Group 1 star Shalaa from family of Grade 1 sire

SHALAA (IRE) - 2013 bay colt

The early Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert) stallions include classic sire Lawman, Group 1 sire I Am Invincible and other blacktype sires such as Zebedee, Captain Marvelous, Vale Of York, Mayson and Born To Sea, which augurs well for the prospects of the increasing number of his sons who are taking up stud roles.

Shalaa was one of the star juveniles of 2015, a dual Group 1 winner over six furlongs, rated 123p by Timeform and looking every inch a potential Group 1 Commonwealth Cup hero of 2016. Sadly, he missed a full year off the track.​

His return to action was a winning one, but although he was sent off joint-favourite for the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes on what was to be his final start, that outing came just two weeks later. American commentators talk of a 'bounce' effect, where the second run back after a lengthy absence can be disappointing, and that may have been a factor.

A 371-day absence? No problem for SHALAA as he makes it six career wins in a row by landing the John Guest Bengough Stakes at Ascot pic.twitter.com/ozYjaOKKQV

— Channel 4 Racing (@Channel4Racing) October 1, 2016

It would have been fun to see Shalaa race as a four-year-old but, instead, he has joined the team at Haras de Bouquetot in France and his first book of mares reportedly includes the dual Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Treve.​

The best of several winners out of Grade 3-placed Ghurra (by War Chant), he is out of a half-sister to the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner Hayil (by Dayjur), to a string of blacktype earners and also to Abyat (by Shadeed), a mare whose Group 2-winning grandson Dragon Pulse (by Kyllachy) was a leading freshman of 2016.

Shalaa's grandam is the speedy stakes-placed winner Futuh (by Diesis) and that mare is a half-sister to the stakes-winning dam of dual Grade 1 scorer Wild Rush (by Wild Again), sire of the multiple Grade 1 stars Dream Rush, Hollywood Story, Stellar Jayne and Transcend, and of triple Canadian champion Judiths Wild Rush, among others of note.

There are many other stakes and graded winners to be found in the branches of the third generation of the family, but more eye-catching is the inbreeding in his pedigree.

The 3x3 to Danzig (by Northern Dancer) is easily apparent, but the broodmare sires of his parents are the full-brothers Kris and Diesis, thereby making him inbred 4x4 to Sharpen Up (by Atan) and to Doubly Sure (by Reliance). Sir Gaylord (by Turn-To) appears twice in the fifth generation, which is far back and will be off the chart of any of his progeny.

It is not possible to know if that will have any meaningful effect on his prospects as a stallion, although it does make it likely that quite a few of his offspring will also show some inbreeding within the first four generations of their pedigrees.

Shalaa was a dual Group 1 winning juvenile sprinter, a pattern winner from two starts at three, he is by a leading sire who has shown promise with his stallion sons, and he comes from the family of a dual Grade 1 star who sired several multiple top-level scorers. This makes him a highly promising new addition to the stallion ranks and he looks a likely source of high-class sprinters and milers.

SHALAA (IRE) – b.2013 – Invincible Spirit – Ghurra, 6 wins inc Prix Morny (Gr1), Middle Park Stakes (Gr1), July Stakes (Gr2), Richmond Stakes (Gr2), Bengough Stakes (Gr3). Sire in France. First foals in 2018.