The new Irish flat season, on turf, got underway recently at Naas and the opening meeting hosted the country's first pattern event of the year, the Group 3 Lodge Park Stud EBF Park Express Stakes over a mile.
The ground was on the heavy side of soft, the time slow in comparison to the other races over the same trip that day, and so the form may be unreliable, but the winner's performance gave her future paddocks value quite a boost. Czabo was already valuable before this success. A winner on the second of her two starts as a juvenile, she announced her blacktype potential first time out at three when taking the one-mile Esher Cup (handicap) at Sandown by two and a quarter lengths. She was a well-beaten fourth on her next two starts, the latter of which was the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas, won by Jet Setting, but then won a listed contest over a mile on soft ground at Deauville in early June. She came home last behind Qemah in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot on her only other start last season and beat just one home in a listed race at Saint-Cloud on her first outing of 2017. Czabo has had her limitations well-exposed, and her half-length defeat of Somehow at Naas and her official rating remained at 99 following this success, but she is a good advertisement for her sire and has the potential to produce one or more offspring who could surpass her achievements on the track. Czabo was bred by Norman Court Stud, in whose ownership she raced at two and three, and it is at that farm that her classic-winning sire stands. Sixties Icon, the Group 1 St Leger-winning son of classic stars Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) and Love Divine (by Diesis), has produced a surprising number of offspring who excel in the six to 10-furlong range and although awaiting his first top-level winner in the northern hemisphere, has supplied the dual Argentine Grade 1 star Sixties Song. Czabo is the first foal out of Fiumicino (by Danehill Dancer), a one-time scorer who earned her blacktype when runner-up in the Listed Masaka Stakes over a mile at Kempton. The mare's second produce is a two-year-old full-brother to her talented daughter: he has been named Billy Ray. Fiumicino is the best of three winners from nine foals out of the unplaced Valhalla Moon (by Sadler's Wells) and that mare is, in turn, a half-sister to four blacktype earners produced from Akuna Bay (by Mr Prospector), a winning relation to a string of Group 1 performers. It is the first three generations of her family tree that, obviously, make the greatest contribution to the genetic make-up of Czabo – who is inbred 3x3 to Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer) – but what's in the fourth and fifth ones cannot be ignored, even if just for pure academic interest. They show that the roots from which her somewhat unremarkable recent distaff line comes are strong, and with the opportunities that her new owners are likely to give her at stud, she may be capable of giving her branch new strength. Dark Lomond (by Lomond) is the fourth dam of Czabo and she was the champion three-year-old stayer in Ireland in 1988 after her victory in the Group 1 Irish St Leger over 14 furlongs at the Curragh. She also won the Group 2 Pretty Polly Stakes over 10 furlongs at the same venue, plus a listed contest at Phoenix Park, and she was runner-up in the Group 3 Meld Stakes. Dark Lomond only had five foals and, in addition to Czabo's third dam Akuna Bay, they included Gothic Dream (by Nashwan). That John Oxx-trained bay didn't win a stakes race but she was runner-up in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes and Group 2 Europachampionat, and third in the Group 1 Irish Oaks. Gothic Dream's best son is the Curragh and Fairyhouse listed scorer and Group 1 Irish St Leger runner-up Pugin (by Darshaan), and her stakes-winning daughter Chartres (by Danehill) is the dam of Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup victor Certerach (by Halling). She is also responsible for Sogno Verde (by Green Desert), who is the winning dam of Lilbourne Lad (by Acclamation). He showed notably different aptitudes to those of his best-known relations, possessing his sire's speed rather than the family's stamina, but failed to make the grade at stud. On the track he was a leading juvenile who won the Group 2 Railway Stakes and Listed Rochestown Stakes and was runner-up in both the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes. Each fifth-generation member on the pedigree chart contributes only 3.25%, which is why going back that far, or farther, is of little meaning beyond academic interest, and when the fifth dam of Czabo is a mare as well-known as Arkadina (by Ribot) then it would be remiss to fail to mention her. She won the Athasi Stakes, was placed in each of the Oaks, Irish Oaks, and Irish 1000 Guineas, and in addition to her Group 1-winning daughter Dark Lomond, she was the dam of Group 2 Blandford Stakes winner South Atlantic (by Mill Reef), Group 3 Silken Glider Stakes winner Forlene (by Forli), and Listed Ulster Derby scorer Encyclopedia (by Reviewer). She was out of champion three-year-old and US Broodmare of the Year Natashka (by Dedicate), was a full-sister to the pattern-winning stayer Blood Royal, and half-sister to Group 1 Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes winner Gregorian (by Graustark), and her siblings also included the Grade 2 winner Truly Bound (by In Reality), Grade 3 scorer Ivory Wand (by Sir Ivor; dam of Group 1 star Gold And Ivory, by Key To The Mint), and Tash (by Never Bend) who was the winning dam of Group 1-placed Group 2 scorer and somewhat successful sire Mukaddamah (by Storm Bird). Comments are closed.
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