Pride's son One Foot In Heaven is on the upgrade

ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (IRE) - 2012 bay colt

One Foot In Heaven is lightly-raced for a horse of his age. He did not make his debut until mid-October of his three-year-old season, when he finished sixth in a 10 and a half furlong Saint-Cloud maiden, and he opened his winning account two months later on the polytrack at Deauville. First time out at four he was third in an 11-furlong contest at Lyon Parilly, and at that point of his career one could be forgiven for thinking that he was not going to live up to his illustrious pedigree.

The colt still has some way to go to be as talented as his dam, but the son of outstanding Australian stallion Fastnet Rock (by Danehill) won a 12 furlong listed contest at Maisons-Laffitte in April, followed-up in the Group 3 Prix d'Hedouville over the same trip at Saint-Cloud a few weeks later, and then completed a hat-trick when beating Garlingari by three-parts of a length in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly on Sunday.

He was bred by Craigavon Agro Ltd, he is trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, he is the fourth foal and fourth winner for his dam, and that mare is the Group 1 Champion Stakes heroine Pride (by Peintre Celebre). She also won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Group 1 Hong Kong Cup, the Group 2 quartet of Prix Corrida, Prix Jean Romanet, Prix Foy and Prix du Conseil de Paris, and also the Group 3 Prix Allez France.

She was only beaten a neck by Rail Link in the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, by the same margin when runner-up to Vengeance Of Rain in the 2005 edition of the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup, and by three-parts of a length when chasing home David Junior in that year's Group 1 Champion Stakes at Newmarket. She retired with the equivalent of almost £2.2 million in prize money to her name, and Timeform rated her 128 as a six-year-old.

Pride's fifth foal is a three-year-old colt named Man of Honor (by Raven's Pass), her sixth is a juvenile filly named Speciality (by Lawman), and she had a son of classic star Reliable Man (by Dalakhani) in 2015.

She is out of Specificity (by Alleged) and that makes her a half-sister to Fate (by Teofilo), a mare who also raced to the age of six. She won the Group 3 Prix de Flore, was runner-up in the Group 2 Prix Corrida, and her third place finishes include to Cirrus Des Aigles in the Group 1 Prix Ganay, to Ming Dynasty in the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris, and to Al Kazeem in the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt.

Pride is also a half-sister to Tenderly (by Danehill), who is the non-winning dam of the US six and a half furlong Grade 3 scorer Ten Meropa (by Johannesburg), and of Specifically (by Sky Classic), the one-time winner whose double-digit tally of successful progeny is headed by the Group 1 1000 Guineas heroine Speciosa (by Danehill Dancer).

That classic star also won the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes and the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes, she was runner-up in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes, third in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes, and has produced a couple of minor winners. Her current two-year-old is named Leveck (by Dutch Art), that colt was followed by a son of Dark Angel (by Acclamation), and having been rested for a year, she was reported in the spring as being booked to visit Kyllachy (by Pivotal) this season.

Speciosa's half-brother Major Rhythm (by Rhythm) has a double-digit tally of wins to his name, including a Grade 3 handicap at Arlington and several listed races, and her half-sister Special Meaning (by Mount Nelson), who was runner-up in a Group 3 contest at Hanover in October 2014, won six times including a 12 furlong listed event at Goodwood.

Specificity, the grandam of Speciosa and of One Foot In Heaven, won the Listed George Stubbs Stakes over two miles at Newmarket, she is out of the Group 3 Princess Royal Stakes winner and Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes runner-up Mandera (by Vaguely Noble), and that makes her a half-sister to a couple of horses of note. Touching Wood (by Roberto) won both the Group 1 St Leger and Group 1 Irish St Leger in 1982, and dual Grade 3 scorer African Dancer (by Nijinsky) was only beaten by a length when second to Marlin in the Grade 1 San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap in 1997.

With a Group 2 success to his name one would imagine that One Foot In Heaven will now step up to Group 1 level at some point in the season, and if he could win or be placed in that sort of company then, with his pedigree connections, he could have prospects of getting a good place at stud whenever his racing days come to an end.