Seven-figure buy Glorious Journey bred for mile stardom

GLORIOUS JOURNEY (GB) - 2015 bay colt

Two sons of Dubawi (by Dubai Millennium) shared top billing at the 2016 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, each fetching a staggering 2,600,000gns. One was maiden winner Emaraaty, who was unplaced in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes in his final outing at two but is odds-on for a novice event at Newcastle tomorrow evening, and the other was Glorious Journey.

He joined the Charlie Appleby stable, made a winning debut over six furlongs at Newmarket in June and then beat Feralia by a length and a quarter to take the Group 3 Prix La Rochette over a furlong farther at Saint-Cloud three months later. Timeform gave him a rating of 105p.

He holds several classic entries, as you would expect, and he is due to make his seasonal reappearance in Thursday's Group 3 bet365 Craven Stakes over a mile at Newmarket.

#Plat Glorious Journey (Ch.Appleby) gagne sans trembler Px la Rochette Gr.3, sa 1ère victoire à ce niveau. #SaintCloud pic.twitter.com/dyTRFrsz5o

— Rendez-vous sur @Equidia (@EquidiaNews) September 8, 2017

Glorious Journey was bred by Normandie Stud Ltd and he is the second foal out of their Group 1 Coronation Stakes heroine Fallen For You (by Dansili). That Timeform 121-rated mare won three of her seven starts and her other piece of blacktype came when a neck runner-up to Lyric Of Light in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster.

Her late half-brother Fallen Idol (by Pivotal) was a mile stakes winner who stayed 10 furlongs, and their half-sister Fallen In Love (by Galileo) chased home Barshiba in the Group 2 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock before going on to become the dam of the smart Loving Things (by Pivotal).

That filly raced in her breeder's well-known pink and white colours, she won the Group 3 Prix de Flore over 10 and a half furlongs at Saint-Cloud and the Listed Pontefract Castle Stakes over a mile and a half, and she was only beaten a length when third to Endless Time in the Group 2 Lancashire Oaks.

Fallen Star (by Brief Truce), who is the grandam of Glorious Journey, was also a talented performer, winning three of her nine starts including a listed contest at Ascot. She was only beaten a head when losing out in a similar contest at that venue the previous autumn, she was a half-length runner-up to Welsh Diva in the Group 3 Premio Sergio Cumani, and she finished third to Dress To Thrill in the Group 3 Matron Stakes – all over a mile.

This was, of course, the distance over which her star half-brother excelled, as Fly To The Stars (by Bluebird) won the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes, Group 2 Prix du Rond Pont and Group 3 Prix Messidor.

Their dam, Rise And Fall (by Mill Reef), was unplaced but a valuable broodmare prospect as she was by a hugely influential stallion and out of Light Duty (by Queen's Hussar), a stakes winner who was runner-up in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, third in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, and a full-sister dual classic star and hugely influential mare Highclere.

It is from that Group 1 1000 Guineas and Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) heroine that Group 1 standouts such as Deep Impact (by Sunday Silence), Ghanaati (by Giant's Causeway), Nashwan (by Blushing Groom), Nayef (by Gulch), Talismanic (by Medaglia d'Oro), and Wind In Her Hair (by Alzao) descend.

Those celebrities are remotely connected to Glorious Journey, but if he lives up to his immediate pedigree and to the expectations that come with a seven-figure yearling price tag, then he could a Group 1 winner in waiting, likely at a mile or 10 furlongs.