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Suave Richard’s Regaleira First Filly To Take G1 Hopeful Stakes

Suave Richard (Jpn), Japanese Champion Freshman Sire elect, sired his first Group 1 winner with the victory of his Regaleira (Jpn) in the 2000-metre G1 Hopeful S. at Nakayama on Thursday. The filly is the first of her sex to land the race since it was upgraded to Group 1 level in 2017.

Jointly favoured with Susumu Fujita's Group 3 winner and €2.1 million Arqana August yearling buy Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at 2-1 in this contest, the filly hesitated at the break, and soon trailed third last as Velociraptor (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}) showed the way with a battling Ammothyella (Jpn) (Bricks And Mortar), the other filly in the field. Rounding the first bend, the Northern Farm-bred settled nicely, as several rivals ahead of her had a rough time of it. The first 1000 metres was covered in 1:00 by Velociraptor, while still pressed by the persistent Ammothyella. Regaleira was already making up ground from the rear as the field entered the final turn. Winding her way towards the front, she was forced widest of all entering the home straight as Shin Emperor got first jump on the field, quickly seized the advantage and set sail for home.

Regaleira was also letting down strongly with Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) to her inside. She drew even with Shin Emperor, who immediately fought back, but she just edged that determined foe to win by a three-quarters of a length in 2:00.20, a new stakes record. Sunrise Zipangu was third two lengths behind, another three-quarters of a length in front of Admiral Ship (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}). Tariff Line (Jpn) (Satono Diamond {Jpn}) went wrong on the bend and was pulled up by Tom Marquand.

The first six home all broke :36 seconds for their respective final 600 metres, but Regaleira showed the fastest turn of foot, finishing in :35 flat. Her owner, Sunday Racing, has indicated that the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) versus males is under consideration next year.

“We had to travel near the rear because the filly missed her break, but she was very calm after that,” Christophe Lemaire said of the great granddaughter of the blue hen Wind In Her Hair (Ire) (Alzao). “She responded well at last two corners and, after I steered her to the outside, displayed an incredible late charge. I look forward to her performances next year, and I think a longer distance would also suit her.”

A first-out winner over 1800 metres at Hakodate in July, the bay took third in the Listed Ivy S. at Tokyo over that trip when resuming on Oct. 21. The Hopeful was her first foray into group company.

Pedigree Notes

A member of the first crop of G1 Japan Cup and G1 Osaka Hai hero Suave Richard, Regaleira is one of two stakes winners besides G2 Keio Hai Nisai S. winner Corazon Beat (Jpn). He stands firmly on top of the Japanese first-season sires' list by earnings with over ¥400,000,000 (£2,224,532/€2,558,377/$2,834,795) to his credit and 21 winners so far. Other progeny to have claimed black-type are G3 Sapporo Nisai S. second Power Hall (Jpn), and G2 Hai Nisai S. third Namura Hooker (Jpn).

The third foal out of the Harbinger (GB) mare Roca (Jpn), Regaleira is also the third winner for her, and is a half-sister to the G3 Mainichi Hai third Douradores (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}). Her dam, too, was a first-out 1800-metre scorer as a juvenile, although in her case, she trotted up at Kyoto before running third in the G3 Daily Hai Queen Cup when unveiled at three later in her career. Since foaling the winner, Roca has a yearling filly by Cheval Grand (Jpn), from the Heart's Cry (Jpn) branch of the Sunday Silence line, and a weanling filly by Stay Gold (Jpn) horse Indy Champ (Jpn). Out of a Dance In The Dark (Jpn) half-sister to a quartet of stakes winners led by the late dual Japanese Horse of the Year and supersire Deep Impact (Jpn), she was covered by Leontes (Jpn) this spring.

 

Thursday, Nakayama, Japan
HOPEFUL S.-G1, ¥135,800,000, Nakayama, 12-28, 2yo, 2000mT, 2:00.20, fm.
1–REGALEIRA (JPN), 121, f, 2, by Suave Richard (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Roca (Jpn), by Harbinger (GB)
                2nd Dam: Land's Edge (Jpn), by Dance in the Dark(Jpn)
                3rd Dam: Wind in Her Hair (Ire), by Alzao
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. 1ST GROUP 1 WIN.
O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Tetsuya Kimura;
J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥71,260,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-1,
¥154,039,000. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Shin Emperor (Fr), 123, c, 2, Siyouni (Fr)–Starlet's Sister(Ire),
by Galileo (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€2,100,000 Ylg
'22 ARQAUG). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Ecurie Des Monceaux (Fr);
¥28,360,000.
3–Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Kizuna (Jpn)–Saimaa (Ire), by
Zoffany (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK
   TYPE. (¥64,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHAJUL). O-Life House; B-Oiwake
Farm (Jpn); ¥18,180,000.
Margins: 3/4, 2, 3/4. Odds: 2.10, 2.10, 127.70.
Also Ran: Admiral Ship (Jpn), Mr G T (Jpn), Sirius Colt (Jpn), Shonan la Punta (Jpn), In the Moment (Jpn), Di Speranza (Jpn), Velociraptor (Jpn), Hortbagy (Jpn), Win Maximum (Jpn), Ten Ace One (Jpn), Century Bond (Jpn), Ammothyella (Jpn). DNF: Tariff Line (Jpn). Scratched: Gonbade Qabus (Jpn), Sunrise Earth (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video.

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Frankel Waltzes to a Second Sires’ Championship 

Frankel (GB) has recaptured the crown he first wore in 2021 and is the champion sire in Britain and Ireland for 2023, as well as being the leading sire in Europe, for the second time. It won't be the last.

Whether or not he will be able to emulate the long reigns of his sire Galileo (Ire) and grandsire Sadler's Wells remains to be seen, but it would be unwise to bet against it. Yes, Frankel's launch into his stud career was the stallion equivalent of being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, so great was the support from major international breeders from the outset, but there have been plenty of examples of that not equating to a horse becoming a top sire. Frankel is just that, any way you look at it.

He is quickly being joined at stud by a number of his best sons, and there are plenty to choose from. This year alone in Britain, the trio of Chaldean (GB), Mostahdaf (Ire) and Triple Time (Ire) join the Newmarket powerhouses of Juddmonte, Shadwell and Darley, while Onesto (Ire) is now at Haras d'Etreham in France. Irish Derby winner Hurricane Lane (Ire) joins the National Hunt ranks where St Leger winner Logician (GB) already resides, and Derby winner Adayar (Ire) and another Irish Derby winner, Westover (GB), have headed east to Japan. That's seven new Group 1-winning sons of Frankel in one year's intake alone.

Frankel has won this year's championship in a manner not dissimilar to his performances on the track: by a wide margin. His progeny earnings in Britain and Ireland of just over £7 million put him almost £3 million clear of last year's champion Dubawi (Ire), with a margin of roughly £30,000 separating the runner-up and third-placed Dark Angel (Ire). In fact, it was pretty tightly packed among the first six horses in Frankel's wake.

To return to the champion momentarily, his 39 stakes winners worldwide in 2023 (23 in Britain and Ireland) included his 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean, who now stands alongside him at Banstead Manor Stud, Soul Sister (GB), who became his second winner of the Oaks, Inspiral (GB), who recorded her sixth Group/Grade 1 win at Santa Anita at the Breeders' Cup, and her fellow Group 1 winners Nashwa (GB) and Jannah Rose (Ire). Three of these four fillies/mares remain in training, with Jannah Rose's immediate future yet to be decided. 

Dubawi is also not short of the company of his sons at stud either. On the Darley roster alone, there is Night Of Thunder (Ire) (who is 12th on this year's table), along with Ghaiyyath (Ire), Space Blues (Ire) and Too Darn Hot (GB), and that group has been bolstered by the arrival of Modern Games (Ire), a Group/Grade 1 winner at two, three and four. Dubawi's wide-margin G1 National S. winner Henry Longfellow (Ire), out of the champion mare Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}, should be high among his Classic colts to follow next year.

Good old Dark Angel. There is little doubt that his books will have risen in quality over the years but he would not be covering as many bluebloods as Frankel and Dubawi. He has been in the top seven sires in the last six years and takes third again, equalling his best performance of 2020. The six-year-old Art Power (Ire) typifies Dark Angel's profile as a sire who provides stock that are generally fast and hardy. Art Power is classy too, and he brought the curtain down on a good year for his father with victory in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint.

Three of the stallions to have finished in the top 20 in Britain and Ireland for the year are no longer with us. Galileo (Ire), for so long such a dominant force in Europe, and Deep Impact (Jpn), of whom the same can be said in Japan, died in 2021 and 2019 respectively. Recently Ballyhane Stud lost its stalwart Dandy Man (Ire), who ends this year in 19th place in the table and was one of only five stallions to sire 100 or more winners this year.

Galileo, 12 times the champion sire, took the fourth spot, with the dual Group 1 winner Warm Heart (Ire) being his stand-out performer of the year from his 15 stakes winners in Britain and Ireland, which put him third in this sector behind only Frankel and Dubawi. 

Not surprisingly, Deep Impact had only 11 runners in Britain and Ireland this year, but four of them won, and when one of those is the dual Derby and Irish Champion S. winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) then a decent slot in the table is guaranteed. The late Shadai stallion duly finished in 13th place.

In fifth was France's leading sire Siyouni (Fr), who had another banner year beyond his home country, with Paddington (GB) and Tahiyra (Fr) winning the Irish 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas respectively, before landing another five Group 1 victories between them. Paddington becomes the third son of Siyouni to join the Coolmore roster after Sottsass (Fr) and St Mark's Basilica (Fr).

Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) ensured that two Aga Khan Studs stallions made the top six. King George hero Hukum (Ire) was of course his best runner. He is now at stud in Japan, while we live in hope that the G1 Coronation Cup winner Emily Upjohn (GB) returns to training next year having not been seen since finishing seventh behind Hukum at Ascot in July.

The 103 British and Irish winners (and 11 stakes winners) for Kingman (GB) this year came at a 50% strike-rate to put him in seventh position, one ahead of the prolific Kodiac (GB), who is the leader by number of winners on 118 and was also represented by nine stakes winners.

Lope De Vega (Ire) was another member of the quintet with winners into three figures – 101 and eight stakes winners. No Nay Never completes the top ten with nine stakes winners to his credit, including new Coolmore stallion Little Big Bear (Ire).

Of those bubbling just under, it is hard not to think that we won't see Wootton Bassett (GB) shooting up the charts from next year. His 11th place finish in 2023 came from just 58 runners in Britain and Ireland, around a quarter of the number fielded by most of those names above him. 

From 2024, we will see the first two-year-old runners to have been conceived following his move to Ireland, and Wootton Bassett was represented by three new Group/Grade 1 winners this year in three different countries. The hugely likeable King Of Steel was his real talking horse, and he returns next year, along with the Classic prospect Unquestionable (Fr) and Bucanero Fuerte (GB).

The dependable Derby winners Australia (GB) and Camelot (GB) were also in the top 20, along with Classic sire Nathaniel (Ire), who is surely one of the best value elite stallions in Britain. 

An honourable mention must also go to Havana Grey (GB), who in 16th was the youngest of the top 20 finishers with only two crops to have raced for him so far, and eight stakes winners to his credit this year. And let's not forget Muhaarar (GB), which is what many perhaps tried to do when he left Shadwell to stand at Haras des Faunes in France in 2022. Now that people have worked out that most of his progeny are not sprinters, as he was, we can also admit that he's not a bad sire at all. He's had a jolly good year, in fact, with Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire) leading the charge and backed up by G2 Princess of Wales S. winner Israr (GB) and Group/Grade 3 winners Annaf (Ire) and Motorious (GB) among his nine stakes winners worldwide (four in Britain in Ireland). Muhaarar is on the move again and will stand at Haras de Petit Tellier in 2024.

France and Germany

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is such a valuable race that it usually guarantees French champion status (or thereabouts) to the sire of the winner.

Last year Frankel took the title, thanks largely to his wonderful daughter Alpinista (GB) but this year he has to play second fiddle to his son Cracksman (GB), sire of the brilliant Ace Impact (Ire). Frankel's influence loomed large in the Arc trifecta, with his sons Westover and Onesto taking second and third.

Of the stallions standing in France, Siyouni continues to stand tall and was third in the French table overall, with his daughter Mqse De Sevigne (Fr) landing a notable Group 1 double for her owner-breeder, the outgoing France Galop president Edouard de Rothschild. Siyouni notched the highest number of winners (66), and had Wootton Bassett just behind him in the table in fourth.

Next for the home team came Anodin (Ire), who was sixth overall with 60 winners and his first Group 1 winner, King Gold (Fr), in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. Dabirsim (Fr), now at Haras de Montaigu and sire of the multiple group winner Horizon Dore (Fr) this year, came next, while Zarak (Fr), another to have a first Group 1 winner his year when Zagrey (Fr) won the Grosser Preis von Baden, was ninth overall.

It is worth noting that, along with Zagrey, Zarak had another seven group winners this year: three more in Germany, and one in America. This unsurprisingly put him high in the German table in fourth position, with Straight (Ger) having won the G2 Union Rennen, while Shagara (Ire) won the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin and Princess Zelda (Ger) took the G3 Mehl-Mulhens-Trophy.

King of the hill in Germany, however, was Sea The Moon (Ger), which is no surprise given that he supplied the G1 Deutsches Derby winner Fantastic Moon (Ger) and the first three home in the G1 Preis der Diana, led by Muskoka (Ger). The Lanwades resident had another three group winners in Germany in 2023, as well as one each in Ireland, America and Italy.

Separating Sea The Moon and Zarak was the late duo of Areion (Ger) and Adlerflug (Ger), and special mention must go to Iquitos (Ger), who finished seventh in the table despite having had just five runners. That quintet included the stakes winners Mr Hollywood (Ire) and Drawn To Dream (Ire), both bred by Gestut Ammerland from Hurricane Run (Ire) mares.

 

 

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TDN Horses of the Year: Quickthorn 

Continuing the profiles of the favourite horses of TDN Europe's editorial team in 2023, Heather Anderson selects a bold frontrunner with huge reserves of stamina.

At first glance, the admirable Quickthorn (GB), by Newsells Park Stud's perpetually under-appreciated Nathaniel (Ire), had compiled a fairly successful record as a member of the staying ranks throughout his five-year career prior to his Goodwood heroics this August. However, the Lady Blyth homebred elevated his game to another level when taking the G1 Goodwood Cup this summer, and it was the manner in which he did it, that made this the performance of the year for me.

The Hughie Morrison trainee first came to my attention in August of 2022, when winning the G2 Lonsdale Cup S. at York as, from my home in America, that was my first opportunity to stream one of his races live. Teaming up with regular pilot Tom Marquand, Quickthorn delivered a front-end processional performance and I marked him down as one of my horses to follow. Granted, Quickthorn's proclivity for excelling when out on his lonesome was not exactly a state secret, as he'd earlier won the G3 Henry II S. and G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil in the spring and summer of 2022 utilising similar tactics.

He put me in mind of noted U.S.-based frontrunner Presious Passion (Royal Anthem), a two-time winner of the GI United Nations S. at Monmouth Park in New Jersey (2008/2009), who gave Conduit (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) a scare in the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Turf when just failing to last.

Needless to say, Quickthorn, a son of three-time winner Daffydowndilly (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and one of six winners from six foals of racing age from his dam, is well suited to his profession as a quality stayer. He has proven time and again that he not only has the stamina, but also a truly devastating cruising speed, if allowed to employ it. Indeed, immediately prior to the Goodwood Cup, the gelding had landed a listed race at York, giving the impression that he was rounding back into his late-summer form of the season before.

So, it was at first with bemusement and then with incredulous glee that I saw the 6-year-old bowling along alone on the lead over the Goodwood turf, a chilly Marquand doing his best statue impression (video). The margin between Quickthorn and his rivals increased with every stride the farther they travelled from the starting stalls.

Surely, with all the experienced and feted jockeys signed on–Dettori, Moore, Buick and Murphy to name a few–they wouldn't let Marquand and Quickthorn just gallop? The rest of the 11-horse field was loaded with quality horses, with no less than three Group 1 winners in attendance–Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}). Most of the remainder had at least one group title to their names, befitting the sheer class of one of the preeminent staying challenges of the British Flat season.

Despite the quality of the competition, it was worth remembering that Quickthorn, a proven stayer, would not fold once the real running began. The multiple group winner belonged in a field of this calibre, and had developed a reputation of being an especially tough nut to crack when given his ideal set up. And they gave it to him–a critical miscalculation–on a silver platter.

Running through my mind as the race unfolded was the simple fact that he shouldn't be able to get away with this in a Group 1 race. These were some of the best stayers and jockeys in the world. They knew his game and they knew it before the stalls ever opened. Surely at least one of the rival jockeys would send their mount to apply some pressure?

By the time the final quarter-mile was reached and the multi-pronged chasing pack was mounting a fruitless challenge a short time later, I was hard pressed to remember when was the last time I'd enjoyed watching a race to this extent. And it was this enjoyment, of watching a horse and rider in their undisputed element, that made the race linger in my mind long after Quickthorn and Marquand continued their relentless gallop all the way to the winning post. Nigh uncatchable. 

A tip of the cap to Quickthorn, who was later nominated for the 2023 Cartier Stayer award, and to his connections. It was truly a delight and privilege to watch.

 

 

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TDN Horses of the Year: Big Rock

   Continuing the profiles of the favourite horses of TDN Europe's editorial team in 2023, Emma Berry selects the French raider who took QIPCO British Champions Day by storm.

I'd been impressed by Christopher Head since the day I first visited his stable in July 2019 and found him on the end of a broomstick sweeping the floor outside the rented boxes of the five horses he had in training at that time.

His ascent has been rapid, and by now his string must be 20 times that size. And, yes, he has a surname that would open doors in France and beyond, but it is hard not to respect the progress made within the short time Head has been training. In 2023, his first Classic win with Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), who had also been his first Group 1 winner in the previous season's Prix Marcel Boussac, was followed by his first Group 1 success outside France.

Big Rock (Ire) first caught the eye with his dominant performance in the G3 Prix La Force at Longchamp. Off he went in front, and when Padishakh (Fr) came for him in the straight, he kicked again, repelling that challenger and ultimately winning eased down. This he repeated, even more impressively, when winning the G3 Prix de Guiche at Chantilly, with Aurelien Lemaitre simply having to coax him with hands and heels to put five lengths between himself and Horizon Dore (Fr). The runner-up would go on to record four straight stakes wins including two Group 2s.

Big Rock stepped up to the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and, for much of the race, the front-running son of Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) looked as though he would once again have things all his own way before Ace Impact (Ire) set sail from the back of the pack.

Chalk and cheese in their running styles, the trail-blazing Big Rock and stalking Ace Impact set the French scene alight this year. While the latter continued to storm through his season unbeaten, deploying a similarly devastating late turn of foot to win the Arc before retiring to stud, Big Rock thrice ran into just one that would get the better of him. They were good ones, mind. Inspiral (GB) took his scalp the next time in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, and then Sauterne (Fr) in the G1 Prix du Moulin. But then came Ascot.

There is often much gnashing of teeth in the build-up to QIPCO British Champions Day, which is usually accompanied by typically wet autumn weather, making the ground testing. It was no problem for Big Rock, however, who coped with the soft ground just as he had done in his five-length romp at Chantilly in May, turning his seasonal finale into a procession.

This time it was a six-length pasting he gave his rivals in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., making all to rout a quality field that included the multiple Group 1 winners Tahiyra (Ire), Nashwa (GB), Paddington (GB) and Chaldean (GB). A dazzling performance to cut through the gloom of the day.

Big Rock looks a big star in the making for his late sire who had his own dazzling brand of magic over a mile, and the Yeguada Centurion homebred has a strong pedigree to recommend him once he makes it to stud. His Aga Khan-bred dam, by Sea The Stars (Ire), is out of a half-sister to one of that stallion's best sons, the dual Derby winner Harzand (Ire). But before we even think about his stallion career, let's applaud his owner Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals for allowing him to race on and enjoy Big Rock back on the track in 2024.

 

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