The Weekly Wrap: Let’s Reserve Judgement

[Wandering Eyes]

We live in strange times. A man who has an on-off relationship with the truth is currently long odds-on to be Prime Minister of Great Britain and, during an alarming rise in knife crime in the same country, a racecourse is hosting a themed meeting based on a violent street gang.

So, if you fancy dressing up as Tommy Shelby and his cohorts, pop along to Newmarket’s Peaky Blinders Official Raceday on Aug. 3, but please don’t take the theme too literally. Alternatively, you could just spend a summer’s afternoon enjoying what is always a decent standard of racing at one of Britain’s loveliest racecourses. Now, there’s a thought.

Sovereign Rule
Our columnist Pat Smullen will share his thoughts on the Irish Derby in more articulate fashion in tomorrow’s TDN, but from this amateur perspective the race gets more and more enjoyable with each repeat viewing. That may not be a sentiment shared by those closest to Sovereign (Ire)—Padraig Beggy aside—and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) but if you enjoy watching racing for the sheer spectacle of Thoroughbreds in full cry then have another look at Sovereign’s performance. Admittedly obviously deployed in a pacemaker role, he jumps out, ears pricked, needs no encouragement from his jockey whatsoever to set a pace in his long, loping stride which no other contender bar stablemate Norway (Ire) wants to match. Climbing and turning for home, as Norway starts to struggle, Sovereign is still travelling well within his comfort zone in company with a motionless Beggy, and he maintains his relentless gallop all the way to the line in the manner of a decent stayer in the making.

A personal niggle is the way in which the keyboard warriors of the day—many of whom show little apparent knowledge of what it takes to breed a horse who can even make it to the races, let alone win a Classic—love to knock a Derby winner almost as soon as he’s crossed the line. The Derby and the Irish Derby come in for particular stick, both being races at a distance at which their winners, if spectacular, may go on to attract some of the best Flat mares in the world, or if less so will find themselves in line for a place at a National Hunt stud. There’s no shame in the latter. Breeding a colt good enough to go to stud should be a badge of honour for any breeder, and those stallions who wind up on a National Hunt roster have almost always been high-calibre, proven middle-distance horses, i.e., those who have shown a physical and mental capability to continue racing—two traits that should be high on any breeder’s list when deciding on which stallion to use.

It all comes down to fashion, of course, and these days there are fewer owners (or maybe agents) looking beyond even Royal Ascot of a horse’s juvenile season. But let’s not forget the two horses who lit up Ascot this year: Blue Point (Ire) and Stradivarius (Ire). They may ply their trades at opposite ends of the distance spectrum and, yes, the latter may struggle to find a suitable berth at a Flat stud when the time comes for him to retire, but what makes them both so thrilling, and so popular with racegoers, is that these are horses at the peak of their powers at the age of five.

So before we rush to judge this year’s Classic winners, let’s wait to see what they go on to achieve, hopefully beyond this season. Sovereign may end up as a flash in the pan (though that’s some flash, the Irish Derby), or he could be the next Yeats (Ire) or Fame And Glory (GB).

Breeders Braced For Success
Last season, Barronstown Stud achieved the extraodinary feat of being represented by the winners of the English and Irish St Legers in the same weekend and the Nagle family’s operation is enjoying another good year.

Sovereign, a son of the G2 Debutante S. runner-up Devoted To You (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) added to their Classic haul on Saturday, the same day that Easter Classic winner Matterhorn (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) won the listed Midsummer S. at Windsor. The latter’s half-brother Bangkok (Ire) (Australia {GB}), won the G3 Sandown Classic Trial then flopped in the Derby but redeemed himself at Ascot with a runner-up finish to Japan (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G2 Hardwicke S.

A British-based operation to enjoy a brace of Classic winners of the weekend was Prince Faisal’s Denford Stud, which saw homebred Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})—another 5-year-old—rewarded for her consistency with victory in the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Meanwhile Buckhurst (GB) (Australia {GB}), sold by Denford for 70,000gns to Joseph O’Brien as a yearling, won the G3 International S. at the Curragh in the colours of Melburnian Lloyd Williams.

Denford Stud purchased Buckhurst’s dam Artful (Ire) (Green Desert)—a half-sister to Chintz (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), dam of the The Gurkha (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})— for 200,000gns from the Bloomsbury Stud dispersal of 2010.

The admirable Coronet has never run a bad race in her life and she now has a deserved Group 1 victory next to her name to add to her successes in the G2 Middleton S. and G2 Ribblesdale S. Arguably, one of her best performances came when she was beaten just over three lengths for fifth in the epic St Leger of 2017. Leading the way that day was Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) followed by recent Ascot heroes Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Stradivarius, then subsequent Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}).

Every year you will find at least one classy filly or mare adding further lustre to the extraordinary dynasty of the Lanwades matriarch Alruccaba (GB). On Sunday, it was Coronet’s turn (and not for the first time). Her grandam Last Second (GB) (Alzao), bred in partnership by Kirsten Rausing and Sonia Rogers, was bought as a yearling by Prince Faisal for IR£120,000 and proved to be an inspired purchase for the then-fledgling breeding operation. Runner-up in the G1 Coronation S., and with three group victories to her name, Last Second went on to produce the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Aussie Rules (GB) (Danehill), as well as Coronet’s dam, the listed winner Approach (GB) (Darshaan {GB}), who is also dam of the Group 2 winner and St Leger runner-up Midas Touch (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). Furthermore, Approach’s sister Intrigued (GB) is the dam of St Leger third Michelangelo (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), while her current 3-year-old Private Secretary (GB) (Kingman {GB})—a rare colt to run in his breeder’s colours—recently emulated Michelangelo by winning the listed Cocked Hat S. at Goodwood. He may be by a crack miler, but hailing from a family replete with stamina it would be no surprise to see him show up in the St Leger last this year.

On a day when all four stakes races at Saint-Cloud were won by British-trained runners, Art Du Val (GB) (No Nay Never) deserves an honourable mention for his listed Prix de Saint-Patrick victory. The colt, who has won three of his four starts for Charlie Appleby and finished second in the listed Prix Saint Isonomy on the fourth, heaped further success on John Deer’s Oakgrove Stud, which was also represented at Royal Ascot by the G3 Albany S. winner Daahyeh (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}). Art Du Val was bought in utero by Oakgrove when his Wildenstein-bred dam Aquarelle Rare (GB), a Rainbow Quest daughter of the great Aquarelliste (Fr) (Danehill), was sold at Arqana for €120,000 in 2015.

Juddmonte In Fine Fettle
As Juddmonte awaits the return of its MVP Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) this Saturday, the operation enjoyed a terrific week, both with its own homebreds and with a number of notable wins for the offspring of the team’s stallions.

Kingman (GB) is the only second-crop stallion currently included in the top ten of general sires across Europe and he supplied not only the G2 Prix Eugene Adam winner Headman (GB) for his breeder and Roger Charlton but also the exciting juvenile Summer Romance (Ire), an expensive breeze-up purchase for Godolphin who won the listed Empress S. by a cool six lengths to remain unbeaten. Bred by Roundhill Stud, Summer Romance is starting to look as classy as her Group 1-winning half-sister Rizeena (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}).

Another of Juddmonte’s homebred winners was G3 Hoppings Fillies’ S. victrix Sun Maiden (GB), the first of three group winners in three days for her sire Frankel (GB). Suphala (Fr) brought up the double in the G3 Prix Chloe on Saturday, with Mehdaayih (GB) adding to a good day for John Gosden at Saint-Cloud when completing the Frankel hat-trick in the G2 Prix de Malleret on Sunday.

Perhaps the most impressive of the winners in Juddmonte’s own colours, however, was the G2 Railway S. winner Siskin, whose sire First Defence was bought from Juddmonte’s American wing in the summer of 2016 by Chad Schumer to continue his stud career in Saudi Arabia.

Close Hatches, also by First Defence and out of a half-sister to Siskin’s dam Bird Flown (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), won five Grade 1 races during her time with Bill Mott, and Siskin, from a family which also includes former champion 2-year-old Xaar (GB) (Zafonic), looks to be an exciting prospect for trainer Ger Lyons.

Like The Look Of Eagles
Yeomanstown Stud’s Gutaifan (Ire) has been steadily racking up the winners and now shares top billing numerically in the first-season sires’ table with Cable Bay (Ire), the pair having notched 10 apiece.

Gleneagles (Ire) was widely tipped by industry experts to make a good start at stud and the regally bred young son of Galileo (Ire) is certainly showing all the right signs at present. In progeny earnings he’s only fractionally behind Cable Bay and his six winners have come from just 16 starters, including the listed Windsor Castle S. winner Southern Hills (Ire) and Friday’s TDN Rising Star, the eight-length debut winner Ultra Violet (GB), who looks an interesting recruit for trainer Ed Vaughan and owner Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum.

Ultra Violet, who was bred by Chris Humber, will likely be seen next in fairly fancy company. “She only just does enough at home, so she surprised me a little, but she has a great attitude and does everything with her ears pricked,” Vaughan told TDN on Monday. “There are plenty of options for her now and fillies with her class usually write their own programmes to a degree, but we will see how she is in the next week and she will probably be given an entry for the [G2] Duchess of Cambridge.”

Welcome Back, Kerrin
We may only have him on these shores temporarily but it has been good to welcome back Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy and he’s certainly made the most of his return to Britain. He didn’t trouble the judge at Royal Ascot but he has partnered eight winners elsewhere so far at a strike-rate of 20 per cent, five of which have come of his former home course of Newmarket.

As well as plenty of outings in the Godolphin blue, McEvoy donned the Queen’s silks at Doncaster on Friday to guide Calculation (GB) to a bloodless victory. The 3-year-old has already been gelded despite his blue-blooded pedigree: he is a son of Dubawi (Ire) and Her Majesty’s Gold Cup winner Estimate (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}).

 

 

 

 

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