The Weekly Wrap: Alpha Female

[Wandering Eyes]

We’re mid-bounce between Classic meetings and there was much to lift the spirits last weekend at the Curragh with a first Guineas success apiece for trainers Ken Condon and Jessica Harrington.

For Coolmore it was a case of even when you lose you win, as each of the victors, Romanised (Ire) and Alpha Centauri (Ire), was by a ‘home’ sire in Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) and Mastercraftsman (Ire). Both stallions, it has to be said, remain under-rated despite plenty of evidence gathered in recent years to testify to their respective abilities.

This isn’t merely a case of siding with a fellow female but it’s hard not to have the utmost respect for Harrington. A brilliant Olympic event rider in her younger days and of course a fully accomplished National Hunt trainer with the likes of Sizing John (GB) and Moscow Flyer (Ire) to her credit, she is simply a brilliant horsewoman who seems to have great fun in everything she does.

The statuesque Niarchos homebred Alpha Centauri now appears to be heading for a second appearance at Royal Ascot, where she could be joined by her young stablemates Servalan (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Chicas Amigas (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) who filled the quinella in the listed sprint at Naas the previous weekend. Chicas Amigas, a first northern hemisphere venture for the It’s All About The Girls syndicate which has enjoyed such success in Australia with dual Group 1 winner Global Glamour (Aus), looks to have been a shrewd selection by Patrick Cooper for €25,000.

Despite an exciting Flat season in store, Harrington did let slip where her true priorities lie when saying after Alpha Centauri’s victory that winning a Classic was “almost as good” as winning a Gold Cup. By that, we presume she means the Cheltenham variety, rather than Ascot, though she has a decent candidate for the latter in Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).

While the Harrington team was celebrating at the Curragh, it was also a notable weekend for the horse who was one of the stable’s breakthrough winners on the Flat, Pathfork, winner of Group 1 and Group 2 contests as a juvenile before being sold back to America. The son of Distorted Humor now stands alongside Canford Cliffs (Ire) at Highlands Stud in South Africa, where he notched his first Group 1 winner on Saturday with 2-year-old Mighty High (SAF) in the Allan Robertson Fillies’ Championship.

Chance Of A Unique Treble
The victory of Wagnerian (JPN) in Sunday’s GI Tokyo Yushun sets up the potential for an international Derby double for his sire Deep Impact (JPN), who has the favourite for Saturday’s Investec Derby in 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior (JPN).

While unusual, it would not be unique. King’s Best achieved the same rare feat in 2010 courtesy of his sons Workforce (GB) and Eishin Flash (JPN). Victory in the Japanese Derby for the latter eventually saw his sire move to Darley Japan in 2013, having started his career in Ireland at Kildangan Stud before moving to Normandy’s Haras du Logis.

And if we believe that the Prix du Jockey Club can still be regarded as the French Derby since its shortening in distance, then Deep Impact has the chance of attaining what will almost certainly be a unique treble, with the Niarchos family’s Study Of Man (Ire) being aimed at Sunday’s French Classic instead of a trip to Epsom.

Also Making An Impact
There’s plenty of focus on the success of Deep Impact in Europe but it would in fact be disappointing if his offspring which reach these shores did not succeed as they are out of some of the best mares in the world.

His great rival in the Japanese sires’ contest, King Kamehameha (JPN), is the broodmare sire of Wagnerian and he also featured as the grandsire of an impressive maiden winner at Longchamp on Sunday via the Francis Graffard-trained Hush Writer (JPN), the first runner and winner in France for his sire Rulership (JPN).

The colt represents an ambitious international plan, having been selected as a foal for ¥23 million (€181,000) by Gai Waterhouse and Satomi Oka Bloodstock, one of five foals bought by the duo at the JRHA Sale of 2015.

“We set off with a group of owners to see with our own eyes what it is that Japan is doing better than the rest of the world,” said Waterhouse in her TDN column at the time and her quest for ‘Cups’ horses from the east looks to be on the right track, with Hush Writer, who runs in the colours of Western Australia’s Mount Hallowell Stud owner Craig Thompson, now being aimed at the listed Prix Melisande at ParisLongchamp on June 10. Depending on his progress, he is likely to find himself ending up racing in Australia eventually.

“Hush Writer and another filly came to me when Criquette Head retired,” said Graffard, who added with a grin, “I told Gai yesterday that I am pre-training a very nice horse for her.”

The trainer added that he has pencilled in a run in the G2 Prix Hocquart at Chantilly on Prix de Diane day when Waterhouse is in France. Australia’s leading lady trainer is not averse to combing the world for horses to run in her country’s major races. For Mount Hallowell Stud she has already trained successful imports Pornichet (Fr) (Vespone {Ire}), the subsequent G1 Doomben Cup winner bought at the inaugural Goffs London Sale for £425,000, and Thompson was also a shareholder in G1 Sydney Cup winner The Offer (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), a 200,000gns Tattersalls purchase with Johnny McKeever.

There was also an Australian connection to Thursday’s Goodwood maiden winner Heart Of Grace (JPN), a daughter of Heart’s Cry (JPN) who was bought as a yearling from the following year’s JRHA sale by Justin Bahen for Perth-based father and son Paul and Anthony Silvestro.

Dubawi’s Expanding Legacy
As a broodmare sire, Dubawi (Ire) has posted three Group wins so far this year, in Dubai, Japan and Italy, the latest being the French-trained Royal Julius (Ire), who is on course for Royal Ascot.

With his top-class daughter Bateel (Ire) notching another Group win at the age of five for Francis Graffard last week in the G2 Prix Corrida, Dubawi has also enjoyed a good week via his stallion sons, a selection of whom also look likely to have decent representation at Ascot.

Having been responsible for the previous weekend’s G2 Derby Italiano winner Summer Festival (GB), Poet’s Voice (GB), who died in March, was represented by Poet’s Word (GB) on his first run of the British turf season in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. He went one better than his runner-up finish to Hawkbill (Kitten’s Joy) in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic and has the option of the G1 Prince Of Wales’s S. or G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot.

Whether the royal course is the next destination for Makfi’s son Magic Circle (Ire) remains to be seen but he certainly has his owner Marwan Koukash dreaming ahead to Melbourne after he followed up his Chester Cup win with a six-length romp in the G3 Henry II S. at Sandown. The in-form 6-year-old, now the winner of eight of his 21 starts, would need to be supplemented for the Gold Cup but wherever he ends up he looks to have an exciting season in store. Bought by his trainer Ian Williams for 70,000gns at last year’s Horses-in-Training Sale at Tattersalls, Magic Circle has already earned more than £130,000 in two starts for his new connections.

One of the youngest sons of Dubawi with runners is Oakgrove Stud’s homebred Al Kazeem (GB), who has suffered from a stop-start stud career but has been back at his birthplace for the last three seasons after returning to training in 2015 following a debut season blighted by fertility issues at the Royal Studs.

Appropriately, Roger Charlton—who trained Al Kazeem so deftly in parts one and two of his racing career—sent out the first stakes winner by the stallion in Friday’s Cocked Hat S. winner Apestar (Fr). HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s homebred is now unbeaten in two starts and is another who could be Ascot-bound with an entry in the G2 King Edward VII S.

Bansha Bandwagon Rolls On
There’s been much gnashing of teeth through this season’s breeze-up sales, which conclude on Friday at Baden-Baden. Plenty of vendors have been left with horses and will doubtless be coming to arrangements with trainers to race these individuals with a view to securing private sales.

Con Marnane has a headstart in this regard as he already has a successful arrangement with French trainer Matthieu Palussiere, who has already won this season with the unsold On A Session (Noble Mission {GB}), No More Regrets (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Reel Bizzy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Rolling King (More Than Ready).

Lest one think that the Marnanes don’t ever sell a good horse, it’s worth reflecting that in the last few weeks alone, their Bansha House Stud grdautes have included the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Teppal (Ire) (Camacho {GB}), Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis), who has won two Group races this season, and Itsinthepost (Fr) (American Post {GB}), winner of Saturday’s GII Charles Whittingham S. at Santa Anita. The last two named were bought collectively for just €25,000 as yearlings at the Osarus September Sale.

Pride Of Scotland
Gordon Thom may have significantly reduced his breeding operation since the sale of his New Hall Stud, but Scotland’s leading breeder still keeps a few mares on land he retained adjacent to the Ayrshire farm and on Saturday was celebrating the victory of Sophie P (GB) (Bushranger {Ire}), who gained the verdict in a tight finish to the GI Gamely S. at Santa Anita.

The 5-year-old is the second top-level winner bred by Thom after Donna Blini (GB) (Bertolini), who would go on to achieve even greater notoriety at stud as the dam of Japanese superstar Gentildonna (JPN) (Deep Impact {JPN}).

Sophie P was sold privately as a youngster to Thom’s local trainer Mike Smith, for whom she won four times and was Listed-placed before being bought by Gordian Troeller for 160,000gns at Tattersalls last year. Her dam, the Gainsborough-bred Fountains Abbey (Giant’s Causeway), failed to go back in foal the following year and is now retired.

“I didn’t put her in a yearling sale as it was at the time when Bushranger had gone off the boil and I didn’t want to just give her away,” recalled Thom of Sophie P. “I’d watch her in the field and the way she moved and carried herself, she just had something about her, so Mike started training her for some local lads who had a lot of fun with her.”

Donna Blini—whose half-brother Magical (GB) (Aggressor {GB}) won the GIII Will Rogers H. in America back in 1998—had cost just 20,000gns as a yearling but went on to be bought for 500,000gns by Katsumi Yoshida following her G1 Cheveley Park S. win.

Thom said, “I tried to keep her sister to breed from but the Japanese kept coming back to me to buy her and I gave in eventually.”

He added, “I’ve kept a mare or two here on land that’s been in my family for 150 years, and I have a couple of horses in training. I turn 70 in July but I hope I’ll always have an interest.”

 

 

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