Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer) was one of the greatest stallions of all time, a prolific champion sire whose influence is carried on, around the world, by his many male and female descendants. A total of 294 of his progeny won at least one blacktype contest, but of them one achieved something unique.
His offspring were milers, middle-distance horses and stayers, some were notable two-year-olds, but among three-year-olds and upwards only one was a sprinter. The David Wachman-trained filly began her career with three juvenile starts over seven furlongs, was unplaced each time she tried further, and in an 11-race career she made the frame just twice. The first time was her victory in the prestigious Birdcatcher Nursery over six furlongs at Naas and the second was her neck win in the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes over six furlongs at Leopardstown the following summer. This race record made Evie Stockwell's filly Liscanna a fascinating broodmare prospect. Such pace was rare in a son or daughter of Sadler's Wells, and those for whom the eight to 10 furlong range was optimal, speed was strongly evident in the distaff side of their pedigree. The Irish 2000 Guineas and Breeders' Cup Mile hero Barathea, for example, could have won good sprints if asked to try them after his close fourth to Owington in the Group 1 July Cup, but aside from his two winning runs over seven as a two-year-old, it was the only time he raced over less than a mile. Liscanna is a daughter of Lahinch, an Aidan O'Brien-trained Danehill Dancer (by Danehill) filly who won three of 11 starts. She made her debut in the Group 3 Debutante Stakes over seven furlongs, finishing last, was then fourth in a six-furlong listed contest, and got off the mark at the third attempt, a maiden over five furlongs. She was a well-beaten fourth behind Queen's Logic in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes the following month, won a listed contest by four lengths over the minimum trip at Tipperary just five days later, and was then beaten by just a head in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes over seven furlongs at Newmarket. A listed success over the same trip at Leopardstown the following April was the only time that she made the frame in five starts that season. Her half-brother Perugino Bay (by Perugino) won twice over the minimum trip as a juvenile, was third to Pipalong in the Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy over six furlongs, and then failed by a neck to take the Listed Doncaster Stakes over the same trip on his final start that season. The 107-rated colt was third to Enrique in the Group 3 Greenham Stakes over seven furlongs the following spring. Liscanna's half-brother The Bogberry (by Hawk Wing) stayed further than she did, getting his best win in the Group 3 Kilternan Stakes over 10 furlongs. He was runner-up in the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt over the same trip, third in the Group 2 Prix Dollar over a half-furlong less, and was only beaten by about a length when fourth to Doctor Dino in the Grade 1 Hong Kong Vase over a mile and a half. Her half-sister Lahinch Classics is a little more closely related to her than he is, because she is a daughter of Galileo (by Sadler's Wells); they could be described as being three-parts sisters. That filly did not race beyond the 10 and a half furlongs of her maiden success at Dundalk and she earned her blacktype when a neck runner-up to Volume in a 10-furlong listed contest at Newbury, and again when short-headed by Mango Diva in the Group 2 Kilboy Estate Stakes over nine at the Curragh. Liscanna has five progeny of racing age and her three-year-old, two-year-old and yearling are all by Claiborne Farm's star stallion War Front (by Danzig), which makes them inbred 2x5 to Danzig, 3x3 to Northern Dancer and 4x5 to Forli. The eldest of that trio is the unbeaten Grade 1 winner Hit It A Bomb and his juvenile sister is the recent Group 3 Albany Stakes heroine Brave Anna, both of whom are trained by Aidan O'Brien. Hit It A Bomb made his debut over seven furlongs at the Curragh in late September, followed-up with an easy listed success over the same trip at Dundalk and then took the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf over a mile at Keeneland in late October. He has not been seen in action yet in 2016, but his string of big race entries includes next month's Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, for which he is available at around 12/1. Timeform rate him 119p. Brave Anna was unplaced in the five furlong maiden won by Roly Poly at Naas in April, but won over six furlongs at the Curragh before her short-head pattern success at Ascot. She is quicker and more precocious than her brother, which raises a question as to how far she will stay. He appears to be a miler who could stay 10 furlongs, but she may be a sprinter, perhaps a potential Group 1 Commonwealth Cup candidate in 2017 rather than a classic one. Timeform have Brave Anna on 105p, her entries feature the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes and the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, and it is going to be interesting to see how the careers of both siblings turn out.
On a day when one prolific Group 1-winning daughter of Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) added to her tally on the track, another one became the dam of her first blacktype earner. Both happened at the Curragh yesterday, and about 35 minutes before dual classic star Minding made it five wins at the highest level with an odds-on success in the Sea The Stars Pretty Polly Stakes, Roly Poly won the Group 3 Grangecon Stud Stakes.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained juvenile is a daughter of Claiborne Farm's excellent stallion War Front (by Danzig) and this was her first attempt at six furlongs. She was a short-head debut winner over the minimum trip at Naas in April, was beaten by almost eight lengths when fourth behind Caravaggio in the Listed Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh a month later, and then finished only eighth behind the stunning Lady Aurelia in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Ascot. That defeat came just 11 days before her pattern success, and as her entries include the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes and Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, we can expect to see her being stepped up in grade before long. Roly Poly is the second foal out of Misty For Me (by Galileo), the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine who beat Midday by six lengths in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes in 2011 and whose prior form features wins in both the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac. She finished third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf over 11 furlongs at Churchill Downs on her final start. Her progeny are listed as being bred by the Misty For Me Syndicate and her first foal is a three-year-old named Cover Song. That American-born bay is a daughter of Australian champion sire Fastnet Rock (by Danehill), whose shuttle seasons to Ireland have yielded the Group 1 stars Diamondsandrubies, Fascinating Rock and Qualify, she is a $450,000 graduate of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, and is a winner from two starts. Roly Poly's sire can count the European Group 1 winners Air Force Blue, Declaration Of War and War Command among his progeny, each of whom has been trained by Aidan O'Brien, his other seven top-level winners include their undefeated stablemate Hit It A Bomb, who won the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf almost eight months ago. The stallion's current juvenile crop also includes recent Group 3 Albany Stakes winner Brave Anna.
Misty For Me, whose yearling and current foal are also full-siblings to Roly Poly, is out of an unraced mare called Butterfly Cove (by Storm Cat) and that makes her a full-sister to two fillies of note. One of the pair is Twirl, who won the Listed Hurry Harriet Stakes at Gowran Park, was runner-up in the Group 3 Musidora Stakes and in the Group 3 Park Express Stakes, when trained by O'Brien, and had a War Front colt last year.
The other sister is Ballydoyle, one of the top juvenile fillies in Europe in 2015. She was short-headed in the Listed Chesham Stakes on her second start, then won a maiden at Newmarket before beating Minding by two lengths in the Group 2 Debutante Stakes at the Curragh. She then chased home that star in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes before beating Turret Rocks in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac – Criterium des Pouliches. Ballydoyle also chased home Minding in the Group 1 1000 Guineas on her seasonal reappearance, and although only sixth in a dramatic edition of the Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) eight days ago, she holds a string of top entries and is one of the ante-post market leaders for the Group 1 Tattersalls 250th Year Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket on Friday week. Butterfly Cove's two-year-old is a colt named Limited Edition (by Galileo). There are no guarantees with any mare, no matter what she did or didn't achieve as a racehorse or how she's bred, but it is not really any surprise that Butterfly Cove became a broodmare of note. Some have better prospects than others, a higher chance of success, and she has fulfilled that promise and support. In addition to being a full-sister to the Group 3 winner Kamarinskaya, she is a half-sister to Fasliyev (by Nureyev), who was Europe's juvenile champion of 1999. He won the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, Group 1 Prix Morny and Group 3 Coventry Stakes, retired to stud in the spring of his three-year-old season, and has sired winners at all levels without making a strong impact. Their dam, Mr P's Princess (by Mr Prospector), was also unraced, but in addition to being a full-sister to the Grade 2-placed Excavate, her siblings include the multiple US Grade 1 stars Desert Wine (by Damascus) and Menifee (by Harlan), both of whom enjoyed some success as stallions. She is also a half-sister to Arsaan (by Nureyev), who won a mile listed contest at Kempton before becoming the dam of the dual Chilean Grade 2 scorer Rock Star Show (by Lear Fan) and grandam of Blueridge Mountain (by Giant's Causeway), an Argentine-born filly who won the Group 1 Majorca Stakes over a mile at Kenilworth, in South Africa, in 2013. Dame Sybil (by Elocutionist), who was an unraced half-sister to Mr P's Princess, also did her part for the family. Her stakes-winning pair Never Speaking (by Foolish Pleasure) and Princess Sybil (by Cormorant) won a total of 27 races between them, and her dual Grade 2-winning son Alannan (by Conquistador Cielo) was third in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes. Her string of successful runners also includes four-times scorer La Sarto (by Cormorant) and that filly became the dam of the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes and Group 1 July Cup hero Les Arcs (by Arch). This is an outstanding family, and although the bare form of what Roly Poly has achieved so far leaves her with quite a bit to find if she is to be up to emulating so many of her relations by winning at least once at the highest level, the possibility that she could progress to that degree cannot be ruled out.
Newsells Park Stud's dual Group 1-winning sprinter Equiano (by Acclamation), who was reviewed here last month, has made a promising start to his stallion career with four Group 3 winners, four listed scorers and three others with blacktype to their name before this weekend.
Today the sire of Group 1-placed, pattern-winning sprinter Strath Burn got his biggest winner to date when the Ger Lyons-trained colt Medicine Jack beat Peace Envoy by half a length to take the Group 2 GAIN Railway Stakes over six furlongs at the Curragh. He won a maiden over the same trip at Navan a month ago, was third and sixth on his two prior outings, and given the trend of juvenile pattern winners being earmarked as future stallions, this young chestnut may now have his name on some lists. After all, not only is he by a sprint star son of Dark Angel's sire Acclamation (by Royal Applause), but he comes from the family whose string of notable sires is headed by the Japanese sensation Deep Impact (by Sunday Silence). Medicine Jack, the twelfth foal of his dam, was bred by Downfield Cottage Stud and he made just 10,000gns in Newmarket as a foal. Lyons secured him for €28,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, both amounts somewhat surprising for a half-brother to a long list of winners. Those siblings include the prolific pair Doctor Hilary (by Mujahid) and Only If I Laugh (by Piccolo), the Tom Dascombe-trained miler Captain Revelation (by Captain Rio), and that gelding's more highly-rated full-sister Agony And Ecstasy, who matched her brother's total of wins and won the Listed Snowdrop Fillies' Stakes over a mile at Kempton five years ago. That smart filly is the dam of the three-year-old Danish mile winner Secret Emotion (by Dutch Art), her second foal is a son of the classic sire Paco Boy (by Desert Style), and her third is a Medicean (by Machiavellian) colt who made just 12,000gns in Newmarket in November.
Loch Clair (by Lomond) is the grandam of Medicine Jack, but despite being a half-sister to a Group 1 winner and from the immediate family of various others who have won at the highest level, she was unplaced in three starts. Her tally of just three winners from eight foals was also disappointing.
That star among her siblings is Wind In Her Hair (by Alzao), the Group 1 Aral-Pokal winner and dual listed race scorer who chased home Balanchine in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom and finished third behind Pure Grain in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks the following summer. Both of those rivals also had Irish classics on their records as Balanchine beat the colts in the Group 1 Irish Derby, and Pure Grain was a six-length winner of the Group 1 Irish Oaks. Wind In Her Hair is the dam of US Grade 3 scorer Veil Of Avalon (by Thunder Gulch) and of two Japanese stakes winners, she is the grandam of the late Group 1-placed, Group 2-winning miler and notable dual-purpose stallion Jeremy (by Danehill Dancer) and, of course, she is most famous as being the dam of the aforementioned Deep Impact. A Triple Crown hero who won seven times at the highest level, his only two defeats in a 14-race career were a half-length loss to Heart's Cry in the Arima Kinen at Nakayama in December of his three-year-old campaign and the following year's Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when he passed the post a neck and half a length behind Rail Link and Pride, a position from which he was disqualified. Deep Impact stands at Shadai Stallion Station and his 25 Group 1 winners include this year's classic stars Makahiki, Dee Majesty and Sinhalite, plus the runaway Prix d'Ispahan scorer A Shin Hikari. Dee Majesty beat Makahiki and Satono Diamond in the Satsuki Sho (2000 Guineas), another classic 1-2-3 for their sire, and when the trio met again in the Tokyo Yushun (Derby), Makahiki won by a nose from Satono Diamond, with Dee Majesty a half-length behind in third. Sinhalite lost the Oka Sho (1000 Guineas) by a nose in April but won the Yushun Himba (Oaks) in May, a race in which Biche (by Deep Impact) finished third. His prior roll of honour includes the dual classic and dual Group 1 Japan Cup heroine Gentildonna, whose earnings came to the equivalent of over £12 million, Dubai Group 1 scorer Real Steel, and Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Beauty Parlour, to name just three. In total, Deep Impact has 68 pattern winners and 14 listed scorers to his name, despite being just 14 years old, and although it is very early for him yet as a sire of stallions and broodmares, his potential to forge a dynasty, just as his own sire did, is considerable.
With a superstar like this in his immediate family, it is easy to see why further pattern success, or even Group 1 placings, could book an eventual stallion role for Medicine Jack.
Wind In Her Hair's half-sister Capo Di Monte (by Final Straw) also did her bit for the family's honour, both on the track and at stud. A Grade 3 winner in North America after taking the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes and Listed Virginia Stakes in England and earning the runners-up spot in the Group 2 Sun Chariot Stakes, she is the grandam of the Grade 1-placed Grade 3 scorer Magic Mission (by Machiavellian). That filly, in turn, has a talented son running in France this season, namely the Andre Fabre-trained Talismanic (by Medaglia d'Oro), who won a 12-furlong listed contest in heavy ground at Saint-Cloud last month before finishing fourth behind Almanzor in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly. Burghclere (by Busted), the third dam of Medicine Jack, is also the ancestor of a variety of other stakes winners, including the Group 3 Bengough Stakes winner and Group 1 July Cup third Eastern Impact (by Bahamian Bounty), Group 1-placed stakes winner Yehudi (by Sadler's Wells), and the high-class Japanese colt Win Kluger (by Taiki Shuttle). As a racehorse she won just once and her blacktype came from a fourth-place finish in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, which counted in those days. And despite what has been creeping into some sales catalogues in recent seasons, finishing fourth has not earned blacktype for a very long time now, and fifth place never did. Burghclere's success at stud was hardly a surprise give that she was out of the Group 1 1000 Guineas and Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) heroine Highclere (by Queen's Hussar), the Timeform 129-rated filly who chased home the great mare Dahlia (Timeform 135-rated) in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot before going on to become one of the most influential broodmares of all time. Her son Milford (by Mill Reef) won the Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes but, like most sons of his great sire, disappointed at stud, and those who descend from her Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes runner-up Highbrow (by Shirley Heights) include multiple Group/Grade 2 scorer Blueprint (by Generous), Group 1 stars Kingdom Of Fife (by Kingmambo) and Ask (by Sadler's Wells) and the high-class sprinter Astrophysical Jet (by Dubawi). Her daughter Wily Trick (by Clever Trick) is the dam of classic-placed Group 2 scorer Elegant Fashion (by Danewin) and grandam of Group 1-placed pattern scorer Star Fashion (by Street Cry), and Beacon Hill (by Bustino) is the grandam of the pattern-winning miler Banknote (by Zafonic). The most famous of Highclere's daughters, however, is her juvenile star and subsequent Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes winner Height Of Fashion (by Bustino), the mare who gave us the Guineas, Derby, Eclipse and King George hero Nashwan (by Blushing Groom) and top-class middle-distance stars Nayef (by Gulch) and Unfuwain (by Northern Dancer), among others of note. Each of that trio has several Group 1-winning progeny to his name, their stakes-placed half-sister Bashayer (by Mr Prospector) is the grandam of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Lahudood (by Singspiel), while their stakes-winning sister Sarayir (by Mr Prospector) is responsible for both the Group 1 1000 Guineas and Group 1 Coronation Stakes heroine Ghanaati (by Giant's Causeway) and Group 1-placed pattern scorer Mawatheeq (by Danzig). Notable individuals who also descend from Height Of Fashion include Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes winner Maqaasid (by Green Desert), South American Grade 1 scorer Il Fornaio (by Orpen), Group 2 Premio Ribot winner Oriental Fashion (by Marju), US graded winners Makderah (by Danehill) and Mustanfar (by Unbridled), and the multiple Group 1-placed Group 2 Temple Stakes winner Hot Streak (by Iffraaj), who is in his first season at Tweenhills Farm & Stud. Most of those horses are remotely connected to Medicine Jack, but as a son of Equiano that comes from the immediate family of Deep Impact, and whose fourth dam is Highclere, Group 2 success has made him a very interesting individual. This bargain basement colt holds entries in the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes and Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes, both at the Curragh, and it will be fascinating to see how highly in the rankings he can climb. The team at Tally-Ho Stud have a knack for turning non-stakes winning racehorses into Group 1 sires and Kodiac is one of their greatest successes.
A multiple sprint handicap scorer who was runner-up in the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury, the son of Danehill (by Danzig) is out of the 1990 Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) heroine Rafha (by Kris) and that makes him a half-brother to Group 1 Sprint Cup winner and major sire Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert). He began his career at a fee of €5,000 and such is the reputation that he has built in recent seasons that he was advertised at €45,000 for 2016. His yearlings made up to 360,000gns last season, foals up to 255,000gns, and his Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes-winning daughter Tiggy Wiggy was sold for a massive 2,100,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sales in Newmarket. That classic-placed filly is currently his only winner at the highest level, but it is surely all but guaranteed that she will not hold on to that particular accolade for much longer. Kodiac's 25 blacktype winners include four Group 2 scorers and five who have won at Group 3 level, and his latest batch of two-year-olds features Ardad and Prince Of Lir, winners respectively of the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes and Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot this week. The latter was bred by Philip and Orla Hore, he is trained by Robert Cowell, and The Cool Silk Partnership had to go to £170,000 to secure him at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale at Doncaster in April. That was a nice return on the £40,000 he fetched at the same venue as a yearling. Prince Of Lir is the second foal out of Esuvia (by Whipper), a former Bryan Smart-trainee who won once over five furlongs and twice over six furlongs, achieving a peak handicap mark of 86. Her siblings include the five-times sprint winner Matuza (by Cadeaux Genereux), the multiple middle-distance scorer Well Painted (by Excellent Art), and also Resplendent Glory (by Namid). The late Terry Mills trained that chestnut to win six of his nine starts, including Group 3 and listed sprints at Sandown, and from limited opportunities at stud the grandson of Indian Ridge (by Ahonoora) has sired several multiple winners, headed by his first-crop son Dreams Of Glory, a five-furlong specialist with 10 wins from 59 starts. Aoife (by Thatching), who is the grandam of Prince Of Lir, won twice, she is responsible for seven winners from eight foals, and is a half-sister to the Group 2 King's Stand Stakes third Funny Valentine (by Cadeaux Genereux). Her siblings also include Dame Hester (by Diktat), a stakes-placed dual winner whose son Donnerschlag (by Bahamian Bounty) won a Group 3 sprint at Hamburg, in Germany, last summer. That six-year-old is trained by Jean-Pierre Carvalho and, three weeks ago, he finished third behind Shining Emerald in the Group 3 Silberne Peitsche over six furlongs at Baden-Baden. The next dam, Aunt Hester (by Caerleon), was a winner at two and as she was out of the triple scorer Lady Hester (by Native Prince) that made her a half-sister to the Group 2-placed Group 3 Prix Daphnis winner L'Irresponsable (by Ile de Bourbon) and to Najaba (by Touching Wood), a Group 2-placed stakes winner in New Zealand who has some notable descendants. Najaba's great-granddaughter Platinum Witness (by California Dane) won the 2014 Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and two other pattern events, she was runner-up in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks, and finished third in the Group 1 Windsor Park Horlicks Plate in October. That filly's stakes-winning dam Chartreuse (by St Petersburg) is a half-sister to the dam of the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks runner-up and dual pattern scorer Zennista (by Zenno Rob Roy). Those top performers are too remotely connected to Prince Of Lir to be in a position to give us any sort of idea of his future potential, but as a Kodiac colt from the immediate family of Resplendent Glory and Donnerschlag, it seems clear that his bright future on the track most likely lie within the sprinters' division.
Coolmore Stud's classic winner and juvenile Group 1 star Power (by Oasis Dream) got his first stakes winner when the Aidan O'Brien-trained Peace Envoy held on to beat his stable companion Lundy by half a length in the Listed Coolmore War Command Rochestown (C&G) Stakes over six furlongs at Naas.
The colt was bred by Team Hogdala A B, he made a winning debut over five furlongs at Dundalk in April and was then runner-up, at odds-on, over the same trip in soft ground at the Curragh. Both he and the colt he beat on Sunday hold Group 1 entries. Peace Envoy is a €125,000 graduate of the Arqana Deauville October Yearling Sale and his siblings include Kadyny (by Zamindar). That colt was third in the Group 3 Prix des Chenes as a two-year-old and won the Czech Derby over 12 furlongs the following summer, a race that carries local Group 3 status but does not give its winner blacktype as per the International Cataloguing Standards. His dam ran three times at two, finishing well-beaten at Newmarket and at Redcar and picking up fourth place over eight and a half furlongs at Windsor, beaten by nearly six lengths. Her sole win from seven starts at three came in a 10-furlong handicap on firm ground at Brighton. Hoh My Darling (by Dansili) is, in turn, out of an unraced mare called Now And Forever (by Kris), and that full-sister to Group 3 May Hill Stakes runner-up and Listed Middleton Stakes third Everlasting Love is a half-sister to the Group 3 Curragh Cup scorer and successful National Hunt stallion Witness Box (by Lyphard).
These are the highlights of the first three generations of the pedigree, and it is not the sort of profile that one would expect of a mare who would go on to produce a precocious six-furlong listed scorer. This would suggest that Peace Envoy's young sire is largely responsible for his aptitude.
If you go back another step in the family's history then you will find that his third dam, Excellent Alibi (by Exceller), was a half-sister to the great racehorse and broodmare Dahlia (by Vaguely Noble), the classic and prolific Group/Grade 1 star whose progeny feature the top-level winners Dahar (by Lyphard), Dahlia's Dreamer (by Theatrical), Delegant (by Grey Dawn II) and Rivlia (by Riverman), and whose descendants include the Group 1 winning stayers Nedawi (by Rainbow Quest) and Rite Of Passage (by Giant's Causeway). In a remarkable coincidence, Peace Envoy and Vona, the filly who won the season's first juvenile stakes race, come from branches of the same family, although their actual relationship to each other is remote; they merely share a fourth dam in Charming Alibi (by Honeys Alibi). Peace Envoy earned a Timeform figure of 102p for his recent success and it will be interesting to see how far up in the rankings he can go by the end of the year. He has plenty of pace, and he could do well in some of the season's better two-year-old sprint events, but his pedigree gives him prospect of staying further than that. The Listed Cold Move European Breeders Fund Marble Hill Stakes is no longer the first juvenile blacktype contest of the season, but it is still the first one in Ireland and the 2016 edition was won easily by the odds-on favourite Caravaggio.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt, who was bred by the partnership of Windmill Manor Farms Inc and Petaluma Bloodstock, was an even shorter price when beating Lundy on their debut over five furlongs at Dundalk last month. His two and a quarter length defeat of Mister Trader at the Curragh impressed Timeform and his figure of 112p puts him clear at the top of their rankings for his age group. Caravaggio is a son of the late Ashford Stud stallion Scat Daddy. Winner of the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes over a mile as a juvenile and of the Grade 1 Florida Derby over a furlong farther at three, the son of two-year-old champion Johannesburg (by Hennessy) has sired 70 individual stakes winners, 16 of whom have won at least once at the highest level, and his sudden death came shortly after his fee for 2016 had been raised to $100,000. He was only 11 years old. His high total of Grade 1 winners may surprise some, but he was a shuttler to Chile and 13 of his progeny have achieved the feat in South America. Nine of the 13 are classic stars, several others have been classic-placed, and the roll of honour includes the Chilean Derby winners Solaria (2014; filly) and Il Campione (2015). Scat Daddy is also responsible for Lady Of Shamrock, whose wins include the Grade 1 American Oaks Stakes and the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, for the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes scorer Nickname, and for a trio that are well-known to European race fans: No Nay Never, Daddy Long Legs, and Acapulco. No Nay Never was trained in the USA by Wesley Ward but he made two trips to Europe, winning the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot and then the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville. His overall career record was four wins and two seconds from six starts, and his final appearance was when a half-length runner-up to Bobby's Kitten in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. He is now a member of the Coolmore Stud stallion team and some of his first foals will be in the auction ring later in the year. Ward is also the trainer of last year's Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes winner and Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes runner-up Acapulco. She is one of the ante-post market leaders for both the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes and the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and she has been an easy winner of both her starts in the USA this year. Daddy Long Legs began his career with Aidan O'Brien, he won the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes, which was run at Newmarket that year, and also the Group 2 UAE Derby at Meydan, and the best of his subsequent performances was when fourth behind Power in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas, just a neck away from earning the accolade classic-placed. He is now at stud in Florida. None of these horses is related to Caravaggio, but he does come from a blacktype family whose members include a Grade 1 scorer. He is the sixth foal out of the juvenile sprint listed winner Mekko Hokte (by Holy Bull) and his successful siblings include My Jen (by Fusaichi Pegasus). Her four wins, from nine starts, were headed by the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap over six and a half furlongs at Belmont Park, and she was also a six-furlong listed scorer as a two-year-old. Stakes winner Silver In Flight (by Silver Series), whose placed efforts featured the runners-up spot in the Grade 2 Black Helen Handicap over nine furlongs on turf at Hialeah, is the third dam and so Caravaggio's winning grandam Aerosilver (by Relaunch) is a half-sister to Theatre Flight, a mare who won in Ireland. She was trained by Dermot Weld and, as one might expect of a daughter of Group 1 Irish Derby runner-up and multiple Grade 1-winning US turf champion Theatrical (by Nureyev), she stayed a bit farther than might be expected of her young relation. She won an 11-furlong maiden at Killarney and a 10-furlong handicap at Listowel, her ill-fated son Sharp Performance (by Kris S) won the Grade 3 Lawrence Realization Stakes over 12 furlongs and he finished third in the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes over a mile and a quarter at Arlington. Middle-distance stamina is also evident in the fourth generation of the pedigree as Stark Winter (by Graustark), a stakes-winning half-sister to Silver In Flight, was the dam of Bien Bien (by Manila). He won the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup and the Grade 1 San Luis Rey Stakes over 12 furlongs and also the Grade 1 San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap over a quarter-mile farther. Caravaggio, however, is bred for speed, and given the talents of his dam and half-sister, and his sire's northern hemisphere record, it is likely that he will be a sprinter or maybe even a colt who will eventually stay a mile. He would be a leading contender for whatever Royal Ascot event he might try, and his big race entries for later in the season include the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes and the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes. For many years the first juvenile blacktype event of the season was the Listed Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh, but now that five furlong contest is preceded by a race at York.
The 2016 edition of the Listed Langleys Solicitors EBF Marygate Fillies' Stakes attracted 11 runners, and although the combination of an unremarkable time on fast ground with the first four finishers being within two lengths of each other at the line suggests that considerable improvement will be needed from them if they are to make the progression to pattern level, each of the first three has boosted her future paddocks value by earning blacktype. The honour of being the first two-year-old stakes winner of the year goes to the Richard Fahey-trained Vona, a daughter of Yeomanstown Stud stallion Dark Angel (by Acclamation). She beat the Mark Johnston-trained favourite Boater (by Helmet) by a length, Perfect Madge (by Acclamation) was a head back in third, and this victory makes her look like a bargain buy. She was bred by Colm McEvoy and she made just €15,000 when sold at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale. Being the daughter of such a notable sire one might suspect that the distaff side of the family must be light on blacktype to result in such a price, but this is not the case. She is the seventh foal out of an unraced mare called Trading Places (by Dansili) yet has just two winning siblings and one of those was still a maiden when the filly went through the ring. He is the five-year-old gelding Dynamo (by Galileo) who has won twice in recent weeks for the Richard Hughes stable, including a two-mile handicap at Lingfield. The mare's poor strike-rate is a little surprising given that she could be described as being a three-parts sister to a Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero, and that relation is Rail Link. His wins also included the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris, his stakes-winning progeny feature the Group 1 Australian Cup scorer Spillway and Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Epicuris, and he stands at Haras de Cercy in France. Rail Link is a half-brother to the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris winner Crossharbour (by Zamindar) and to Group 3 scorers Chelsea Manor (by Grand Lodge) and Mainsail (by Oasis Dream), and his five-times winning dam Docklands (by Theatrical) is a half-sister to Trading Places. The two mares are also half-sisters to the Listed Prix de Lieurey winner Mooring (by Zafonic), who has a listed-placed daughter of her own, to Group 3 July Stakes winner and Group 2 Lockinge Stakes runner-up Wharf (by Storm Bird), and to a trio that have produced blacktype winners at stud. Fonage (by Zafonic) won twice and is the dam of the Listed El Gran Senor Stakes winner Zafonical Storm (by Aljabr), Galley (by Zamindar) was placed a few times but is the dam of the 10-furlong listed scorer Cape Magic (by Cape Cross), and Colza (by Alleged), who won a mile maiden on her only start at two, is the dam of the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Linda's Lad (by Sadler's Wells). He stands at Haras de Grandcamp. Not only is the amount of blacktype in the second generation of Vona's pedigree striking, but it is almost all mile and middle-distance talent, so quite different from what is required to win a five-furlong listed event for precocious two-year-olds. The stars in the fourth generation of the family are quite distant from her, but as her fourth dam is the 16-times scorer and multiple blacktype winner Charming Alibi (by Honey's Alibi), they have to be mentioned because, in addition to Vona's third dam Golden Alibi (by Empery), that mare's progeny included Dahlia (by Vaguely Noble). The classic and prolific Group 1 star was one of the greatest fillies of all time and she went on to become one of that select group of mares to get at least four Group/Grade 1 winning progeny. Her quarter were Dahar (by Lyphard), Dahlia's Dreamer (by Theatrical), Delegant (by Grey Dawn II) and Rivlia (by Riverman), and her descendants also include the Group 1 St Leger winner Nedawi (by Rainbow Quest) and Group 1 Gold Cup scorer Rite Of Passage (by Giant's Causeway). By remarkable coincidence, Charming Alibi is also the fourth dam of today's Listed War Command Rochestown (C&G) Stakes winner Peace Envoy (by Power), although he and Vona represent very different branches of the family. The speed from Vona's sire is clearly a factor in her aptitude, and as not all of his progeny are sprinters, one would imagine that the amount of stamina present in the distaff side of her pedigree must give her a chance of staying seven furlongs or a mile in time. It will be interesting to see how much she can improve on this winning effort or if it will be a performance-of-a-lifetime one as there was good reason why she was sent off at 33/1 that day. She was last of nine at Southwell in early April and then fourth behind the promising Mehmas at Chester, that run coming just eight days before York. And yet what you would expect of the bulk of the distaff side of her pedigree is that she might not have been ready to race until the autumn, possibly over six or seven furlongs. Vona is catalogued as Lot 39 for the Goffs London Sale on 13th June. |
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