Racing Manager and we do a lot of videoing of the horses, talking to their lads, talking to the jockeys. Because people haven't been allowed to come racing we interview the jockeys in the parade ring before racing, take photos of the horses in the parade ring and afterwards and then another video with the jockey's summing up of the race, whether good, bad or indifferent. It's something we have really had to embrace—normally we would ring people but now we have really had to step outside the box and I hope owners have found it useful. 

We don't just do the horses, we have been making funny videos around the yard as well and just trying to make it as though the owners were here. Some people haven't been able to see their horses for well over a year or 18 months, so it's very strange. Some people in Ireland have been able to get down to the yard when they can but for the people who are abroad, very few of them have even been able to get into Ireland.

On the Racing Manager the owners also get pedigree updates if anything else in the family has won, which is great as it can be hard to keep track of all of that. I find it a very good platform to keep people informed.

I have a horse for the Irish National Stud, Kojin (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), which is part of their racing club, and they get great fun out of the app when the videos go up; there are always lots of replies to it and I hope it makes the club members really feel involved, not just in their horse but in every horse in the stable.

We've recently launched a new website and I think it's really important for the fans of racing as well, to see videos of the horses that they've been following on social media or on the website, especially when they haven't been able to go racing.

There's no doubt that Covid has made us look at things in a completely different way.

Roll on the Flat

We're looking forward to the Flat season. We have around 70 2-year-olds coming in and this year for the first year I actually have quite a few more older horses, and that's rather exciting that so many of them have remained in training.

Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), Cayenne Pepper (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Valeria Messalina (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and Silence Please (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) all won either Group or Listed races last year and they have all stayed in training. 

Then of the colts and geldings we have the Niarchos Family's Free Solo (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), who has run very little in his career but he was placed twice in listed races last year and he is now back as a 4-year-old. Then I have the 4-year-old Lobo Rojo (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) for Ballylinch Stud. Leo De Fury (Ire) (Australia {GB}) has also stayed in training. He's now five and was a Group 2 winner last year for Zhang Yuesheng, who has also has the 4-year-old Harpocrates (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) who won up in Dundalk recently. Indigo Balance (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who was second at the Curragh on Sunday, has come back from Australia. I trained him as a 2-year-old and he then went to Peter and Paul Snowden. He returned in the middle of last year but he took a long while to acclimatise so he didn't run last season. 

Then there's Njord (Ire) (Roderic O'Connor {Ire}), who who won the big handicap at Ascot on Champions Day, and of the fillies I have Flor De La Luna (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), who won a maiden in the autumn for her breeder Kirsten Rausing and I think she's a nice filly. 

So I have a really good team of older horses, including a new horse who is new to our yard: King Of Comedy (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). It will be interesting to see how he gets on. I'm not sure I'll ever improve on John Gosden but he came to me in the autumn and he is pencilled in for a race on Sunday at Naas, but it will depend on what the ground is like. 

The Younger Brigade

Among the 3-year-olds we have the two good Lope De Vega (Ire) colts Lucky Vega (Ire) and Cadillac (Ire). I think they will both go directly to their respective Classic targets: Cadillac will go to the Irish 2000 Guineas and Lucky Vega will go to Newmarket. That's my thinking at the moment but I reserve the right to change my mind! 

Then there are quite a few 3-year-old colts who have just had the one or two runs which I think are quite exciting, like Taipan (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), who won on his only start for Fiona Carmichael, Ace Aussie (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Mcpherson (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) and Hell Bent (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire})—the types that were always going to be 3-year-olds.

We are also lucky to have some nice 3-year-old fillies with Classic entries. Oonadatta (Ire) (Australia {GB}) was very good last year and was placed in the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.  She and Sacred Rhyme (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Loch Lein (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), No Speak Alexander (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}), Golden Lyric (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Zaffy's Pride (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) all seem to have done well over the winter. And of corse there are some that didn't run last year who were never going to be 2-year-olds, such as Pappina (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who has an Irish Oaks entry. I feel I have a really nice balance of horses.

On the 2-year-old front I have some really well-bred horses including the full-sister to Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) who is called Discoveries (Ire), and a filly by Sea The Stars (Ire) out of Green Room who probably won't make a 2-year-old but she is a lovely filly and is a half-sister to the Group 1 winners Together Forever (Ire) and Forever Together (Ire). It's really exciting to have a nice bunch of 2-year-olds but we don't know how fast they can go yet.

We also have the full-brother to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) named Paris Lights (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) for his Australian breeder Bob Scarborough who also co-owns Oonadatta. Bob is a fantastic and very enthusiastic owner and we've enjoyed increasing the Australian connections in our yard, which includes OTI Racing and several Australian members of our Alpha Racing syndicate which we are running again this year with eight 2-year-olds. 

Syndicates The Way Forward

Alpha Racing was set up by Richie Galway with Patrick Cooper doing the buying and it's in its third year now. The members of the syndicate have had a lot of fun so far, especially with Cadillac, and we're trying to set up some more syndicates on a slightly different level, basically with the aim of trying to get younger and new people into racing. 

The It's All About The Girls syndicate is still going strong and they have one 3-year-old and three 2-year-olds to race this year. They've been a very lucky syndicate and have had winners every year and for a small investment. It's been great fun, which is what it's all about. 

We are fortunate that the investment in Irish racing from overseas has remained strong even throughout this difficult year, and equally importantly the smaller syndicates are still going. That's the one thing I thought might be affected; I was worried that perhaps people might give up when they couldn't go racing. But thankfully most people are hanging in there and saying 'at least we have the racing'. They are able to watch it and still get great fun out of that, but of course it is nothing like actually being there when your horse runs. 

I think this year was the first time in 45 years that I haven't been to Cheltenham, but it is as it is. I just hope that when we all get back out there we will be able to remember the art of socialising. 

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