Tag: Zarak

‘Stubborn’ Buyer Wins Out At Arqana As Buskop Bags 190k Zarak Foal 

By Brian Sheerin and Katie Petrunyak

Danish buyer Morten Buskop was left thanking his lucky stars on Sunday that his unnamed but long-standing client was more stubborn than him as he came out on top for the €190,000 Zarak (Fr) foal who led the way at the second session of the Arqana breeding stock sale. 

There's nothing quite like seeing the sales house back up when a highly regarded horse walks into the ring and it became evident pretty quickly that the Haras de Montaigu-drafted colt had plenty of suitors with many of the top judges playing on lot 400. 

A daughter of one of the best stallions in France and out of the well-bred Sea The Stars (Ire) mare Brodie (GB), the Sunday sale-topper could be offered for resale or put into training by Buskop's client, with the agent keen not to tie up plans at this early stage. 

He said, “My client is a very stubborn man when he decides he likes the horse or the foal. He likes the Zaraks, of course, and we thought there is a lot of Dubawi (Ire) in this horse.”

Buskop added, “The page is nice. He's out of a Sea The Stars mare so that should do the job. We also like the fact that the granddam is by Linamix (Fr). Very happy with the purchase.”

The main takeaway from Sunday's action was the clearance rate climbing 4% to 83% compared to last year's figures. The average was virtually the same at €36,592 while the median climbed €2,500 to €30,000. The aggregate was also up by almost 2% to €7,757,500.

Howdy Partner – Ballylinch Form Strong Partnerships

Two years ago, Meridian International and Ballylinch Stud teamed up at Arqana to bid on a colt by New Bay (GB), however, they came in as underbidder when the youngster sold for €180,000. Flash forward to this September and the juvenile named Alcantor (Fr), who was a TDN Rising Star on debut, claimed the G3 Prix Thomas Bryon Jockey Club de Turquie for Baron Edouard De Rothschild. 

Meridian International's Ghislain Bozo and John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud were keen to try for the same family again as Alcantor's half-sister by another Ballylinch sire took to the ring at Arqana. After a lively round of bidding, the partners came out on top with a winning €115,000 bid for the daughter of first-crop sire Waldgeist (GB).

“We think we're going to either pinhook her or race her,” said Bozo of lot 396. “She's a very good mover and Alcantor is obviously a very good horse. We're going to try to get the best out of her.”

“We like doing partnerships,” O'Connor added. “We think we are good partners for people and it's been very successful for us. It allows us to spread the risk over a larger number of horses and we're always happy to do it mostly on our own stallions. We like that best. She's by Waldgeist and the trainers have been very positive about him, so he has to get some more winners next year but the trainers tell me that they're very nice horses.” 

Consigned by Haras du Hoguenet, the April-foaled weanling is out of Bianca de Medici (GB) (Medicean {GB}), who hails from the family of dual Arc heroine Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and whose six foals from six to race also include Group 2 winner Boscaccio (Ger) (Mount Nelson {GB}).

“We know that the mare is a proven mare so she's bred some good ones,” O'Connor said. “She's a very nice filly. We might end up racing her. If we do, at least we have one that looks like a racehorse.” 

Ballylinch Stud went on to team up with an unnamed partner to secure Royal Grey (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) (lot 477), a listed winner in Italy, for €135,000. She was purchased once again by Bozo of Meridian International and will join trainer Nicolas Clement after a short break. 

Bozo explained, “She is going to be trained by Nicolas Clement and is a very nice filly with good form. The stallion needs no introduction and she is just a lovely filly with a very good page. We will give her a break for a month and then she will go back into training where she can hopefully take in a listed win in France.”

Royal Grey, a daughter of G2 Lowther S. runner-up Infamous Angel (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), was sold for £45,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last year. She has amassed three wins in Italy for Endo Botti. 

Bozo continued, “It's a partnership between a client of Nicolas Clement's and also Ballylinch Stud. Havana Grey is a lovely stallion and he could be the next Wootton Bassett (GB) maybe. He stands out so much and his stock have a good temperament and are very keen to go. I'm very impressed by them.”

 

 

Top Jockey Ronan Whelan Gets In On The Arqana Action

Some jockeys jet off to exotic places on their holidays over the winter but top Irish rider Ronan Whelan swapped topping up his tan for adding to his bloodstock portfolio alongside his father Tom, a renowned breeder in his own right. 

This year marks Whelan's best, with 46 winners ridden domestically in Ireland, while Tom, who operates under Church View Stables, has enjoyed a good time in the ring.

The father-and-son team were involved in the purchasing of lot 315, a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) colt out of a half-sister to Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), for €110,000 to MAB Agency.

The sale comes just a week after a filly by the Coolmore-based stallion and out of the Oaks winner Talent (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) topped the foal sale at Tattersalls at 575,000gns to Jill Lamb on behalf of Newsells Park Stud. 

“We fell in love with the colt,” Ronan Whelan said. “We can't wait to bring him back to Ireland. St Mark's Basilica is a promising stallion and he's from a great family.”

Marc Antoine Berghgracht's MAB Agency went on to sign for Tevara (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) (lot 331), offered in foal to Victor Ludorum (GB), from Haras du Logis at €100,000. MAB Agency spent almost €400,000 on six lots on Sunday alone.

Irish Buyers Going Ga-Ga For Galiway

Irish buyers have been going ga-ga crazy for the progeny of Galiway (GB) in recent times, largely down to the success Willie Mullins has enjoyed with the Haras de Colleville-based stallion.

Ireland's dominant National Hunt handler has done his bit to spread the good Galiway word through hurdlers Vauban (Fr) and Gala Marceau (Fr) and Mullins's fingerprints were all over one of the more expensive lots sold on Sunday. 

Less than a month after Paul Byrne, Harold Kirk and Mullins snapped up Zillow (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}) for €300,000 at the Autumn Sale here at Arqana, the three-year-old's dam Petunia (Ire) was sold in foal to Galiway to Irish buyers Seamus Murphy and Mark McStay standing alongside Timmy Hyde jnr. 

By Pivotal (GB) herself, Petunia hails from a good Wertheimer family and there was clearly no shortage of people willing to take the chance on Zillow turning out to be a fine dual-purpose type for Mullins with the hammer falling at €93,000.

To be fair to Murphy and McStay, there are worse people to be placing your faith in than messrs Byrne, Kirk and Mullins. Lot 438 could turn out to be a good buy. 

Buy of the Day

Mags O'Toole has a habit of turning water into the wine and nobody would be surprised if lot 303, a Sioux Nation colt out of winning Camelot (GB) mare Shalya (Fr), could double or even treble the €55,000 outlay if he rocks up to any of the major yearling sales next year.

Shalya, herself a winner at four, hails from the family of G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G1 Prix Vermeille victress Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), plus a second Prix Vermeille winner in Shawanda (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), who also claimed the G1 Irish Oaks. 

Sioux Nation, one of the top second-crop sires this year, celebrated a bumper sale at Tattersalls last week, with foals selling for 210,000gns, 155,000gns and 135,000gns.

All told, 10 foals by Sioux Nation sold for an average of 71,200gns. Given O'Toole's purchase came significantly under that average price from Tattersalls, one can assume that she is in a good position to turn a profit next year. 

Thought for the Day

The French way of auctioneering seems to be about building suspense and leaving no stone unturned to secure the best possible price for the vendors. Put it this way, there's nobody nipping off to the car parks early at Arqana. 

However, surely an argument can be made for the long, drawn out approach to auctioneering, where horses in the millions are climbing up in a series of  €25,000 bids, is counterproductive. Surely a more lively approach to auctioneering, in America for example, is best served for getting people's blood up and ultimately driving the highest price in the ring. 

Whether such a practice would ever catch on in France remains to be seen but there was no escaping that the ring felt flat for long periods of time on Saturday and Sunday at Arqana.

The post ‘Stubborn’ Buyer Wins Out At Arqana As Buskop Bags 190k Zarak Foal  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Sea The Stars and Siyouni to Stand at €200,000 in 2024

Sea the Stars (Ire) and Siyouni (Fr), the flagship stallions of the Aga Khan Studs in Ireland and France respectively, have each had their fees increased to €200,000 for 2024. Representing a career high for both stallions, Sea The Stars stood at €180,000 in 2023 and covered 180 mares, while Siyouni covered 135 at €150,000.

The Aga Khan Studs will have two new stallions next season, with last year's Cartier champion 3-year-old, the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Eclipse S. winner Vadeni (Fr), joining the roster at Haras de Bonneval at €18,000. There he will stand alongside fellow newcomer Erevann (Fr), who is being introduced at €8,000. 

Completing the team of four stallions in France is Zarak (Fr), whose fee will remain at €60,000 in a year in which he was represented by his first Group 1 winner, Zagrey (Fr), and covered 130 mares.

The leading sire in France and second in Europe by prize-money, Siyouni's year has been highlighted by the Classic winners Paddington (GB), who has recently joined the Coolmore roster, and Tahiyra (Fr), the winners of seven Group 1 races between them this season. There have also been Group 1 victories for Mqse De Sevigne (Fr) and the Australian filly Amelia's Jewel (Aus).

Siyouni is also the broodmare sire of new recruit Erevann, who is out of his first Classic winner Erevdya (Fr) and, like Zarak, a son of Dubawi (Ire). Beaten by half a length with third behind Inspiral (GB) in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois, Erevann won the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein and G3 Prix Paul de Moussac.

Hukum (Ire), a recent recruit to Darley Japan, was the leading light for Sea The Stars (Ire) this season, whose quartet of Group 1 winners was completed by Emily Upjohn (GB), Sea Silk Road (Ire) and, in Australia, Just Fine (Ire). He also features as the broodmare sire of Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}).

Georges Rimaud, manager of the Aga Khan Studs in France, said, “With two internationally proven leading sires, one rapidly rising star and two exciting new stallions to offer breeders in 2024, we go into next year with as strong a roster as we have ever had. We look forward to showing them to breeders over the next few weeks, and invite people to get in touch with myself or Fanny Cypres in France, or Pat Downes or Julie White in Ireland, to discuss their mating plans.” 

 

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Seven Days: No Hollywood Ending but Baden Still Shines

The Tattersalls Somerville Sale has meant that a return to Newmarket could be delayed no longer but this column sprang, or perhaps staggered, into life on the final day of Baden-Baden's Grosse Woche.

The scribbling started reasonably early on Sunday morning from a desk in the press room that boasts one of the best views in the racing world, looking out across the turf to the wooded mountains of the Black Forest. It was also the desk that was once occupied by British-born but German-based racing correspondent David Connolly-Smith, who died in July. David was 83 but he had still been a regular presence at the races, and I always enjoyed a chat with him on my annual trip to BBAG. He brought German racing to life for readers of various publications in Britain and Ireland and, more than that, he was always so helpful and welcoming. David is much missed and it was an honour to be granted temporary residence at the desk that still bears his name.

The last day of Baden-Baden's premier week of racing is not for the faint-hearted. By 11am, the runners were already leaving the parade ring just after 11am for the first of a 12-race card on a sweltering day at Iffezheim. Three of those races, much to the delight of Baden Galopp's effervescent Stefan Buchner, featured within the World Pool, an increase from just one race on the same card last year and following on from the inclusion of the Deutsches Derby and Grosser Preis von Berlin earlier this season. By the end of the day, World Pool reported turnover of HK$64.3million (€7.5m) on those three races.

It is hard not to be concerned about German racing, primarily because it is really important for it not just to survive, but to thrive. Any country that continues to make such an impact on thoroughbred breeding globally really must have a strong domestic racing scene in order for that reputation not to start waning. Germany is not alone in struggling with falling racecourse attendances and a reduction in the number of horses in training and mares in the paddocks, but the contraction, to around 850 broodmares and slightly less than 2,000 racehorses, is worrying nonetheless.

A day or two at the bustling Baden-Baden racecourse during this late summer week almost certainly gives a false sense of the health of German racing overall, but it also provides an encouraging glimpse of racing at its very best, where a significant portion of the crowd is fully engaged with the stars of the show: the horses. It is hard to think of another racecourse where the runners and riders are clapped as they pass the stands for the first time. This happens for every race of sufficient distance at Baden-Baden; not so much a Cheltenham roar, more a polite Iffezheim ripple of applause, but it is beguiling.

The huge hedge-lined parade ring is encircled by racegoers four or five deep for every race, even from such an early start. Each winner and the also-rans are cheered back in by those lining the route, including plenty of children, along each side of the walk of fame that has the names of every winner of the Grosser Preis von Baden embedded in a path back to the winner's enclosure.

I wonder how many bosses of British racecourses have visited Baden-Baden on a raceday to see what's possible with low-cost entry, very little division of enclosures, no dress code, plenty of seating and picnic areas, and better still no noisy sideshows to divert attention from the main event or to upset the horses. It can be done, as long as we promote a day at the races as just that, and not as a big boozy outdoor party with some horses galloping around in the background.

To Longchamp via Baden-Baden

The trophy for Germany's main race of the week, the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden, hopped over the nearby border to France when Christophe Soumillon timed his run to perfection on the statuesque Zagrey (Fr) to give Zarak (Fr) his first Group 1 winner. The Aga Khan Studs stallion was also the sire of the third home, Straight (Ger), and in the States over the weekend he was represented by Parnac (Fr), winner of the GII Flower Bowl S. At Saratoga. 

It was a banner day for Zagrey's trainer Yann Barberot, who was in Germany to receive the prize for the second Group 1 win of his career despite having the smart Beauvatier (Fr) in action at Longchamp, where he remained unbeaten in the G3 Prix la Rochette. That son of Lope De Vega (Ire) looks a smart Classic prospect for Barberot's Deauville stable next season. Before that, however, the trainer has much to look forward to on the first weekend of October, with Zagrey bound for the Arc and Beauvatier likely to start next in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Zagrey was the sole foreign runner in the Grosser Preis, and his last-gasp win was a blow to fans of the second-placed Mr Hollywood (Ire), who has featured in this column before and almost made all, going down by just a neck at the line. It was encouraging to see the three-year-old in the flesh, as he is a strong, handsome individual, who will surely notch his top-level win before too long. 

Sean Cronin and Tom Frary, who are the racing writers entrusted with handing out TDN Rising Stars, guard this honour closely, and it was hard not to prick up one's ears when Tom decided to award one to a son of the little known (outside Germany anyway) Iquitos (Ger) back in early April. That was the day that Mr Hollywood made his debut at Mulheim and bolted in to win by 16 lengths. He won the G3 Bavarian Classic on his next start, and has been second in his ensuing three runs, including when second to Fantastic Moon in the Deutsches Derby. He is one of one five foals from the first crop of his sire, a son of Adleflug (Ger) standing at Gestut Graditz. Another of the quintet is the G3 Diana Trial runner-up Drawn To Dream (Ire). Both were bred by Dietrich von Boetticher of Gestut Ammerland, where the stallion stood for his first two seasons, and they are both out of mares by the owner-breeder's Arc winner Hurricane Run (Ire). 

We'll keep a close eye on Iquitos. I've a feeling there may well be plenty more to report on his offspring in the coming seasons. 

Breakthrough Win for Pearson 

Baden-Baden is likely to be remembered fondly by British jockey Laura Pearson, who had her first German ride there on Saturday. She won the Listed Wackenhut Mercedes Benz Fillies Cup with a cool-headed ride aboard the Ralph Beckett-trained Diamond Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

It was the first stakes-race victory for Pearson, 22, who only rode out her claim a month ago having had to sit out the second half of 2022 with a serious neck injury. She returned to the saddle in January and is already well on her way to surpassing last year's tally of winners, with 19 on the board, including a Ffos Las treble for Beckett on August 25.

“I had a really fun trip to Italy last February and was lucky enough to have a double at Pisa, so it's great to keep my overseas record at 100 per cent,” Pearson told TDN.

She is enjoying her association with Beckett's Kimpton Down stable, which currently has one of the best strike-rates in Britain after a hugely successful August.

“I ride out there four days a week and it's a pleasure to be in there with the team,” she added. “I recently had my first treble for the boss, and it's great to get this win for him. I can't thank him enough for the opportunities he's given me. It's brilliant.”

Along with Zagrey, various international raiders struck in the major races during the week at Baden-Baden. Charlie Johnston saddled the third group winner from the first crop of Too Darn Hot (GB) when Carolina Reaper took the 150th running of the G3 Renate und Albrecht Woeste Zukunfts Rennen last Wednesday, and Francis Graffard sent out the Aga Khan's Darkaniya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) to win the G2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis.

Stauffenbergs on Top

Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg may be best known to many on the sales circuit as the leading German consignors internationally, but they are also first-class breeders and currently occupy the top spot on the list of German breeders with significantly fewer runners than their nearest rivals in the table, Gestut Karlshof and Gestut Rottgen.

Of course, a large portion of the prize-money haul comes from the Deutsches Derby victory of Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), who disappointingly was a late withdrawal for the G1 Grosser Preis on Sunday owing to ground worries. But they were also represented at the course on Saturday by a homebred debutante, Lady Mary (Ger) (Lawman {Ire}), winner of the strong maiden, the Gestut Etzean Winterkonigin Trial, for Andreas Suborics. The juvenile is out of La Reine Noir (Ger) (Rainbow Quest), a half-sister to G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Lady Marian (Ger) (Nayef), who, like Fantastic Moon, had been sold by Stauffenberg Bloodstock for €49,000 at the BBAG September Yearling Sale.

None of the five yearlings in the Stauffenberg draft sold for that magic number this year, but the vendor was among the leaders with a €220,000 filly by Sea The Stars (Ire). The other Sea The Stars yearling in the consignment, a colt from the Lordship Stud family of Classic winners Love Divine (GB) and Sixties Icon (GB), sold for considerably less than one might have expected, and was knocked down at €80,000 to Tina Rau for the Ullmann family of Gestut Schlenderhan. 

The good-looking colt will be well worth following when he heads into training with Joseph O'Brien, however. As we see time and again, there is often little correlation between sales prices and racecourse performances, and the most notable Lordship Stud graduate of recent years was another by Sea The Stars who was sold for just 60,000gns as a yearling. Later named Emily Upjohn (GB), she turned out to be rather good.

King of Paris

Kingman (GB) was represented by a notable double at Longchamp on Sunday when his daughter Sauterne reeled in the front-running Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) to land the G1 Prix du Moulin and Narnaco (GB) made all in the G3 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte.

For Sauterne, who delivered her trainer Patrice Cottier a first Group 1 win, this was truly reward for effort and consistency. Bred by her owner Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois, she won the Listed Prix Pont du Neuf in April and since then has been placed three times at Group 1 level, in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Prix Jean Prat and Prix Rothschild.

On the same weekend two years ago, Spain's champion trainer Guillermo Arizkorreta sent out Rodaballo (Ire) and Kitty Marion (GB) to win the G2 Oettingen Rennen and G3 Goldene Peitsche in Baden-Baden, and this year he turned his attention on Longchamp with Naranco. 

It was a truly international result. The colt was bred in Britain by the Hong Kong-based Eric Chen and was bought at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale by the former head of the Spanish Jockey Club, Jose Hormaeche, for owner Yeguada Rocio. Trained in Madrid by Arizkorreta, he was ridden to glory by Czech jockey Vaclav Janacek. Naranco also owns a pretty smart pedigree that is spreading its wings. His dam Patsy Boyne (Ire) is a Galileo (Ire) half-sister to High Chaparral (Ire) and she has been exported to Australia by Chen.

Hays Making Merry

One should never say never, but it seems highly unlikely that any other owner will be able to repeat having a treble spreads across Kincsem Park and Kentucky Downs, as enjoyed by Jim and Fitri Hay on Saturday.

This unique feat was pulled off by Splendent (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) and Silent Film (GB) (New Approach {GB}), both of whom won at Hungary's big meeting with Frankie Dettori in the saddle. This was followed later in the day by victory in the valuable GIII Mint Millions S. for Ancient Rome (War Front). Trained by Charles Hill and ridden by Jamie Spencer, the 110-rated four-year-old won almost £1 million in prize-money and was following up on his win in the Chesterfield Cup at Goodwood last month. 

 

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Seven Days: Many Indicators of Success

In the European edition we really shouldn't be overstepping our boundary to encroach on the territory of our American colleagues who did such a fine job in conveying the stories from Belmont Park last week.

Racing faces different problems in different jurisdictions and, from an outsider's perspective, it is hard to get fully behind racing in America when a number of its major participants remain overly reliant on medication. But if you read Cynthia Holt's wonderful account of being at Belmont 50 years ago to bear witness to arguably the greatest-ever performance by a Thoroughbred as Secretariat went for the Triple Crown, it is impossible not to wish for that situation to improve and for racing to be able to hold its head high. The only way it can survive and thrive around the world is if everyone involved pledges to do the the very best for the horses who make it possible to work in such an engaging and vibrant sport.

That is why the result of the 155th Belmont S. was so uplifting. For a start, it heralded yet another important marker in the advancement of women within the sport, with Jena Antonucci becoming the first female trainer of the winner of an American Triple Crown race. But more importantly, Arcangelo's victory was a major triumph for a smaller trainer who is apparently prepared to prioritise the welfare of her horses above all else. Coming with a horse who cost his owner Jon Ebbert $35,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, it is also a result which sends a message to other small operators: it can be done.

It should not be underestimated how much stories of this ilk are needed, and how much rarer they are becoming. It is hard now to imagine a trainer like Joe Janiak, a former taxi driver, turning up at Royal Ascot with his cast-off sprinter Takeover Target (Aus) and waltzing off with one of the week's biggest prizes. In three years and six starts at the royal meeting, the gelding with chipped knees was never out of the first four in the major sprints. And yes, his success had no bearing on the betterment of the breed, but what a battler, what a story. 

Somehow, it is harder to get behind the horses owned by major investment syndicates, and that is not to denigrate the people funding those runners. Financial investment is vital for racing to continue, and for the breeders to be able to go on producing the goods, but emotional investment is just as important, and that is what you hear and feel when you read Jena Antonucci's story. The spotlight should always be on the horses, but racing is so much more compelling when you can root for their people, too.

I will confess that, until this past week, I knew barely anything about Antonucci. Some engaging interviews following her Belmont S. victory led me to her website and I was taken by one of the sub-headings on her homepage which stated 'Statistics aren't the only indicator of success'. It was an apposite line to read following the release of a video by a major syndicate trying to sell shares in a new recruit, in which the manager pours scorn on the record and percentages of the horse's former trainer. It was an act of quite staggering ignorance, bad manners and, ultimately, self-harm. 

The colt in question is New Energy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who until last week was the top-rated horse in Sheila Lavery's stable. He is a horse who, since this time last year following his second-place finish in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, has been running with an official mark of 112 or 113. In other words, consistent and classy. Those two facts are surely the reason he was such a desirable purchase, and he was likely bought for many multiples of the £65,000 it took for his trainer and Ted Durcan to secure him at the breeze-up sales two years ago.

He's not a one-off for Lavery, either, for she regularly gets a good tune out of horses who could be overlooked in bigger yards. Four years ago, she trained the €15,000 weanling purchase Lady Kaya (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) to run second in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. I can still hear the devastation in her voice when she spoke of that filly's fatal injury on the gallops in the countdown to her next appearance at Royal Ascot. She will have been almost similarly upset to have lost New Energy to an Australian stable which has hundreds and hundreds of horses on its books. Lavery will have understood, though, that the horse had a greater chance of being a high earner in a jurisdiction endowed with plentiful prize-money, and in a sector where he may encounter weaker opposition than he has done in Europe. 

Lavery and Antonucci have had 59 and 52 starters this year respectively, and it is well within the bounds of possibility that we will see Lavery follow Antonucci in becoming a Group/Grade 1-winning trainer. That of course becomes harder to achieve for every smaller operation as the good horses get whisked away by those with large cheque books. But in the cases of both women, and many other trainers of a similar size, a strong argument can be made for them not to be overlooked in the stampede towards the superstables.

Al Asifah a Potential Star for Shadwell

There is no such thing as a quiet week in racing, but with Royal Ascot now only a week away, and Epsom a week behind us, the fare of the last seven days has been more muted. However, there have been plenty of impressive performances to note, and none perhaps more so than the win of Shadwell's Al Asifah (GB) in the Listed Weatherbys/British EBF Agnes Keyser Fillies' S. The daughter of Frankel (GB) and Aneen (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), herself a half-sister to Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), may have missed most of the Classics but it would be no surprise to see her engaged in Group 1 races before too long, despite her inexperience. 

Similarly, it was hard not to be impressed by the performance of Beautiful Diamond (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}) in her winning debut for Karl Burke and Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum at Nottingham. A pinhooking triumph for Tradewinds Stud, she went from being a 30,000gns yearling to a £360,000 breezer when becoming the most expensive filly sold at the Goffs UK Breeze-up Sale in April. 

Richard Fahey spoke eloquently in these pages last week of his approach to two-year-olds, and he has plenty of his stable's youngsters firing ahead of an important week. That was particularly notable by his twin strike at Beverley on Saturday with Midnight Affair (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the Hilary Needler and Bombay Bazaar (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) in the Two-Year-Old Trophy.

From Rome to Hokkaido 

Three nations combined in the winner of the Tattersalls-sponsored G2 Oaks d'Italia. Trainer Stefano Botti won the race for the fifth time since 2012 with Shavasana (Ire), who is now unbeaten in five starts, including the G3 Premio Regina Elena (Italian 1,000 Guineas). This time, however, she was ridden by Britain's Hollie Doyle, whose first Classic success came aboard Nashwa (GB) in last year's Prix de Diane, and won in the colours of leading Japanese owner/breeder Katsumi Yoshida, who bought the filly after her first Classic win.

Remarkably, Botti's first three wins in the Italian Oaks came in consecutive years with the half-sisters Cherry Collect (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), Charity Line (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}) and Final Score (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}). Another of their half-sisters, Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), later won the Irish Oaks, making their dam, Holy Moon (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), a most prized member of the broodmare band owned by the Botti family's Razza del Velino, who also bred Shavasana.

The Holy Moon family and the Oaks d'Italia are also clearly prized in Japan as all three of those aforementioned winning half-sisters are now in the ownership of either Katsumi or Teruya Yoshida. 

Straight Ahead to Hamburg

The G2 Union-Rennen at Cologne provided the latest shake-up to the market of the G1 Deutsches Derby on July 2, which is now headed by Straight (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}). The Gestut Karlshof homebred has every right to be considered a serious Classic prospect, not just on his win in the 188th Union-Rennen but also for the names found on his page. 

Straight's fourth dam Sacarina (GB) (Old Vic {GB}) has been a key player in the success of the Faust family's Karlshof operation. His third dam Sahel (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) is a full-sister to the Deutsches Derby winners Samum (Ger) and Schiaparelli (Ger) as well as to the Preis der Diana winner Salve Regine (Ger). Another sister, Sanwa (Ger), is the dam of the 2014 Deutsches Derby winner Sea The Moon (Ger), who is in turn the sire of the another of the leading fancies for this year's race, Fantastic Moon (Ger), who was champion two-year-old last year in Germany. 

Another Zarak colt from the immediate family of Straight also features in the Derby betting: Sirjan (Ger), a Group 3 winner in Italy last year, was also bred at Karlshof and is a half-brother to Straight's dam Seductive (Ger) (Henrythenavigator).

It is a family which has already tasted Classic success in Europe this season as yet another of Sacarina's daughters by Monsun, Sortita (Ger), features as the grand-dam of the G2 Derby Italiano winner Goldenas (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}).

And Now For Something Completely Different

If you wander into the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, you might expect to find exhibitions pertaining to the horse in some form or other. 

This summer, however, the museum has spread its wings to become involved in a show named The Urban Frame: Mutiny In Colour, which opened last week and is being staged across three venues in Suffolk. The exhibition includes more than 50 works from some renowned contemporary artists, including Banksy, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

The street artist and international man (or woman) of mystery, Banksy, is also represented at the National Horseracing Museum in The 7: Banksy Under Siege, which features replicas of life-size 'walls' created during the artist's visit to Ukraine last year. 

It is a world-first for this exhibition, which runs until October 1. Who says Newmarket is boring? 

 

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