Fifteen years ago, the Henry Candy-trained filly Airwave sprang a minor surprise when beating subsequent classic star Russian Rhythm by a length and a half in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.

She had won two of her previous four starts, including a listed contest at Ayr, and she went on to become a high-class sprinter, beating Repertory by three lengths in the Group 2 Temple Stakes at Sandown the following May, failing by just a half-length when runner-up to Choisir in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Ascot, and then taking third in both the Group 1 July Cup and Group 1 Sprint Cup.

Her four-year-old campaign yielded a five-furlong listed success at Ayr and a Group 2 second at Ascot, but rather than be retired to stud, which could have been expected, she crossed the Irish Sea to join the Aidan O'Brien stable and returned to action for a three-race campaign at five.

The best of those performances was her victory the Group 2 Ridgewood Pearl Stakes over a mile at the Curragh and that success, combined with being the daughter of a Group 1-winning miler (Air Express, by Salse), always made it odds on that, depending on their sire, her future progeny would be suited by that trip too.

Airwave, who is a half-sister to the ill-fated Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes heroine Jwala (by Oasis Dream), was the first notable horse in the most recent generations of her pedigree, but she and her descendants have elevated the family's standing to elite status, and her granddaughter Clemmie (by Galileo) is a leading classic candidate for 2018 following a trio of major wins at two.

The filly was a half-length third in a Curragh maiden over six furlongs on her debut in late May, was then pitched straight into pattern company for a crack at the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, and her seventh-place finish there behind Different League was promising.

Nine days later she opened her winning account with a two-and-three-quarter-length defeat of Butterscotch in the Group 3 Grangecon Stud Stakes at the Curragh, and it was just 12 days after that when she beat Nyaleti by one and three-quarter lengths in the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket.

She missed an intended outing in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes due to the very soft underfoot conditions and so was not seen out again until this afternoon's Group 1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.

Her old rival Different League briefly looked like posing a serious threat, but Clemmie pulled away in the final furlong, passing the post one and three-quarter lengths clear, with the French filly finishing a length and a half in front of third-placed Madeline.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Clemmie, who was bred by Liberty Bloodstock, is the third foal of Meow (by Storm Cat), a mare who showed some of her dam's speed and precocity.

​She ran only at two and only over the minimum trip, she won her maiden by seven lengths, was a neck runner-up to Maqaasid in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, narrowly won a listed contest at the Curragh, and then finished a well-beaten last behind Zebedee in the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes.

Her first foal is the twice-placed seven-furlong filly Curlylocks (by Galileo) and her second is Churchill (by Galileo), last year's juvenile champion, Group 1 National Stakes and Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes hero who added both the Group 1 2000 Guineas and Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas in the spring.

He was runner-up to Ulysses in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York last month and holds an entry in both the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Group 1 Qipco Champion Stakes in three weeks' time.

Clemmie and Churchill are very closely related to Meow's talented siblings Aloof (by Galileo) and Orator (by Galileo), both of whom stay 10 furlongs – the former won the Group 3 Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies' Stakes over nine and a half at Gowran Park, and 10-furlong scorer Orator got his listed race success over a mile in France.

Their ability to handle that trip is likely due to Galileo's influence, with the amount of speed on their distaff side probably keeping that outer stamina limit at 10 and a half furlongs – not that they have been asked to try farther.

She has only run over six furlongs so far, but Clemmie is all but guaranteed to stay a mile and she is clearly a major candidate for next year's classics at that trip. It is likely, but not certain, that she will also get another quarter-mile on top of that, which would give her a wider range of potential Group 1 targets in 2018, and so races such as the Prix de Diane (French Oaks) and Nassau Stakes could be on her radar too.

Nelson did not get off the mark until his third start, when taking a mile maiden at Leopardstown by three lengths, but he advertised his Group 1 potential on his next outing, with an impressive three-length defeat of Kew Gardens in the Group 3 Willis Towers Watson Champions Juvenile Stakes over the same course and distance.

In doing so he became the second pattern winner from Frankel's (by Galileo) second crop and a fifth blacktype scorer from his dam's first six foals.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained bay was bred by Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt, he is out of the Group 1 Irish Oaks heroine Moonstone (by Dalakhani) and so is a half-brother to listed race winners Nevis (by Dansili) and Stubbs (by Danehill Dancer), to thrice-raced Group 3 Munster Oaks scorer Words (by Dansili), and to US Army Ranger (by Galileo), the Group 3 Chester Vase winner who chased home Harzand in the Group 1 Derby at Epsom last year.

Nelson was sent off an odds-on favourite for the Group 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket this afternoon, and although he briefly looked like landing the prize, he was caught close to the line by the John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion, who was extending his unbeaten record to three.

The Curragh classic was the only race that Timeform 119-rated Moonstone won. Her string of blacktype siblings include Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary scorer Cerulean Sky (by Darshaan) – rated 114 by Timeform – and also L'Ancresse (by Darshaan), a filly whose only wins were a maiden and a listed contest but who was runner-up to Vintage Tipple in the Group 1 Irish Oaks and earned her 123 rating from Timeform for her final start, when runner-up to Islington in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Cerulean Sky is the dam of Group 2 Doncaster Cup winner and Group 1 St Leger third Honolulu (by Montjeu), L'Ancresse is the dam of the dual 12-furlong listed scorer Chamonix (by Galileo), and they are all out of the stakes-placed Solo De Lune (by Law Society), as are several other mares of note.

Listed-placed maiden Bywayofthestars (by Danehill) is the dam of Group 3 Chester Vase winner and Group 1 Irish Derby third Orchestra (by Galileo), Hi Ho The Moon (by Be My Guest) is the dam of Grade 2-placed dual listed scorer Latin Love (by Danehill Dancer), and Bright Halo (by Bigstone) is responsible for Group 2-placed stakes winner Nantyglo (by Mark Of Esteem).

Solo De Lune's half-brother Wareed (by Sadler's Wells) won the Group 2 Prix Hubert de Chaudenay, her half-sister Truly A Dream (by Darshaan) won the Grade 2 E.P. Taylor Stakes before going on to become the dam of multiple Grade 1-placed, Group 2 Prix de la Nonette heroine Dream Peace (by Dansili), and they were all out of Truly Special (by Caerleon).

She won the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont, her dam was the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas and Group 2 Moyglare Stud Stakes star Arctique Royale (by Royal And Regal), and her siblings featured the middle-distance Group 1-placed Group 2 scorers Russian Snows (by Sadler's Wells) and Modhish (by Sadler's Wells).

They also include one-time scorer Banquise (by Last Tycoon) who made her name at stud, producing the stakes winner Cold Cold Woman (by Machiavellian) and Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup third Robin Hood (by Galileo) and becoming the grandam of the multiple Group 1-placed Group 2 Summer Mile Stakes winner Aljamaaheer (by Dubawi), whose planned stud career was aborted due to infertility.

The fifth dam of Nelson is the Athasi Stakes and Musidora Stakes winner Arctic Melody (by Arctic Slave), which means that Arctique Royale was a half-sister to Le Melody (by Levmoss), dam of the great stayer Ardross (by Run The Gantlet) and of Group 3 scorer and influential broodmare Gesedeh (by Ela-Mana-Mou).

The latter's descendants include the Group/Grade 1 stars Electrocutionist (by Red Ransom), Robertico (by Robellino), and Royal Highness (by Monsun), whereas Ardross became a leading National Hunt stallion whose early flat-bred crops yielded Filia Ardross and Alderbrook, among others of note.

With all of this on the page, Nelson is clearly among the best bred horses in training, and if live up to his potential then he could be a top-class middle-distance horse in the making.

By late 2002, Vindication (by Seattle Slew) looked to have the world at his feet. The $2.15m Fasig-Tipton purchase swept through four juvenile starts unbeaten, culminating in a two and three-quarter-length victory the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which earned him the Eclipse Award as champion two-year-old.

But he never ran again, he took up stallion duties at Hill 'N Dale Farms in Kentucky, and died due to complications from colic after just five seasons. Those he left behind included Grade 2 scorer and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint second Dust And Diamonds, Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks runner-up Broadway's Alibi, Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 Ashland Stakes second Wyomia, and a couple of colts who did well in Ireland.

Free Judgement won the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes at two, added the Group 3 Tetrarch Stakes at three, and chased home Canford Cliffs in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas. That €50,000 Goffs Million graduate was trained by Jim Bolger, as was $560,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase Vocalised.

He finished fourth in the maiden won by Sea The Stars at Leopardstown on his debut, won a similar contest over the same course and distance on his only other start that year, and started off his three-year-old campaign in style, winning the Listed Loughbrown Stakes, Group 3 Greenham Stakes and Group 3 Tetrarch Stakes.

He was out of the frame in five subsequent starts, including the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas), and he took up stallion duties at Redmondstown Stud the following spring.

Vocalised's fee has been listed as private every year except 2015, when it was said to be €12,500, and his first crop featured the talented filly Steip Amach, who was bred by Jim Bolger and trained by him to win the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes and Group 3 Amethyst Stakes.

​She joined the David Smaga team shortly after the latter success and picked up third place in both the Group 1 Prix Rothschild and Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet.

His third crop includes the Bolger-bred and trained Vociferous Marina, who won the Listed Salsabil Stakes over 10 furlongs at Navan in April, and his fourth crop, which contained 55 foals, is headed by Verbal Dexterity.

He too is trained by Bolger, who bred him in partnership with John Corcoran, and he gave his sire a first winner at the highest level when beating Beckford by three and a half lengths in the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes over seven furlongs at the Curragh on Sunday.

The ground was on the heavy side of soft, there was another two and three-quarter lengths back to third-placed Rostropovich, and an additional four and a half-length gap back to Coat Of Arms in fourth.

Just over two months previously the first two had met in the Group 2 GAIN Railway Stakes over a furlong shorter at the same venue – on ground that was the easy side of good – and that day Beckford came out on top by a length. Timeform rated the pair 113p and 109p respectively.

This came three weeks after Verbal Dexterity made his debut, putting up one of the most visually impressive performances by any Irish juvenile in 2017 when storming home by nine and a half lengths over seven furlongs, on soft ground, also at the Curragh.

Verbal Dexterity is the second foal out of Lonrach (by Holy Roman Emperor), who was placed several times, and his grandam is Luminous One (by Galileo), who won once as a three-year-old and earned her blacktype when third in the Listed Eyrefield Stakes over nine furlongs at two.

This might not sound especially promising as a source of a Group 1 star and potential classic contender, but the sires of those mares give a clue that this is a branch of a prolific blacktype family.

The third dam of this rising star is the pattern-placed dual middle-distance stakes winner Smaoineamh (by Tap On Wood), a half-sister to Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp and Group 1 King's Stand Stakes star Double Form (by Habitat). The pair were out of Fanghorn (by Crocket), a mare from whom many notable performers descend.

Smaoineamh is the dam of the Listed Silver Flash Stakes winner Luminata (by Indian Ridge), who was placed in both the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac, and that half-sister to Luminous One is also a half-sister to Dathuil (by Royal Academy) and Scribonia (by Danehill).

The former is the Grade 3-placed grandam of Group 3 Brownstown Stakes heroine Tobann (by Teofilo), while the latter is the unraced dam of the pattern-winning fillies Cuis Ghaire and Scintillula and of their Group 1 Coronation Stakes-placed full-sister Gile Na Greine (by Galileo).

Scribonia is also the dam of the pattern-placed stakes winner The Major General (by Galileo), and her unraced full-sister Luminaria has chipped in with dual Listed Carlingford Stakes winner Paene Magnus (by Teofilo).

​One of most notable branches of the Fanghorn family is that descended from her triple-winning daughter Gradiva (by Lorenzaccio), the grandam of speedy pattern-placed stakes winner and influential broodmare La Meilleure (by Lord Gayle), who is the dam of classic-placed Group 1 scorer and successful sire Sholokhov (by Sadler's Wells), and of stakes winners Affianced (by Erins Isle), Napper Tandy (by Spectrum), and Zavaleta (by Kahyasi).

La Meilleure's descendants, therefore, include runaway Group 1 Irish Derby hero Soldier Of Fortune (by Galileo) – who, like his pattern-winning full-brother Heliostatic, has sired winners at the highest level – juvenile Group 1 scorer and blacktype sire Intense Focus (by Giant's Causeway), and this season's Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes winner Flight Risk (by Teofilo), among others of note.

Other notable descendants of Fanghorn include juvenile Group 1 stars Eva Luna (by Double Schwartz) and Loch Garman (by Teofilo), Group 3 scorer and blacktype sire Captain Gerrard (by Oasis Dream), classic-placed pattern winner Rehn's Nest (by Authorized), and US Grade 1 heroine Kitten's Dumplings (by Kitten's Joy).

Those horses are remotely connected to Verbal Dexterity, but the ones who appear within the first three generations of his pedigree, combined with what we know about his sire, suggest that he could be a high-class miler in 2017, with the possibility of getting 10 furlongs.

​Gustav Klimt missed his intended start in the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes, due to a stone bruise, and so we can only speculate as to how he may have fared against the impressive winner of that race, Verbal Dexterity.

He would have been sent off a warm favourite for the seven-furlong contest on the strength of his promising performance at Newmarket two months before, when he overcame trouble in running to get up on the line for a head victory from Nebo in the Group 2 bet365 Superlative Stakes.

​Great Prospector was a half-length back in third, with Zaman another three-parts of a length behind in fourth, but Timeform were impressed and rated the Aidan O'Brien-trained juvenile 112p. It was his third start and came 13 days after a maiden victory over the same trip at the Curragh.

Gustav Klimt holds a string of big-race entries so hopefully there will be another chance to assess his potential and to get an idea of how good he might be. What is not in doubt, however, is that he is bred to achieve anything, both on the track and, if he earns the chance, at stud.

The son of prolific champion sire Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) was, like many good horses, bred by the partnership of Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt. He is one of five blacktype performers out of Massarra (by Danehill), and she is a stakes-winning half-sister to Group 1 winner and influential stallion Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert).

Indeed, the mare could be described as being a three-parts sister to the Irish National Stud's flag bearer as both Danehill and Green Desert are sons of the phenomenal stallion Danzig (by Northern Dancer).

Massarra won the Listed Empress Stakes at Newmarket and was runner-up in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte so it is no surprise that all four of her stakes winners also achieved the feat at the age of two.

Nayarra (by Cape Cross), an Italian champion at that age, took the Group 1 Gran Criterium, Wonderfully (by Galileo) won the Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes, and Cuff (by Galileo) won the Listed Naas Juvenile Sprint Stakes. 

Her other blacktype earner is the ill-fated Mars (by Galileo), who finished sixth in the Group 1 Derby at Epsom, third to Dawn Approach in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes, fourth to Al Kazeem in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse, and runner-up in a Group 3 contest at Leopardstown.

In addition to being a sibling of Invincible Spirit, Massarra is a half-sister to the dual middle-distance Group 3 scorer Sadian (by Shirley Heights), to Group 3 Princess Royal Stakes heroine Acts Of Grace (by Bahri), and to the Group 3-placed sprinter Kodiac (by Danehill), a Tally-Ho Stud stallion who has soared through the rankings in recent years.

Her dam, Rafha (by Kris), won the Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) and is a half-sister to several blacktype-producing mares, most notably Chiang Mai (by Sadler's Wells), the Group 3 Blandford Stakes winner who gave us the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes heroine Chinese White (by Dalakhani).

Rafha's stakes-placed daughter Al Anood (by Danehill) is a three-parts sister to Massarra and Kodiac and, in addition to South African Grade 2 scorer and champion stayer Enaad (by High Chaparral), that mare has also given us dual Australian Group 1 star Pride Of Dubai (by Street Cry), a Coolmore shuttle sire whose first European foals will arrive in 2018.

Eljazzi (by Artaius), the winning third dam of Gustav Klimt, was out of Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Border Bounty (by Bounteous) and that made her a half-sister to the pattern scorers Valley Force (by Petingo) and Pitcairn (by Petingo) – the latter a champion sire whose offspring featured the Group 1 stars Cairn Rouge and Ela-Mana-Mou.

Dingle Bay, a full-sister to Pitcairn, did her part for the family by coming up with the dual Group 1-winning stayer and successful National Hunt sire Assessor (by Niniski), and she is the third dam of the pattern-winning middle-distance filly Bible Belt (by Big Bad Bob).

Gustav Klimt's more precocious siblings did not make an impact as three-year-olds, but that does not mean that he will fail to progress. If he lives up to his potential then he may win at the highest level, and if he earns the chance for a stallion career then, with his pedigree, you would expect that he will sire at least a few stakes winners.

The first crop by Banstead Manor Stud's Timeform 147-rated superstar Frankel (by Galileo) had already yielded a double-digit tally of stakes winners by the time his second crop got off the mark in blacktype company, and the juvenile who did the honours for him was the Aidan O'Brien-trained Rostropovich.

Unplaced over seven furlongs at Leopardstown on his racecourse debut in late May, he opened his winning account at Gowran Park a month later but then disappointed when last of three in a slowly-run contest at Naas.

Both that race and his debut were won by the Ger Lyons-trained Camelback, but the Ballydoyle colt got his revenge when the pair met for a third time. Rostropovich was all out to short-head Coat Of Arms in the Group 2 Galileo Irish EBF Futurity Stakes at the Curragh, with another stable companion, Berkeley Square, one and three-quarter lengths back in third, a head in front of Camelback.

Rostropovich, who was bred by Epona Bloodstock Ltd, is a 1,100,000gns graduate of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and he holds a string of big-race entries, including next year's Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas and Group 1 Investec Derby.

He is out of the dual seven-furlong winner Tyranny (by Machiavellian) and that makes him a half-brother both to Group 2-placed pattern winner Wilshire Boulevard (by Holy Roman Emperor), who is at stud in Denmark, and to Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner and Coolmore Stud stallion Zoffany (by Dansili).

Zoffany's eldest progeny are four-year-olds and his tally of 13 stakes winners includes classic-placed Group 1 scorer Ventura Storm, juvenile Group 2 winners Foundation, Illuminate, and Waterloo Bridge, Group 2 Mehl-Mulhens Rennen (German 2000 Guineas) victor Knife Edge, and the multiple Group 1-placed, pattern-winning sprinter Washington DC.

Tyranny is a half-sister to Grade 2 Lake Placid Handicap heroine Spotlight (by Dr Fong) and also to Dusty Answer (by Zafonic), the stakes-placed dam of Group 2 Oaks d'Italia runner-up Counterclaim (by Pivotal).

She is out of the Group 3 Prix de la Nonette scorer Dust Dancer (by Suave Dancer) – who is, in turn, out of a one-time juvenile winner named Galaxie Dust (by Blushing Groom) – and Dust Dancer's full-sister Dust Flicker is the dam of Listed National Stakes winner Sweepstake (by Acclamation), a precocious and speedy filly who was later a Grade 3-placed stakes winner over eight and a half furlongs in the USA.

But Dust Dancer also has two half-siblings of note. One is the Group 1-placed middle-distance stakes winner Zimzalabim (by Damister) and the other is Bulaxie (by Bustino), the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes winner and Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio runner-up who went on to become a successful broodmare.

Her daughter Injaad (by Machiavellian), who is somewhat closely related to Tyranny, is the dam of the stakes-winning sprinter Mutamarres (by Green Desert), but the most notable of Bulaxie's offspring is Claxon (by Caerleon).

She won the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio, she is the dam of Group 1-placed Grade 3 scorer Cassydora (by Darshaan) and of listed race winner Classic Remark (by Dr Fong), and she is the grandam of the pattern winners Ernest Hemingway (by Galileo) and Toulifaut (by Frankel). The first of that latter pair was best at 12-14 furlongs, and the other one won last year's Group 3 Prix d'Aumale over a mile.

All of Rostropovich's races have been over seven furlongs, but with the way he won at the Curragh, combined with his pedigree, there is every reason to hope that he could be effective at a mile to 10 furlongs next season, possibly also staying the mile and a half.

It remains to be seen just how good he is, but if he goes on to win at the highest level then one would expect that he would find a good place at stud, especially if Zoffany continues to produce stakes and pattern winners.

Those who have come into the industry in the past quarter of a century may be so used to seeing large books of mares and resulting foal-crop sizes that they could be forgiven for thinking this is how it always was.

But before numbers exploded to these somewhat recent levels, the norm was that a popular flat stallion covered 40 mares in a season, and maybe a few more. There was even some consternation in the 1980s when one high-profile new recruit was to get a book of 50 – hard to believe now.

Times have changed, of course, and so although his first crop of 38 foals would have been normal in the past, it is a number that placed Dalham Hall Stud's Group 1 star Farhh (by Pivotal) at somewhat of a disadvantage in challenging for prominence among the freshman sires of 2017.

He won one of two starts as a juvenile, one from three as a three-year-old, was multiple Group 1-placed at four and only hit his peak at the age of five when he took both the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes and Group 1 Champion Stakes.

That is the racing profile of a stallion of whom you'd expect no more than a handful of late-season two-year-old winners, one whose stakes and pattern winners would start to emerge over a mile and upwards at three and beyond.

And yet Farhh's handful of first-crop runners has so far yielded two blacktype horses, one a stakes-placed runner in Italy and the other one being Group 3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes scorer Wells Farhh Go. The colt's only prior outing was in a novice auction event over the same course and distance a month before, a race he won by two and a quarter lengths.

It remains to be seen just what he achieved in getting up on the line to pip James Garfield by a nose, although it is encouraging that the pair finished three and three-quarter lengths clear of third-placed Lansky, a colt who had won a Windsor maiden on his only previous start.

Wells Farhh Go was bred by Maria Marron, he made just €16,000 when sold in Goffs as a foal, and he is trained by Tim Easterby, who picked him up for 16,000gns from Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Given that he cost so little yet is by a top-class son of the sire of leading stallions Siyouni and Kyllachy, you might expect that the distaff side of his family is weak, and despite the high-profile horses that appear on the lower half of the page, it is a fair comment.

His third dam is Rosia Bay (by High Top), the dam of Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Roseate Tern (by Blakeney) and of Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up and four-time European Group 1 star Ibn Bey (by Mill Reef), and so the many smart horses who appear in the branches of that generation of the family include Group 1 Fillies' Mile heroine Red Bloom (by Selkirk) and classic-placed pattern scorer Red Camellia (by Polar Falcon).

The fourth dam is Ouija (by Silly Season), which means that Rosia Bay was a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Teleprompter (by Welsh Pageant) and to Selection Board (by Welsh Pageant) – the mare who gave us the brilliant Ouija Board (by Cape Cross) and her Derby-winning son Australia (by Galileo).

But despite all of this, Wells Farhh Go represents a branch of the family that has been largely unremarkable.

His grandam, Taqreem (by Nashwan), failed to win and although she has produced seven winners from 13 foals – one of whom is his dam Mowazana (by Galileo) – her only blacktype horse is the listed-placed Ma-Arif (by Alzao), a one-time winner whose grandson, Rangali (by Namid), was the only stakes winner in the first two generations of the pedigree until York.

That colt beat Catcall by two lengths in the Group 2 Prix du Gros-Chene in 2014, was a head runner-up to Move In Time in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp later that year, and was beaten a short-neck by Goldream in the same race 12 months later. Now aged six, he has been below par in a trio of stakes races in 2017.

Wells Farhh Go is the sixth foal of his dam, he is a half-brother to several winners, and he holds an entry in the Group 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes later this month. It will be interesting to find out just how good he is, and one could reasonably expect that, on pedigree, he will progress at three and perhaps four years of age, likely proving best at around eight to 10 furlongs.

Yearling sales season is under way and the recent victory of Billesdon Brook in the Group 3 Grosvenor Sport Prestige Stakes over seven furlongs at Goodwood provided two timely advertisements.

One is for her sire, a multiple Group 1 star who has proved his ability to get talented performers at all levels on the flat but who has now completed a first season as a dual-purpose stallion at Castle Hyde Stud.

Champs Elysees (by Danehill) is a full-brother to leading international sire Dansili, his offspring include Group 1 Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris and the classic-placed pattern scorers Jack Naylor and Xcellence, among others of note, and he began his career at Banstead Manor Stud.

But as soon a stallion switches to dual-purpose or National Hunt there is often a tendency to forget that he still has several flat-bred crops to run and that there is no reason why more blacktype horses will not emerge from those.

Billesdon Brook is, of course, a two-year-old. She could be an Oaks candidate in 2018 and, despite being from the family of a Champion Hurdle star, she is flat-bred.

Her success is also timely because it came just days after her half-sister Billesdon Bess (by Dick Turpin) got her first blacktype success, and these two fillies are the first two foals out of their dam, a mare whose Showcasing (by Oasis Dream) filly is catalogued as Lot 1136 in Book 2 of next month's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

The talented sisters are trained by Richard Hannon and they were bred by the Stowell HIll Partners. The elder one has won four of her eight starts, including her juvenile debut in October 2016, and her big win came in the Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Upavon Fillies' Stakes over 10 furlongs on fast ground at Salisbury.

Billesdon Brook, on the other hand, has now won three from seven and she was only beaten by a nose and a neck when third to Tajaanus and Capomento in the Listed Longines Irish Champions Weekend EBF Stallions Star Stakes over seven furlongs at Sandown in late July. The winner of that race has since gone on to pattern success, and fifth-placed Whitefountainfairy is the one who was the three-quarter-length runner in the Group 3 Prestige Stakes.

Their dam, Coplow (by Manduro), was placed a few times but is a half-sister to four blacktype earners, notably the Group 3 Prix d'Aumale winner and Group 2 Oaks d'Italia runner-up Middle Club (by Fantastic Light) and the unbeaten but tragically ill-fated Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes winner Piping Rock (by Dubawi).

She is out of Anna Oleanda (by Old Vic), a dual German winner whose full-sister Anno Luce is the pattern-winning dam of Grade 1 Champion Hurdle heroine Annie Power (by Shirocco), one of the most brilliant and popular National Hunt mares of recent years.

A half-sister to flat listed scorer Air Trooper (by Monsun), Annie Power is also a half-sister to Angeleno (by Belong To Me), who is the winning dam of US nine-furlong Grade 3 scorer Lady Pimpernel (by Sir Percy).

Anno Luce, meanwhile, is a daughter of the dual German champion Anna Paola (by Prince Ippi), the Group 2 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) heroine whose descendants also include notable performers such as Annus Mirabilis (by Warning), Pozarica (by Rainbow Quest), Annaba (by In The Wings), and Anna Of Saxony (by Ela-Mana-Mou).

The Group/Grade 1 scorers Ave (by Danehill Dancer), Anna Monda (by Monsun), Helmet (by Exceed And Excel), and Epaulette (by Commands) all appear in the family too, although they are more distantly connected to Billesdon Brook.

​At this point in her career, Billesdon Brook has not run beyond seven furlongs, but the way that she won at Goodwood suggested that a mile will be within her compass this year. Hers is a pedigree with middle-distance stamina and that suggests that it could be over 10 furlongs and beyond that she will prove most effective in 2018.

Whether or not she has the class to feature prominently in either the Group 1 Investec Oaks or Group 1 Darley Irish Oaks remains to be seen, but she could become a candidate for something like the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes Stakes, over the St Leger course and distance. Her Showcasing half-sister, on the other hand, is more likely to be a miler.

Group 1-winning miler Havana Gold (by Teofilo) stands at Tweenhills Farm & Stud and he has made a promising start to his stallion career with several talented early juveniles to his name. These include Qatar Racing Ltd's Treasuring, a 32,000gns graduate of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

The Ger Lyons-trained chestnut got off the mark at the second attempt, with a five-furlong success at Navan in early June, was out of the frame behind Heartache in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot 18 days later, but then suffered a surprise defeat at Down Royal a month after that.

She bounced back from that second-place finish to defy 9st 8lbs in a Tipperary nursery and then, just nine days later, added the Group 3 Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club Curragh Stakes on soft ground at the Curragh, beating Goodthingstaketime and Sirici by a half-length and the same.

It remains to be seen what she achieved in winning that race, but she has given her future paddocks value a tremendous boost, as well as proving a fine advertisement for her young sire.

She was bred by the Pocock Family, she is the first foal of You Look So Good (by Excellent Art), and she is out of a winning half-sister to the Group 2 Goldene Peitsche scorer Electric Beat (by Shinko Forest). 

Her dam is also a full-sister to the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes third Gray Pearl and her third dam, the unraced Grey Patience (by Common Grounds), is a half-sister to four blacktype performers. One of those is the Listed Easter Stakes winner Regiment (by Shaadi) and the other is the classic-placed dual listed scorer Cape Town (by Desert Style), a talented miler.

Those capable siblings also have three half-sisters that produced blacktype scorers at stud but, by a long way, the most notable of them is the top-class son of dual winner Tappen Zee (by Sandhurst Prince) as he is none other than Paco Boy (by Desert Style).

Winner of the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, Group 1 Lockinge Stakes, and Group 1 Prix de la Foret, he has been recently exported to Turkey but began his stallion career at Highclere Stud in England, shuttled to New Zealand, and his early offspring feature Group 1 2000 Guineas and Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes hero Galileo Gold.

Treasuring has a lot of progress to make if she is going to be up to taking on the best of her generation, but she has plenty of ability and may be capable of staying up to a mile next year.