Mishriff Tops Expected Field Of Seven For Saturday’s Coral-Eclipse Stakes

Seven horses will go forward for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park on Saturday, July 3. The 10-furlong Group 1 showpiece takes place over 10 furlongs, forms part of the British Champions Series, and is the first major contest where those from the Classic generation take on their older counterparts.

Heading the market at 13-8 with sponsor Coral is Mishriff for John and Thady Gosden. The 4-year-old has already bagged two very valuable prices overseas this year with victories in the word's most valuable race, the Saudi Cup, and the Group One Dubai Sheema Classic.

Aidan O'Brien has trained five Coral-Eclipse winners and needs one more victory to equal the record of Alec Taylor Jr and Sir Michael Stoute. O'Brien has three horses going forward headed by St Mark's Basilica. The 3-year-old Siyouni colt is a dual Classic winner in France this season, having scooped the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas) and Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) so far in 2021. The Ballydoyle trio is completed by 2019 Juddmonte International hero Japan and Armory, who was a close third behind stable companion Love in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Also going forward are last year's Group 1 QIPCO Champion Stakes hero Addeybb, last seen when landing the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick, Australia in April, and Wonderful Tonight, who was the very impressive winner of the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot on her seasonal reappearance. If successful, 7-year-old Addeybb would create history by becoming the oldest ever winner.

The confirmations are completed by El Drama, a disappointment behind St Mark's Basilica last time but previously a cozy winner of the Listed Dee Stakes at Chester.

David Stevens of Coral said: “In the absence of Lord North, who had been backed into 6-1 for Saturday's race, this year's Coral-Eclipse market is dominated by the last two winners of the Prix du Jockey Club, with the year-older Mishriff just shading favoritism at 13-8, ahead of this year's Chantilly winner, St Mark's Basilica, at 7-4.

“Of the rest, both Addeybb and Wonderful Tonight could both shorten in the betting should plenty of rain fall over Sandown this week.”

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Eclipse Target For St Mark’s Basilica

Dual French Classic winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) looks unlikely to have a rematch this summer with Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), with St Mark's Basilica set to target 10-furlong features like the July 3 G1 Eclipse S., Aug. 18 G1 Juddmonte International and Sept. 11 G1 Irish Champion S.

The Coolmore partners' St Mark's Basilica has gone unbeaten in three runs since taking last year's G1 Dewhurst S., adding the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains over a mile on May 16 and stepping up to 10.5 furlongs to take the G1 Prix du Jockey Club three weeks later. He had the G1 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare back in sixth in the Poulains, and that colt's owner/breeder/trainer Jim Bolger indicated after Poetic Flare's latest win in the G1 St James's Palace S. at Royal Ascot that the colt would stick to a mile for races like the G1 Sussex S. and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois this summer.

“St Mark's is in the mix for the Eclipse; something like that will be the plan for him,” said trainer Aidan O'Brien. “I'd have thought the Eclipse, the Juddmonte and the Irish Champion are all the races we'll be looking at for him. I think at the moment we're happy to keep him at 10 furlongs, but obviously he could drop back. I think that's the sort of plan we're thinking of at the moment.”

O'Brien also provided an update on last week's G1 Prince Of Wales's S. winner Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Last year's champion 3-year-old filly could meet St Mark's Basilica over 10 furlongs this summer, but also has options over 12 furlongs including the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

“Love is good. We're happy with her,” said O'Brien. “Obviously she's done very little since Wednesday, she's only back cantering again now, but we're very happy with her. To do that after a long break, we were delighted. She hadn't had a run since the Yorkshire Oaks so we were delighted. Anything over 10 furlongs or a mile and a half is her all over. She's in the mix for all those types of races now, anything over that trip. It's great to have her started again and now we can look at all those races.”

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Prix Du Jockey Club In The Limelight

Europe's Derby circuit heads from Epsom to Chantilly in the space of 24 hours, with Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club offering a different type of test to its English counterpart without compromising on the degree of challenge. Run right-handed over 10 1/2 furlongs, with the draw all-important heading straight to the first turn, the €1.5 million prize is on its own as a unique “Derby” experience. Since the distance was shortened–controversially to some–from the traditional mile and a half in 2005, a trio of colts have completed a Classic double having also conquered the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains in Shamardal, Lope de Vega (Ire) and Brametot (Ire) (Rajsaman {Fr}). Fortunately, the Coolmore-Ballydoyle axis have long been committed to trying for that feat with the current ParisLongchamp mile Classic hero St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). This race will be staged on a similarly testing surface to that which he relished in the May 16 feature and his draw in two is a significant aid especially as some of his key rivals are out wide.

Despite having won the G1 Dewhurst S. and the Poulains, there is a sense that St Mark's Basilica remains an unknown quantity and Aidan O'Brien was giving nothing away on Saturday. “He's been lovely since the Guineas and it was always the plan to go back to France for the French Derby, so that's where he is,” he said. “We're very happy with him since and looking forward to seeing him run. He hasn't run over that trip, but we're looking forward to seeing it.” The Ballydoyle handler also saddles a live second-string in the impressive G1 Criterium International winner and G1 Irish 2000 Guineas third Van Gogh (American Pharoah) as he looks for a first renewal of the Classic.

“Van Gogh is a quality horse that had a very good run in the Irish 2000 Guineas,” he added. “For him to run that well, as we took our time on him in not a strongly-run race, we were very happy with him. He always works like a horse with plenty of class and with that type of horse you can never be sure until they go there. You would think there is a really good chance he will get a mile and a quarter. I don't think he needs soft ground, as he had some very nice runs here on nice ground.”

This is a fascinating renewal and almost certainly stronger competition than the Poulains, with all the main trial winners engaged. Pascal Bary won this race in its former guise on five occasions and over its new trip with Study of Man (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in 2018. Half of his tally came with the Jean-Louis Bouchard runners Celtic Arms (Fr), Ragmar (Fr) and Blue Canari (Fr) and it is that owner who supplies the stable's contender this year in Baby Rider (Fr) (Gleneagles {Ire}). Successful in three of his four starts, including the G2 Prix Greffulhe over this trip at Saint-Cloud May 1, he is re-opposed by Haras de la Gousserie's runner-up Smile Makers (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) and while he has to improve on that form his trainer is renowned at priming one for this race.

Haras de la Gousserie are also represented by last year's impressive G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), who was eighth but not beaten far in the bunch behind St Mark's Basilica in the Poulains. Pauline Chehboub said of the Frederic Rossi-trained duo, “Sealiway is doing very well. Franck Blondel will be riding him, he rides him every morning and we thought that if Mickael Barzalona was unavailable then Franck would ride him. Contrary to what people say, Sealiway is not just a soft-ground type, he doesn't mind a soft track but he can also act on good ground. The Poule d'Essai is a race to forget–he needs to be bowling along and isn't a colt that can be held up off a four-wide trip. He struggled the whole race. In any case, he is in good order after his Paris-Longchamp exertions and we think he will stay the trip. Smile Makers has every chance. He's a relatively straightforward ride, easy to handle and he has never been out of the first three in his eight races to date. At Saint-Cloud, in the Prix Greffulhe, he raced from the front and battled throughout the straight. Physically speaking, he's a lump and needs to get into racing rhythm that suits him to a tee.”

From Britain, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's El Drama (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) takes part having beaten the subsequent G3 Gallinule S. winner Earlswood (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the Listed Dee S. at Chester May 6, while John Gosden who won his first Jockey Club last year with Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) saddles two live contenders. They are Anthony Oppenheimer's May 13 G2 Dante S. runner-up Megallan (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Juddmonte's 'TDN Rising Star' Derab (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), with the draw doing neither a favour in 15 and 14 respectively. This is Derab's first run over middle distances, having produced a scintillating performance when breaking his maiden over a mile at Newmarket May 14 and the half-brother to Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) is again ridden by Martin Harley.

“Both horses cantered on Friday morning and seem in good form,” Thady Gosden said. “Derab has taken his Newmarket race well and Megallan ran very well in the Dante and has been in good form since. Chantilly is a hard enough track to ride without being drawn out on a wing, but it could have been worse. Martin Harley has ridden there a couple of times and Olivier Peslier [who rides Megallan] could go round there in his sleep, I'd imagine. They're forecast quite a bit of rain. Hopefully the ground doesn't get too soft.”

Stitching the various threads of the trials together is not an easy task, with Wertheimer et Frere's Adhamo (Ire) (Intello {Ger}) winning ParisLongchamp's G3 Prix la Force over nine furlongs Apr. 11 before disappointing when only fourth as favourite for the G3 Prix de Guiche over that trip here a month later. Behind Makaloun (Fr) (Bated Breath {GB}), Millebosc (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) and Fort Payne (Fr) (Rio de la Plata) there, the homebred son of the 2013 Jockey Club hero needs to bounce back. “In terms of ratings, Adhamo is one of the highest in the race. The colt is doing very well and I'm very happy with him,” trainer Freddy Head said. “The trip is not a problem and, if it rains, it won't be a problem either.”

Gerard Augustin-Normand's Millebosc joins Gerard Ryan's G3 Prix Thomas Bryon winner and Criterium International runner-up Normandy Bridge (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) as part of a two-pronged attack from the Stephanie Nigge stable. She said of them, “Millebosc is doing very well. There is a lot of speed in his pedigree, but he ran well over 1800 metres at Chantilly last time. It's not the first time in the history of this race that a colt goes into the race with doubts about his stamina. In Australia, horses run and win over a wide variety of distances. So it's important to give it a try, knowing that horses evolve over time. We're going to ride him in the way which suits him best, namely from the back of the field.”

“Strangely enough, his attempt [when seventh] in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains probably did Normandy Bridge some good,” the trainer added. “Physically, he has improved in condition. He didn't have a hard race and effectively only really raced for 200 metres. After getting going in the final 200 metres, he wasn't blowing afterwards. Gerald Mosse rode him with the future in mind and without being hard on him. Normandy Bridge will have no problem in staying the trip. He is a big colt, with a raking action and is one that needs to race. As he matures and settles better in his races, he will, for sure, be eventually tried over 2400 metres.”

Fort Payne hails from the Nicolas Caullery stable and he said, “This is my first runner in the Jockey Club and we have ambitions. There's no one outstanding colt in the field and we all have a chance of winning. There's no pressure, as they say! I have confidence in my colt and my jockey. I'm hoping that I will have no regrets and that the colt has a clean race. We have done everything right, all his preparation has gone well and there is no adverse weather forecast before the race so we will have no excuses at first glance. Thomas Trullier will ride him and he retains all my confidence as he knows the horse inside out and even better than me, because he has a rider's feel.”

The Aga Khan has seven renewals to his name and alongside Makaloun he also has the unbeaten May 4 Listed Prix de Suresnes winner Saiydabad (Blame), while their trainer Jean-Claude Rouget also supplies White Birch Farm's similarly unbeaten Cheshire Academy (Fr) (Flintshire {GB}). He was handed the Apr. 11 G3 Prix Noailles over this trip at ParisLongchamp upon the disqualification of the Mar. 21 Listed Prix Francois Mathet scorer Pretty Tiger (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) and they re-oppose. Adding further spice from the Czech Republic is Valentin Bukhtoyarov's Royal Word (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Jean-Pierre Deroubaix, representing the owner, said, “Royal Word is coming off two easy wins. Unbeaten this year, he has just won the Czech Guineas. The distance is a question mark, as he has never raced beyond 1800 metres. He was bred at the Haras du Quesnay on behalf of his owner, Valentin Bukhtoyarov, and he wishes to test his horse in a prestige race. An owner whose interests span Western Europe, Russia, the Czech Republic and the US, Valentin Bukhtoyarov likes to have runners at the big international meetings and to share his passion with his friends. For example, he has won the UAE Oaks and is a supporter of racing in Russia, where he sponsors a whole meeting. Valentin Bukhtoyarov also breeds English Thoroughbreds and his mares board at the Haras du Berlais. However, he races mainly in Russia with this breed.”

Sunday's rich card begins with the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly, with last year's G1 Deutsches Derby hero and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runner-up In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}) bidding to build on his cozy win in the G3 Prix d'Hedouville at ParisLongchamp May 13. He meets Abdullah Fahad Ah Al-Attiyah and Gerard Augustin-Normand's 2020 G2 Prix de Malleret winner Vaucelles (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), who drops back to a mile and a half having been runner-up over an extra quarter mile in the Listed Prix Gold River on the same card.

The G2 Prix de Sandringham sees Derek Ronald Lodge and Nicolas Campos's May 16 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches third Kennella (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) take on Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard and Gerard Augustin-Normand's exciting Tahlie (Fr) (Rio de la Plata). Trained by Pascal Bary, Tahlie had the subsequent Pouliches heroine Coeursamba (Fr) (The Wow Signal {Ire}) back in third when winning a conditions event over this mile trip at ParisLongchamp Apr. 22 before coming to this course and distance to add the May 11 Listed Prix des Lilas to her tally. Also in the mix is Sean and Bernardine Mulryan, Linda Shanahan and Susan Magnier's 2020 G3 Prix Six Perfections scorer See the Rose (Ire) (Kendargent {Fr}) who is taking time to find her feet so far this season but who shaped encouragingly when fifth in the Pouliches. Also for the fillies is the 12-furlong G3 Prix de Royaumont, where another Bary trainee Harcanville (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) has unexposed potential coming off a success in a 10 1/2-furlong debutantes contest at Saint-Cloud May 10.

Sprinters get their chance in the G2 Prix du Gros-Chene, with Godolphin's 3-year-old filly Ideal Beauty (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) renews rivalry with Antoine Gilibert's Berneuil (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) who she had 3/4 of a length back in second in the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges over this five-furlong trip at ParisLongchamp May 16. Lisa-Jane Graffard said of the former, “Ideal Beauty came out of the Prix de Saint-Georges in good form and is really favoured in the weights again this time. She has a fantastic attitude and we have been delighted with everything she has achieved so far. She is not the biggest, so we are not sure how much physical progress is still to come, but is a very brave filly. It's not the best draw in stall nine, but we are hoping that she can run another good race.”

Classic action also takes place in Italy, with the G2 Oaks d'Italia highlighting Milan's card. Leonardo Ciampoli's Sopran Basilea (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) cuts an imposing figure, having won the Listed Premio Mario Incisa Della Rochetta by two lengths over a furlong shorter on May 22, and the second there, Zelandia (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), reopposes. Sopran Basilea looks to provide her sire with his second straight win in this Classic, following Auyantepui (Ity), who won the same prep en route, in 2020.

Among those Sopran Basilea will have to contend with from the local ranks include her stablemate Cima Star (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a last-out conditions race winner, and Memo De L'Alguer (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), a last-out third in the G3 Italian 1000 Guineas on Apr. 25. Team Valor's Invite (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}) ships in for Marco Botti off a 10-length win in a 2000-metre Doncaster handicap three weeks ago. She has never been worse than second in four tries.

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The Weekly Wrap: Coming Of Age

In February, the inevitable announcement came that Pivotal (GB) was to be pensioned at Cheveley Park Stud at the age of 28. David and Patricia Thompson's homebred son of Polar Falcon has been one of the great British breeding stories of the last few decades and the sturdy chestnut has been a great friend to small and major breeders alike through his magnificent stud innings. 

As he continues his retirement, so does his legacy gain momentum. A few months before Pivotal was retired, his son Siyouni (Fr) had been crowned champion sire in his native France for the first time. The Aga Khan Studs stallion had only missed out on earning that title in the two previous seasons to Galileo (Ire) and Nathaniel (Ire), respectively the sires of the high-earning Arc winners Waldgeist (GB) and Enable (GB) in those two years. Then Siyouni got his own Arc winner, Sottsass (Fr), augmenting a profile which already had a properly classy look to it.

In each of the last four seasons, Siyouni has been responsible for a French Classic winner. His first-crop daughter Ervedya (Fr) had actually got the ball rolling in 2015, winning the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches for her and her sire's breeder the Aga Khan. A little gap ensued, but Le Brivido (Fr) was soon knocking on the door, and was only a short-head away from claiming the Poule d'Essai des Poulains two years later when being so narrowly beaten by Brametot (Ire).

Then came Laurens (Fr) to claim the Prix de Diane as one of her six Group 1 victories in France, Britain and Ireland, starting a Classic run which was continued by Sottsass in the Prix du Jockey Club of 2019, Dream And Do (Fr) in last year's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches before the 2020 European champion 2-year-old St Mark's Basilica (Fr) made good on his juvenile promise to land the Poulains for Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore team. 

Of course Siyouni can't take all the credit here, as St Mark's Basilica's Group 3-winning dam Cabaret (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has already shown herself to be a producer par excellence for Australian breeder Bob Scarborough via her son Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), winner of the 2000 Guineas in 2019. This repeats the cross seen to good effect in Sottsass, who is out of arguably the most celebrated active broodmare in France, Starlet's Sister (Ire). 

Doubling up on Danzig has done no harm in the case of Laurens and Dream And Do, while Siyouni's other top-level winner, the GI EP Taylor S. victrix Etoile (Fr), is out of a mare by Authorized (Ire) and is, like Laurens, inbred 4×4 to Danzig. A similar cross to this is found in the Siyouni 2-year-old Kaltham (Fr), a daughter of dual Arc winner Treve (Fr), who is by another Derby-winning son of Montjeu (Ire) in Motivator (GB).

Like Pivotal before him, Siyouni started out at stud standing for a relatively small fee of €7,000, which has gradually climbed to €140,000, making him the most expensive stallion in France, just as his own sire was in Britain when Pivotal's covering price climbed to £85,000 in 2007 and 2008. In both cases, lofty reputations look to be well earned.

Spanish Super Sub

For Basque-born jockey Ioritz Mendizabal, the Covid-19 pandemic has been both a blessing and a curse. Last July, when travel restrictions meant that neither David Egan nor Frankie Dettori could make the trip to Chantilly, he won his first Classic aboard Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club for Britain's champion trainer John Gosden.

Mendizabal's good season continued when he rode Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) to victory in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet for James Fanshawe, but he was then prevented from travelling to Keeneland to ride her in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf after testing positive for Covid. The now-suspended Pierre-Charles Boudot picked up the winning ride on Audarya in America, but fortune swung back in Mendizabal's favour when Ireland's champion Aidan O'Brien came calling on Friday for him to take the ride on St Mark's Basilica. 

“Winning the Guineas is fantastic,” the jockey told Jour de Galop. “But you cannot know the emotion of even having your name in the same line in the race card as Aidan O'Brien. He is the best trainer in the world. I knew I was going to ride St Mark's Basilica on Friday at 2pm and it was extremely satisfying that Aidan O'Brien called on me.”

Wow Takes A Bow

In his short racing career, The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), an early star of the now-defunct Ascot Breeze-up Sale, went from winning an Ayr maiden to success in the G2 Coventry S. and G1 Darley Prix Morny, to finishing last in the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and then out. 

His stud career was similarly short-lived. From covering 40 mares at Haras de Bouquetot in 2017 and 12 the following season, The Wow Signal's poor fertility meant that he had only 15 registered foals in France before he died from laminitis in the spring of 2018.

From a family which includes Shadwell's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Ta Rib (Mr Prospector), The Wow Signal now has his own posthumous winner of that same race despite his seriously limited opportunities. Coeursamba (Fr) was bred by three members of the Mestrallet family, including Julie Mestrallet, who consigns at the French sales under the name of her Haras de l'Aumonerie. She owns only two broodmares, with the Quesnay-bred Marechale (Fr) (Anabaa), the dam of Coeursamba, being the first bought by Mestrallet from a claiming race in the French provinces. 

When The Wow Signal won the Coventry he was following something of a Royal Ascot tradition for his sireline. His sire Starspangledbanner won the G1 Golden Jubilee S. on his second start for Aidan O'Brien after moving from the Australian stable of Leon Corstens, and in turn his father Choisir (Aus) had been the poster boy that opened the floodgates for Australian sprinters heading to the Royal meeting, having won both the King's Stand and the Golden Jubilee back in 2003.

Starspangledbanner was also famously subfertile in his early years at stud but a combination of patience and good management has seen him continue his stallion career while remaining popular with commercial breeders. 

He too was represented among the stakes winners over the weekend when the Fozzy Stack-trained juvenile Hermana Estrella (Ire) landed the G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies' Sprint S. on debut, with the horses in behind her including favourite Contarelli Chapel (Ire) (Caravaggio), who had earned a TDN Rising Star for her own impressive debut success three weeks earlier.

Bred by Mark and Aisling Gittins at Castlefarm Stud from The Last Sister (Ire), a daughter of the Gittins family's G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Lord Shanakill, Hermana Estrella had been sold as a foal for just 2,500gns. She transpired to be a profitable pinhook for Timmy Hillman of Castledillon Stud, who resold her as a yearling for £42,000 to her trainer and Hubie de Burgh at last year's relocated Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.

The family has worked well with that sireline in the past as The Last Sister's half-sister Lady Springbank (Ire) is a dual Group 3-winning daughter of Choisir. Hermana Estrella may now be given her own chance at Royal Ascot in the G3 Albany S.

Snowfall On The Knavesmire

We usually expect to see something special at York in the spring and indeed both formal Classic trials threw up decent winners. Galileo was the broodmare sire of yet another European Classic winner at ParisLongchamp on Sunday and he could yet chalk up further success in this realm in the coming weeks with Snowfall (Jpn), who was highly impressive in winning the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. Like Saxon Warrior (Jpn) before her, she is bred on the Deep Impact (Jpn)-Galileo cross. Her mother fell somewhat short of her lofty name of Best In The World (Ire), and in fact she herself finished last in the Musidora in 2016. She did, however, later collect the G3 Give Thanks S. As a full-sister to Arc winner Found (Ire) and a daughter of Group 1 winner Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab), Best In The World of course had plenty to recommend her, and her first foal is now second-favourite behind stablemate Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) for the Cazoo Oaks.

The Dante meeting also proved to be a highly successful one for trainer Ed Walker, who has a crack sprinter on his hands in Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}). The 4-year-old is still lightly raced and has been beaten just once in his five starts for owner/breeder David Ward, who bought his dam Northern Star (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale for €50,000 through Ed Sackville. She won just once but has already produced two stakes performers with her first two foals. Sadly, the mare died after producing a Kingman (GB) filly, named Lodestar (GB), in 2018.

Northern Star's first foal, Sunday Star (GB) (Kodiac {GB}), is a dual winner with multiple stakes placings, including finishing third in the G3 Summer Fillies' S. at York last season. Starman is smarter still and now has two Group 1 sprint entries at Royal Ascot.

Sackville also did Ward a favour when selecting Primo Bacio (Ire) at Tattersalls October Book 1 two years ago from her breeder Kildaragh Stud. A winner last December on her fourth start for Walker, the daughter of Awtaad (Ire) has taken major strides forward in her 3-year-old season and, following a first-up fourth in the G3 Fred Darling S., she now has bold black type thanks to her three-length win in the Oaks Farm Stables Fillies' S., which is run in memory of the late racing journalist Michael Seely.

Primo Bacio's victory not only completed a double for Walker and Ward, but also initiated a stakes double last week for her Derrinstown Stud-based sire Awtaad. Both she and the Sir Edmund Loder homebred Bellosa (Ire), who won the listed Betway King Charles S. at Newmarket on Saturday, are members of the Irish 2000 Guineas winner's first crop, as is last season's Leopardstown winner Ebeko (Ire). The latter was subsequently exported to California, where she won the listed Zuma Beach S. for trainer Peter Miller.

Rising Stars Of The Stud Ranks

There has been plenty of activity in the European first-season sires' table over the last week. Overbury Stud's Ardad (Ire) doubled his tally of winners to eight, with Beautiful Sunshine (GB) and Superior Force (GB) among those to have added to the impressive run for the partnership of trainer George Boughey with Amo Racing and breeze-up consignor/pre-trainer Robson Aguiar.

The National Stud duo of Aclaim (Ire) and Time Test (GB) both got off the mark on Saturday, with Aclaim's first winner, Cachet (Ire), another breeze-up graduate trained by Boughey, being awarded a TDN Rising Star for her Rowley Mile debut.

Galileo Gold's first winner, Ebro River (Ire), struck at Doncaster on Saturday and, appropriately, the colt is trained by Galileo Gold's former trainer Hugo Palmer in the colours of his former owner Al Shaqab Racing, and was bred by Tally-Ho Stud, where the 2000 Guineas winner now stands.

Ribchester (Ire) was another freshman to be represented by a TDN Rising Star in the last week in the form of Gisburn (Ire), the facile winner of a Newbury maiden on Friday for Richard Hannon and owners Michael Kerr-Dineen and Martin Hughes. He is likely to head next to the Coventry S. 

Meanwhile at the head of the table presently on progeny earnings is Ribchester's fellow Darley sire Profitable (Ire). His four winners include the Gavin Cromwell-trained Quick Suzy (Ire), who was runner-up to the aforementioned Hermana Estrella in the Group 3 at Naas on Sunday. Events at Royal Ascot will surely bring further clues as to the prowess of the latest crop of young stallions.

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