Crystal Ocean notched up his sixth pattern-race win when landing the Group 3 Al Rayyan Stakes (registered as the Aston Park Stakes) over 12 furlongs at Newbury yesterday. He beat Laraaib by two lengths and had Raymond Tusk another three lengths back in third. Last month he beat Knight To Behold by two and a quarter lengths to take the Group 3 bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes over a quarter-mile less at Sandown.
The five-year-old, whom Timeform rated 129 last year, has now won seven of his 14 starts and has never finished out of the first three. He has earned over £1.1 million in prize money, been runner-up in the Group 1 Qipco Champion Stakes, Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and Group 1 William Hill St Leger, and is one of the best horses of recent years not to have won at the highest level. That one blot on his CV may change this year, he holds entries in the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes and Group 1 Coral-Eclipse, will no doubt have other Group 1 targets later in the summer and autumn.
Crystal Ocean was bred by Southcourt Stud and is one of four high-class offspring out of juvenile listed scorer Crystal Star (by Mark Of Esteem). Hillstar (by Danehill Dancer) won the Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes, Crystal Capella (by Cape Cross) won the Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes and two editions of the Group 2 Pride Stakes, and Crystal Zvezda (by Dubawi) won a ten-furlong listed contest at Newbury. Their dam's pattern-placed half-sister Waila (by Notnowcato) ran away with a listed race over a mile and a half at Newmarket, and they are out of Crystal Cavern (by Be My Guest), a seven-furlong scorer and half-sister to Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) winner Rose Gypsy (by Green Desert). This means that the third dam of Crystal Ocean is Krisalya (by Kris), the winning half-sister to Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan star Sasuru (by Most Welcome), listed scorers Little Bean (by Ajdal) and Sossus Vlei (by Inchinor), ill-fated Group 2 Challenge Stakes winner Sally Rous (by Rousillon), and Group 3 Park Hill Stakes runner-up The Faraway Tree (by Suave Dancer), the dam of US Grade 1 ace Tuscan Evening (by Oasis Dream). Crystal Ocean will likely find a place at stud upon completion of his racing career. Hopefully, he will do so as a Group 1 winner rather than as the classic-placed prolific pattern scorer that he is now.
Star stayer Stradivarius, who went undefeated through a five-race campaign in 2018, made a winning return to action in the Group 2 Matchbook Yorkshire Cup Stakes, giving 3lbs and a three-quarter-length beating to the promising four-year-old Southern France.
Bjorn Nielsen's homebred has now won ten of his 15 starts and, if you include the huge bonus he landed last year, has earned over £2.7 million so far. The John Gosden-trained entire will now bid to repeat his Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers' Million sequence, the next leg of which is the Group 1 Gold Cup at Ascot. The Aidan O'Brien-trained runner-up, who was third to Kew Gardens in last year's Group 1 St Leger at Doncaster but then an unplaced favourite in the Cesarewitch, is also engaged in that two-and-a-half-mile marathon, in addition to having some big-race entries over 12 furlongs, and the son of Galileo is an interesting recruit to the stayers' division. The pair finished five lengths clear of Mildenberger in third and that Mark Johnston-trained four-year-old may be set to drop back in trip. His entries include the Group 1 Investec Coronation Cup and Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes.
Stradivarius is a son of the Timeform 140-rated standout and outstanding Gilltown Stud stallion Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross). He is a half-brother to the dual ten-furlong German Group 3 scorer Persian Storm (by Monsun) and out of Private Life (by Bering), who was listed-placed over ten and 12-and-a-half furlongs in France. Her siblings include the listed-race winners Pretty Tough (by Desert King) and Parisienne (by Distant Relative) – the latter is the grandam of Group 1 Melbourne Cup and Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin hero Protectionist (by Monsun) – and she is out of Poughkeepsie (by Sadler's Wells), a winning daughter of Pawneese (by Carvin). She won the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Group 1 Oaks Stakes and Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks), was European champion three-year-old filly in 1976, rated 131 by Timeform, and a half-sister to the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes winner Petroleuse (by Habitat). That filly became an influential broodmare too as her trio of pattern winners include Grade 2 scorer Peinture Bleue (by Alydar) and her many descendants of note feature the Group 1 stars Peintre Celebre (by Nureyev), Planteur (by Danehill Dancer), and recent mile classic scorer Persian King (by Kingman). Stradivarius, whom Timeform rated 127 last year, is one of the best stayers of recent years and, unlike most who excel in that division, he has a pedigree that could see him become a successful flat stallion, if given the chance. He won't get flashy two-year-olds, but with the right mares he could get top winners anywhere from ten furlongs and upwards, and with the overemphasis these days on two-year-old summer speed, we need more stallions who have the potential to sire horses over the full classic range.
Luke Comer sent out the biggest winner of his career when Raa Atoll sprang a 32/1 shock in the Comer Group International 48th Oleander-Rennen over two miles at Hoppegarten. The Willie Mullins-trained odds-on favourite Thomas Hobson chased him home in the Group 2 feature, beaten by a length and a half, with the Jean-Pierre Carvalho-trained Moonshiner another one and three-quarter lengths back in third. Jozef Bojko was the winning rider.
It was the colt's first run since being purchased by Comer for just 30,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale last October, and he runs in his trainer's colours. He was formerly with John Gosden, finished second in a 10-furlong novice event at Newmarket on his debut last April, won two similar contests and then finished a promising fourth to Old Persian in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. The only other time he was seen in action was when finishing tailed off and virtually pulled up in the Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket in July. Timeform gave him an end-of-year rating of 108. The reported plan for the horse now takes in the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational in New York on June 7th, the Group 1 Gold Cup at Ascot (for which he is not currently entered – Thomas Hobson is in the race), the Group 1 Irish St Leger (which his owner sponsors) at the Curragh and then the Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
Raa Atoll was bred by the partnership of Mr & Mrs J Davis and P Mitchell Bloodstock and the four-year-old is a son of the Timeform 140-rated standout and Gilltown Stud stallion Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross). He is a half-brother to Moderah (by Makfi), who was Group 3-placed over 12 furlongs at Newbury, and his dam is the middle-distance winner Meetyouthere. As you might expect of a daughter of the prolific champion sire Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer), that mare comes from a top-class family. She is a full-sister to the Group 2 Prix de Royallieu winner and blacktype producer Moon Queen and also to the Group 2-placed stakes winner Rostropovich, and her siblings also include Barafamy (by Barathea) and Innuendo (by Caerleon). Barafamy won the Group 3 Premio Dormello in Italy as a two-year-old and was placed in both the Group 3 May Hill Stakes and Group 3 Musidora Stakes, whereas Innuendo won Grade 2 and Grade 3 handicaps in Florida after being a Group 2-placed dual listed scorer in Europe. She then went on to produce a couple of stakes winners of her own at stud, notably Criticism (by Machiavellian) who won the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay Stakes and Grade 2 La Prevoyante Handicap and a trio of Grade 3 contests, and was runner-up in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes. Infamy (by Shirley Heights), the grandam of Raa Atoll, got her top win in the Grade 1 Rothman's International Stakes at Woodbine in Canada and also won the Group 2 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket and Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown. Her string of pattern-race placings included the runners-up spot to Triptych in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom. Third dam Seriema (by Petingo) was a winning daughter of Sunbittern (by Sea Hawk) and that made her a half-sister to High Hawk (by Shirley Heights) and High Tern (by High Line). The first-named won the Group 1 Premio Roma, when it was still run over 14 furlongs, and her list of notable offspring was headed by the multiple Group 1 star and leading international sire In The Wings (by Sadler's Wells). High Tern, on the other hand, was a minor winner but became the dam of 1998's Group 1 Derby star High-Rise (by High Estate), the grandam of Group 1 Oaks d'Italia heroine Zomaradah (by Deploy), and the third dam of classic-winning miler and major international stallion Dubawi (by Dubai Millennium). There are many other notable horses in the various branches of this famous family, including 2005's Group 1 1000 Guineas winner Virginia Waters (by Kingmambo). All of this makes Raa Atoll a fascinating prospect for the year ahead, and with this Group 2 win to his name, and such a strong pedigree behind him, it would be no surprise to see him find a stallion role at some point in the future. |
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