Territories a Group 1-winning relation to two major sires

TERRITORIES (IRE) - 2012 bay colt

One of the things that we look at when assessing the future potential of any stallion is the presence or absence of successful sires within the first few generations of his pedigree. If his relations do include one or more horses who have done well as stallions then that does not confer any sort of guarantee on him, of course, but it does boost his prospects.​

In Territories we have a classic-placed Group 1 winner who was Timeform 111p-rated at two, 123 at three, and who has two major international sires in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

His fourth dam is the Group 1 Irish Oaks heroine Helen Street (by Troy) and she is both the dam of Australian champion sire Street Cry (by Machiavellian) and grandam of prolific Group 1 sire Shamardal (by Giant's Causeway).

The latter is out of Street Cry's stakes-placed full-sister Helsinki and both she and Street Cry are somewhat closely related to Taranto (by Machiavellian), the stakes-placed dam of Territories.

Their triple-winning half-sister Grecian Slipper (by Sadler's Wells) – the third dam of Territories – is the dam of Group 3 Prix de Conde scorer Graikos (by Rainbow Quest) and of Group 3 Prix de Barbeville winner Magna Graecia (by Warning), and she is the grandam of the Group 1-placed Australian Group 2 scorer Paximadia (by Commands). Magna Graecia is, in turn, Taranto's dam.

In addition to being a high-class racehorse from the family of two major sires, Territories has the attraction of being a son of leading international sire Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert), the Irish National Stud flag bearer whose stallion sons include Lawman, I Am Invincible, Captain Marvelous, Zebedee, Vale Of York, Mayson, and Born To Sea.​

These are all credentials that give Territories every chance of making the grade as a sire of high-class sprinters, milers and, with the right mares, some middle-distance horses, and Dalham Hall Stud's recruit looks likely to be among the busiest new sires of 2017.

TERRITORIES (IRE) – b.2012 – Invincible Spirit – Taranto, 3 wins inc Prix Jean Prat (Gr1), Prix de Fontainebleau (Gr3), 2nd 2000 Guineas (Gr1), Prix Jacques le Marois (Gr1), Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere Grand Criterium (Gr1), 3rd Prix Messidor (Gr3), Prix du Palais Royal (Gr3), Prix La Rochette (Gr3). Sire in England. First foals in 2018.