Dabyah a well-related first-crop daughter of Sepoy

DABYAH (IRE) - 2014 bay filly

The shuttle sire phenomenon transformed the global bloodstock and racing industry but there is one aspect of it that has made minimal impact until recent years. That is the part known as reverse-shuttling, where southern hemisphere-bred stallions travel north.

Relative newcomers to the industry will know about the considerable success that stallions such as Exceed And Excel (by Danehill), Choisir (by Danehill Dancer) and Fastnet Rock (by Danehill) have had in Europe, but there were others before them who came and went quietly.

It is too early yet to know what sort of long-term impact Sepoy (by Elusive Quality) may have, because his eldest progeny are only three-year-olds, but the European half of his global first crop contains several individuals who have caught the eye in blacktype company. The Darley team member is at Dalham Hall Stud.

He had a listed sprint winner in Ireland recently, his Unforgettable Filly was runner-up to Daban (by Acclamation) in the Group 3 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket, and his exciting daughter Dabyah won the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Stakes (registered as the Fred Darling Stakes) at Newbury last week.

The John Gosden-trained bay beat Urban Fox by one and a quarter lengths in that seven-furlong classic trial and she may now bid for glory in next month's Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) at Deauville.

Watch: Frankie Dettori guides favourite Dabyah to a front-running success in the Dubai Duty Free Stakes. pic.twitter.com/YO7TzjNu4O

— Newbury Racecourse (@NewburyRacing) April 22, 2017

That will not be her first visit to France as she finished a one-length third to Wuheida in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac over a mile at Chantilly in October, and that good performance is her only defeat among four starts. Timeform rated her 110p at two.

She was a half-length winner of a seven-furlong Newmarket maiden on her debut in July and followed that with an impressive nine-length victory against three rivals at Newbury two months later, that time on soft ground.

Her sire was a top Australian sprinter, her siblings include a multiple 14-furlong scorer, and the family from which she comes is a famous one, all of which makes her an intriguing prospect.

We know that she stays a mile, her pedigree makes it likely that she will handle 10 furlongs, but whether or not she can follow in the hoofprints of some of her star relations by staying 12 furlongs will probably depend on what she has inherited from her sire.

Dabyah was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd and this 100,000gns graduate of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale is the fifth foal of a one-time scorer named Samdaniya (by Machiavellian). The mare is a half-sister to the Group 3 Winter Hill Stakes winner Queen's Best (by King's Best) – dam of last year's Timeform 122-rated Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Queen's Trust (by Dansili) – and also to Reverie Solitaire (by Nashwan), the pattern-placed stakes-winning dam of Group 2 Badener Meile heroine Royal Solitaire (by Shamardal).

Cloud Castle (by In The Wings) is the grandam of Dabyah. That Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes winner was runner-up in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille over a mile and a half at Longchamp and she is one of four top-level performers for her dam, the Listed Sweet Solera Stakes winner and Listed Cheshire Oaks third Lucayan Princess (by High Line).

Luso (by Salse), a joint-champion older horse in both Italy and Germany, notched up 10 wins on the track including the Group 1 Deutschlandpreis, the Group 1 Derby Italiano, and two editions of the Group 1 Aral-Pokal. He also won a pair of Group 2 Hong Kong International Vases, and two runnings of the Group 2 Premio Ellington, before going on to a somewhat successful career as a National Hunt sire.

His top-class half-brother Warrsan (by Caerleon) would have been a popular addition to the stallion ranks but died before getting his chance. His nine wins included two editions of each of the Group 1 Coronation Cup and Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden.

Needle Gun (by Sure Blade) is the other notable sibling, a Group 2 Gallinule Stakes and Group 3 Meld Stakes winner whose string of pattern placings included the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes, Group 1 Derby Italiano, Group 1 Premio Roma, and three editions of the Group 1 Premio Presidente della Republica.

These high-class horses also have a blacktype half-sister in Luana (by Shaadi) and although her only piece of it came when finishing third in the Listed Bentinck Stakes, she is the dam of the Group 1-placed triple pattern scorer Hattan (by Halling) and his Group 3-winning stayer half-brother Tastahil (by Singspiel).

A total of six of Lucayan Princess's progeny were winners but three of her lesser daughters have made their names at stud. Maskunah (by Sadler's Wells) is the dam of dual middle-distance pattern winner Laaheb (by Cape Cross), Mantesera (by In The Wings) is the dam of Group 3 Winter Derby scorer Nideeb (by Exceed And Excel), and the third one is Lunda (by Soviet Star).

Ten of Lunda's 15 foals are winners and the most high-profile of those is her gelded son Blue Monday (by Darshaan). He won the Group 3 La Coupe at Longchamp, the Listed Festival Stakes at Goodwood, and two runnings of the Group 3 Arc Trial at Newbury, and the races in which he was placed include the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes and Group 1 Eclipse Stakes.

His full-brother Lundy's Lane was runner-up in the Group 3 Craven Stakes and third in the Group 1 Derby Italiano, and his half-brother Rugged Cross (by Cape Cross) is a Group 3-placed listed race winner in Australia.

Their half-sister Jakarta (by Machiavellian), who won just once, is the dam of Group 2 Rockfel Stakes third Puggy (by Mark of Esteem) and it is that filly who went on to become the dam of dual French classic heroine Avenir Certain (by Le Havre).

Lucina (by Machiavellian) was the only one of Lunda's offspring who never raced, but as her progeny include Mehmas (by Acclamation), she has compensated for that and made a notable contribution to the family.

He was a notable juvenile of 2016, when he won the Group 2 July Stakes and Group 2 Richmond Stakes and was placed in each of the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes, Group 1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, Group 2 Coventry Stakes, and Listed National Stakes. Timeform rated him 115, but rather than stay in training to try for the top three-year-old sprints, he retired to Tally-Ho Stud where he commands a first season fee of €12,500.

Avenir Certain and Mehmas are distantly connected to Dabyah but she is clearly not short on notable relations closer up on the page. It would be still be an eye-catching family double if she can take either, or both, of the French fillies' classics and it will be interesting to see how far in the rankings this first-crop Sepoy filly can climb.