The Weekly Wrap: Catching Stars

[Wandering Eyes]

Looking ahead momentarily, the race not to be missed this season is Saturday’s G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. What should be the mid-season highlight doesn’t always quite live up to expectations but with the two best older horses in Europe taking on the Derby winner, and a Japan Cup winner among a strong supporting cast, then all those lucky enough to be at Ascot should be in for a humdinger of a day.

There is of course one black cloud over an otherwise perfect summer spell, and that’s the news of the death of Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) following surgery to remove a tumour several weeks ago. This time last year she was the dazzling winner of the Irish Oaks and the sporting decision was made by her owner Ling Tsui to keep Sea Of Class in training for what promised to be a glittering summer of contests against Enable (GB) and the other great names of the middle-distance community. Her demise is a sad blow for the Tsui family’s breeding operation and for all who worked with her at William Haggas’s stable, and we send both parties our commiserations.

Diamond Day For Oppenheimer
For many years, the King George was supported by De Beers and the scion of that great diamond family business, Anthony Oppenheimer, enjoyed a particularly fine day last Saturday. The owner-breeder was at the Curragh to cheer home Star Catcher (GB)—who became the second successive victrix of the Irish Oaks for her sire Sea The Stars (Ire)—the latest Classic winner for his Hascombe & Valiant Studs. But he will have kept a close eye on events at his home track of Newmarket, where Dame Malliot (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) launched a memorable day for the breeder of Derby and Arc winner Golden Horn (GB) with her first black-type win in the listed Ric & Mary Hambro Aphrodite S.

The race named in memory of the late chairman of Newmarket Racecourses and his wife Mary, who died last year, saw fillies by Champs Elysees—also sadly no longer with us—fill the first two places—ahead of a daughter of another Juddmonte stallion, Kingman (GB). Sparkle Roll (Fr), the half-sister to Wings Of Eagles (Fr), took third and Kingman was later rewarded with a new stakes winner, Fox Chairman (Ire), who turned little black type into big black type with his win in the listed Steventon S. at Newbury, continuing a memorable breakthrough season for King Power Racing.

Little Fish Even Sweeter
With the yearling sales season fast approaching, the weekend’s results highlighted the fact that no sale should be left unscrutinised. The speedy Bettys Hope gave the Millman family a rewarding afternoon when scorching to victory in the Weatherbys Super Sprint for her third win of the year after three runner-up finishes. In plundering such a large pot, she boosted her first-season sire Anjaal (GB) to the head of the rankings and became the latest decent juvenile to emerge from David Hodge’s Llety Farms after G2 Flying Childers S. winner Soldier’s Call (GB) (Showcasing {GB}). Hodge parted company with the daughter of the Averti (GB) mare Miss Poppy (GB), a half-sister to crack sprinter Kyllachy (GB), for just £3,000 when trainer Rod Millman, assisted by Howson & Houldsworth Bloodstock, selected her from the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale. That same sale has also been responsible for this year’s juvenile stakes winners Flippa The Strippa (GB) (Outstrip {GB}) and Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}).

The Kilboy Estate S. at the Curragh on Sunday was won by the Joseph O’Brien-trained Red Tea (GB) (Sakhee). Purchased last year at the Horses-in-Training Sale for 42,000gns by Blandford Bloodstock with some decent form a 98 rating to her name, the 6-year-old was another to have been bought modestly as a yearling when sold by Shadwell for £4,000 at the then DBS November Sale to her original racing owner Ivor Fox.

Tourgeville’s Continuing Excellence
Extending the inexpensive yearling theme, Robin Of Navan (Fr) (American Post {GB}), who is also still racing successfully in stakes class at the age of six—even more admirable considering his high-flying antics as a 2-year-old—added more lustre to a golden spell for the Lepeudry family of Eleveage de Tourgeville, just outside Deauville.

Monique Lepeudry, mother of the stud’s owner Antoine Lepeudry, owns just two broodmares but they are both Group 1 producers. Cloghran (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}) is the dam of four-time group winner Robin Of Navan, while the other, Golden Lily (Fr) (Dolphin Street {Fr}), has produced G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac winner Lily’s Candle (Fr) (Style Vendome {Fr}).

Not to be outdone, Antoine Lepeudry chimed in with his own Group 1 winner as breeder this year via the Queen Anne S. winner Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper), a 6-year-old son of the listed-placed Lady Glitters (Fr) (Homme De Loi {Fr}). Lord Glitters was a €25,000 yearling but, like Lily’s Candle, was sold on for a much larger sum as a horse in training.

In a world of ever-polarising fashion, particularly when it comes to stallions, it is refreshing to look upon this list and see names worthy of a place among the stakes results but often overlooked by breeders. Chapeau to the Lepeudry clan, whose forthcoming draft of four yearlings at the Arqana August Sale and two for the V.2—which includes a Muhaarar (GB) half-sister to Robin Of Navan—should be paid plenty of respect.

Alpinista Starts On A High
Another breeder enjoying a good season is Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud, which had a particularly fruitful week, across continents and at opposing ends of the distance spectrum.

On Thursday evening, the Frankel (GB) filly Alpinista (GB) will have been marked down by many as a juvenile to follow after her strong debut victory at Epsom for Sir Mark Prescott. The grey is a grand-daughter of Albanova (GB) (Alzao), a treble Group 1 winner herself and sister to the dual Champion S. heroine Alborada (GB).

In Ireland, Verhoyen (GB), a son of the former Lanwades resident Piccolo (GB), represented a fifth generation of Lanwades breeding when landing a valuable sprint on the Irish Oaks card for Michael Grassick, while farther afield in Australia, Lord Belvedere (GB) (Archipenko) looked a potential Cup horse for co-trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace when winning at Flemington in the colours of Highclere Thorougbred Racing.

The 5-year-old raced in the UK as Mister Belvedere, winning three times for Michael Dods before being sold for 100,000gns last October. A son of Diablarette (GB) (Green Desert), Lord Belvedere’s immediate family received a further boost later in the day when his half-brother Pondus (GB), by another Lanwades resident, Sea The Moon (Ger), gained black type as runner-up in the listed Steventon S.

A lesser known Lanwades graduate to feature in the results pages of the weekend was the unraced but well-bred Dapper (GB). The son of Hernando (GB) is a half-brother to the aforementioned Alborada and Albanova and stood for a time at Nunstainton Stud. His 5-year-old son Alfred Richardson (GB) boosted his tally of wins to six on Saturday when scoring at Ripon for John Davies.

Brown Passes Second Test
Days after England’s historic victory in the Cricket World Cup, a former England cricketer was making headlines in the bloodstock world when David Brown was presented with the Andrew Devonshire Bronze in honour of his outstanding contribution to the British breeding industry.

Brown, who has run Furnace Mill Stud with his wife Trish for more than 40 years, was presented with his trophy at the annual TBA Awards on Tuesday night. The former chairman of the British European Breeders’ Fund bred, among many other winners, the 1998 King’s Stand S. victor Bolshoi (Ire) (Royal Academy) from Mainly Dry (GB) (The Brianstan {GB}), whose nine winners also include the group-placed Tod (GB) (Petorius {Ire}) and listed winner Speed Lord (GB) (Royal Applause {GB}).

Brown played in 26 Test matches for England in the 1960s and was captain of Warwickshire between 1975 and 1977, during which time he laid the foundations for a fruitful second career as a Thoroughbred breeder.

 

 

 

 

 

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