On The Shoulders of Giant’s

Wandering Eyes · September 25, 2019

Two veteran stallion sons of the iron horse Giant’s Causeway have been enjoying outstanding seasons in 2019. The brilliant Pinatubo, rated 134p by Timeform, goes straight to the top of Shamardal‘s list of top runners by Timeform, displacing dual Royal Ascot scorer Blue Point, rated 131 after his rare King’s Stand–Diamond Jubilee double. Another Shamardal juvenile–the Andre Fabre-trained Earthlight–also has every opportunity to break into Shamardal’s top ten Timeform horses. Like Pinatubo, he’s undefeated and also has a Group 1 success, the Prix Morny, to his name. Then there’s Victor Ludorum, another unbeaten Shamardal, heading to the G1 Prix Jean Luc Lagardere. So three Group 1-winning 2-year-olds in a year for Shamardal looks a distinct possibility. And siring three Group 1-winning youngsters in the same year is no mean feat. Only three European stallions–Sadler’s Wells, Galileo and Danehill–have ever had seasons with as many as three Group 1 winners. The brilliant Galileo has sired three Group 1-winning juveniles on no fewer than four occasions, including from the golden crops of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Moreover, his own sire Sadler’s Wells holds the world record with his grand total five individual Group 1 winners in 2001.

It has also been a stellar year for Giant’s Causeway’s other son Footstepsinthesand, an unbeaten winner of the G1 2000 Guineas in an injury-shortened career. Like Shamardal, Footstepsinthesand has–if the latest Timeform figures hold true–sired his best-ever runner in Mums Tipple. Rated 124, Mums Tipple has no black-type whatsoever, but he could easily put that right in the G1 Middle Park S., where he could take on his sire’s second-best ever 2-year-old in Threat, winner of the G2 Gimcrack and G2 Champagne.