James Tate-trained four-year-old Invincible Army has made a sparkling start to his season and promises to play a major role in the top six-furlong races of the coming months. A leading juvenile sprinter of 2017, he added a Group 3 win last year but has kicked off 2019 with comfortable wins in the Listed Unibet Cammidge Trophy Stakes at Doncaster and Group 2 Duke of York Clipper Logistics Stakes at York.
Major Jumbo has been the one to chase him home in both races, and the margin of victory this afternoon was two and a quarter lengths. Yafta was another three-parts of a length back in third with a half-length and the same back to Limato (gave 3lbs) and Hey Jonesy. P J McDonald has been on board for both of the colt's wins this year. He won the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes at two and was runner-up in each of the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes, Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes and Group 3 Molecomb Stakes. Last year he beat Eqtidaar in the Group 3 Merriebelle Stables Pavilion Stakes at Ascot before failing by just a nose to beat Sands Of Mali in the Group 2 Armstrong Aggregates Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.
He is, as his name suggests, a son of the Irish National Stud's star stallion Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert), the classic and prolific Group 1 sire whose sons at stud include Lawman, I Am Invincible, and Kingman. Clive Brittain trained his dam, Rajeem (by Diktat), and she added a 50/1 defeat of Nannina in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket to the mile listed contest she won at Newmarket as a juvenile. Her dam, Magic Sister (by Cadeaux Genereux), was placed over seven furlongs but is a full-sister to Hoh Magic. That former Michael Bell trainee was third to Gay Gallanta in the Group 3 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, won a listed contest at Sandown, the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood and Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville, and took fourth in both that year's Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and the following spring's Group 1 1000 Guineas – the classic was won by Harayir. Hoh Magic later finished third to Lake Coniston in the Group 1 July Cup. All of this combined is surely enough to secure a good place at stud for Invincible Army whenever his racing days end, and yet the best of his form on the track may still be to come.
H H the Aga Khan's Hazapour won last year's Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes before appearing to run out of stamina at Epsom, coming home fifth behind Masar in the Investec Derby. He dropped back to a mile at Leopardstown this afternoon, won the Group 3 Comer Group International Amethyst Stakes and could appear next in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot.
This was the shortest race in which he has run since finishing unplaced on his debut in a seven-furlong Curragh maiden as a two-year-old, a month before he beat Hunting Horn in an eight-and-a-half-furlong maiden at Galway. It was his third run since Epsom, and his second of those to see him finish in the frame. Last month he finished a well-beaten fifth behind Magical in the Group 3 Alleged Stakes over 10 furlongs at Naas, and although his entries include the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, trainer Dermot Weld indicated at Leopardstown that the colt would now seek Group 2 or Group 1 prizes at a mile. He is engaged in next month's Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes over that trip. Today's win was achieved by a margin of two and a half lengths from Verbal Dexterity, with Zihba a half-length back in third, the same distance back to Dunkirk Harbour in fourth, and the another half-length to Zuenoon – a stablemate of the winner – in fifth. Oisin Orr was the successful jockey.
Hazapour is a son of the dual classic star and outstanding Kildangan Stud stallion Shamardal (by Giant's Causeway) and of Listed Finale Stakes winner Hazarafa (by Daylami). With her having been a middle-distance stakes winner and half-sister to dual Derby hero Harzand (by Sea The Stars) it was reasonable to hope that her colt might also prove to be a capable middle-distance horse. However, the mare's siblings also include the Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes winner and Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes third Harasiya (by Pivotal), and she is out of the Group 3 Athasi Stakes winner Hazariya (by Xaar), so there was always a chance that she could get one more suited to a mile, especially if by a stallion like Shamardal. Hazapour's three-parts brother Haripour (by Shamardal) has won a listed contest over that trip in Australia, although he has also landed one over 12 furlongs and came within a neck of taking a Group 3 contest there over ten. Hazariya is a half-sister to Hazarista (by Barathea), who won the Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes and picked up third in both the Group 1 Irish Oaks and Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, but the mix of stakes winners who descend from her dam, Hazaradjat (by Darshaan), also include seven-furlong Group 3 scorer Hamairi (by Spectrum) and his stakes-winning sprint half-brother Hanabad (by Cadeaux Genereux), and Group 1 British Champions Fillies & Mare Stakes heroine Seal Of Approval (by Authorized). There is a similar mixture of speed and stamina to be found under Hazapour's fourth dam too. She is Hazy Idea (by Hethersett), who won the March Stakes, was runner-up in the Prix de Royallieu and fourth in the Prix Royal-Oak. She was the dam of the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and Group 1 Flying Childers Stakes star Hittite Glory (by Habitat), and her descendants include Group 1 AJC Oaks winner Streama (by Stratum). It will be interesting to see how far up the rankings Hazapour can go now that his apparently ideal distance has been found. His relationship to Harzand could make him an eye-catching stallion prospect – should he go on to earn that role – as would his being by the sire of Lope De Vega, although he would surely need to become at least a Group 1-placed Group 2 winner first, if not a winner at the highest level.
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.
Banstead Manor Stud's brilliant miler Kingman (by Invincible Spirit) is a classic sire with his first crop following the victory today of Persian King in the Group 1 The Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp.
The Andre Fabre-trained bay has now won five of his six starts, should be seen to better effect on good or fast ground – it was heavy today – and this latest success was achieved by a margin of one length from Shaman, with San Donato a head back in third and a gap of one and three-quarter lengths back to fourth-placed Graignes. The colt chased home Anodor on his debut last August but then won a pair of mile contests at Chantilly by a combined margin of 11 lengths. He then beat the subsequent Group 1 Vertems Futurity Trophy Stakes winner Magna Grecia by a neck in the Group 3 Masar Godolphin Autumn Stakes at Newmarket on what was his final start of 2018. He was impressive when beating Epic Hero by five lengths in the Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleau on good ground at ParisLongchamp on his seasonal reappearance last month and, of course, bypassed Newmarket – where old rival Magna Grecia won the Group 1 Qipco 2000 Guineas – for today's classic.
Kingman's first crop has made quite an impression and it seems that barely a day goes by without another winner for him. His growing tally of blacktype horses includes the exciting and dual pattern-winning sprinter Calyx, who is due to run next in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. The early indications are that the Juddmonte team may have another star stallion on their roster. Kingman is by leading sire Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert) and out of Zenda (by Zamindar), a classic-winning half-sister to fellow Banstead Manor Stud stallion Oasis Dream (by Green Desert). Persian King, on the other hand, is out of Pretty Please (by Dylan Thomas), which makes him inbred 4x4 to Danzig (by Northern Dancer). He was bred by Dayton Investments (Breeding) Ltd, is the second foal out of a ten-and-a-half-furlong Chantilly winner, and his dam is a half-sister to Planteur (by Danehill Dancer). Indeed, she could be described as being a three-parts sister to that Group 1 Prix Ganay winner. Planteur also won the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt and Group 2 Prix Noailles, he was runner-up in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby), Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris, and two editions of the Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan, and he was twice third in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup. He is standing at Haras du Grand Courgeon after completing five seasons at Haras de Bouquetot, his eldest offspring are four-year-olds, and his blacktype earners include an Italian listed scorer plus Group 2 UAE Derby runner-up Manguzi. Pretty Please is also a half-sister to the dual Australian listed-race winner Pilote D'Essai (by Oasis Dream), and she is out of Plante Rare (by Giant's Causeway), an unraced half-sister to Policy Maker (by Sadler's Wells) who won the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville, Group 2 Prix Foy and two editions of the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly before going on to notable success as a National Hunt stallion. His siblings include Group 3 Lancashire Oaks winner Place Rouge (by Desert King) and Group 1-placed Group 2-winning stayer Pushkin (by Caerleon), and his dam, Palmeraie (by Lear Fan), is a half-sister to Peinture Bleue (by Alydar). That US Grade 2 scorer is, of course, the dam of classic and Arc hero and Group 1 sire Peintre Celebre (by Nureyev). Persian King is an exciting young horse who is bred to achieve anything, on the track and potentially at stud. It is expected that he will bid to make it a classic double in next month's Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly, and although his entries also include the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes over a mile, it catches the eye that he is also engaged in both the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe over 12 furlongs. It remains to be seen whether or not he will stay that trip, and his pedigree gives him a good chance of doing so, but regardless of the distance that ultimately proves to be his best one, this colt looks likely to become one of the brightest stars of 2019.
Lanwades Stud stallion Sea The Moon (by Sea The Stars), the horse who ran away with the Group 1 Deutsches Derby five years ago, added a third pattern winner to his first-crop tally when the Michael Halford-trained Hamariyna won the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown.
The Aga Khan homebred, who was partnered by Ronan Whelan, beat Dean Street Doll by one and a quarter lengths, with race favourite Trethias a head back in third. There was another length and a quarter back to Titanium Sky in fourth, with Fire Fly a half-length behind that one in fifth. Hamariyna made her debut only last month, finishing third in a seven-furlong maiden at this venue before taking a similar contest over a quarter-mile farther at Tipperary. She does not have any big-race entries but it would not be a surprise to see her supplemented for the Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas.
It will be interesting to see how this filly's career turns out and to find out how far she stays, because not only is she a lightly-raced pattern winner by a promising young stallion, but she is closely related to dual Derby hero and young Gilltown Stud sire Harzand (by Sea The Stars). She is a half-sister to the pattern-winning miler Hunaina (by Tamayuz) and out of Hanakiyya (by Danehill Dancer). That mare's siblings include seven-furlong Group 3 scorer Hamairi (by Spectrum) and stakes-winning sprinter Hanabad (by Cadeaux Genereux) as well as Hannda (by Dr Devious), the mare who produced Group 1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes heroine Seal Of Approval (by Authorized). Handaza (by Be My Guest), the grandam of Hamariyna, is a half-sister to the Oaks-placed Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes winner Hazarista and also to Hazariya (by Xaar), the Group 3 Athasi Stakes scorer whose four stakes-winning offspring feature Harzand. They also include juvenile Group 3 winner Harasiya (by Pivotal) and middle-distance listed scorer Hazarafa (by Daylami), the dam of Hazapour (by Shamardal). That Dermot Weld-trained colt won the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at this meeting last year, finished fifth to Masar in the Group 1 Investec Derby, and landed the Group 3 Comer Group International Amethyst Stakes over a mile today, the race immediately preceding Hamariyna's big win. The notable horses who appear farther back on the page include dual juvenile Group 1 sprint star Hittite Glory (by Habitat) – who was a half-brother to the filly's third dam Hazaradjat (by Darshaan) – and Streama (by Stratum), a multiple Australian Group 1 star whose tally included the AJC Oaks. Sea The Moon's long list of first-crop winners also includes last year's German juvenile Group 3 scorers Noble Moon and Quest The Moon as well as the Group 3-placed Man On The Moon and listed-race second Three Comets.
The Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes has a strong history of producing horses who go on to win at higher levels, and the 2019 edition of this ten-furlong test went to Broome, a first-crop son of dual Derby hero Australia (by Galileo). His stable companions Blenheim Palace and Sovereign chased him home, with the Dermot Weld-trained Rakan fourth.
The margins were two and a half lengths, half a length, one and three-quarter lengths, and three-parts of a length, with Donnacha O'Brien riding the winner for his father, Aidan, and his brother Joseph's Buckhurst the one who finished fifth – another Australia colt. Broome was an eight-length winner of the Group 3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes over the same course and distance last month, was a neck runner-up to Royal Marine in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere over a mile at ParisLongchamp in October, and chased home Madhmoon in a Group 2 over the same trip at Leopardstown the time before that. He has won three of his seven starts.
The early-February-born colt, whom his trainer has described as being "lazy", is one of the ante-post favourites for next month's Group 1 Investec Derby at Epsom and, as you might expect, he also holds entries in the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes. He was bred by Epona Bloodstock Ltd, is a 150,000gns graduate of the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale, and he is the best of several winners out of Sweepstake (by Acclamation). She won the Listed National Stakes over five furlongs as a two-year-old, two months before she picked up third place in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes over six at Ascot, but was a Grade 3-placed stakes winner over eight and a half furlongs in the USA as a three-year-old. Her dam, Dust Flicker (by Suave Dancer), is a full-sister to the Group 3 Prix de la Nonette winner Dust Dancer, a half-sister to Group 1-placed stakes winner Zimzalabim (by Damister), and half-sister to Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes scorer Bulaxie (by Bustino), and so Broome is related to a host of talented horses, including a successful member of the Coolmore stallion team. Bulaxie's star performer was the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Claxon (by Caerleon) and the best of her descendants include Grade 3 winner and Group 1 Nassau Stakes runner-up Cassydora (by Darshaan), multiple middle-distance Irish Group 3 scorer Ernest Hemingway (by Galileo), and mile juvenile Group 3 winner Toulifaut (by Frankel). Dust Dancer, on the other hand, has three offspring of particular note. Spotlight (by Dr Fong) won the Grade 2 Lake Placid Handicap before going on to become the dam of the pattern-winning sprinter Projection (by Acclamation), and Dusty Answer (by Zafonic) is the stakes-placed dam of Group 2 Oaks d'Italia runner-up Counterclaim (by Pivotal). The third one is Tyranny (by Machiavellian). Although she was a dual winner with no blacktype, she is the dam of juvenile Group 3 scorer Wilshire Boulevard (by Holy Roman Emperor) – who is at stud in Scandinavia – Group 2 winner and Group 1 Irish Derby runner-up Rostropovich (by Frankel), and Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner Zoffany (by Dansili). Now aged 11, that talented sprinter-miler has had 27 stakes winners so far, headed by the classic-placed Group 1 scorer Ventura Storm. They also include the high-class sprinter and new-for-2019 Bearstone Stud stallion Washington DC, and the talented filly Who's Steph, already a pattern-placed stakes winner this year. Broome looks like he'll stay 12 furlongs, although the distaff side of his family casts slight doubt over him beyond ten. His sire's other first-crop stakes winners are the juvenile Group 2 scorer Beyond Reason and last month's Group 3 bet365 Classic Trial winner Bangkok, whereas the Group 1-placed pair Sydney Opera House and Western Australia are awaiting their first blacktype success.
Godolphin's homebred Castle Lady became the latest Group 1 star for Kildangan Stud's outstanding stallion Shamardal (by Giant's Causeway) when landing the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches on heavy ground at ParisLongchamp. The Henri-Alex Pantall-trained bay won the mile classic by a nose from Commes, with East a length-and-a-half back in third ahead of Imperial Charm and Matematica.
She began her career in mid-March when easily winning a mile newcomers' race on the Polytrack at Chantilly, making her yet another top-level winner who got an early start on the artificial tracks. She followed that with a one-and-three-quarter-length defeat of Imperial Charm in the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte over today's course and distance, on good ground. Mickael Barzalona was in the saddle for both of her pattern wins. Castle Lady is not entered in the Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks), which is a bit of a surprise, but does have an entry in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot. She is a half-sister to a seven-furlong listed scorer but is out of a full-sister to a Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic hero, so on pedigree ten furlongs should be within her compass.
That talented half-brother is the Saeed bin Suroor-trained gelding Top Score (by Hard Spun), and he has some good form over six furlongs in addition to that listed success. Their dam is the unraced Windsor County (by Elusive Quality), a full-sister to Raven's Pass. That Kildangan Stud stallion won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile before his historic Breeders' Cup success. His 31 stakes-winning offspring include last year's Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Royal Marine plus the Group 1-placed Group 2 scorers Tower Of London and Swashbuckling, Group 2-winning sprinter Raven's Lady, and the tragically ill-fated Via Ravenna who was a pattern winner and narrowly beaten in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild before her untimely death. Windsor County is also a half-sister to the mile Grade 3 winner Gigawatt (by Wild Again), her dam Ascutney (by Lord At War) was a mile Grade 3 winner as a two-year-old and that mare is a full-sister to Words Of War, the multiple stakes-winning dam of Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks heroine No Matter What (by Nureyev). That top-level winner is, in turn, the dam of European juvenile filly champion Rainbow View (by Dynaformer), a Group 1 Fillies' Mile star who went on to add the Group 1 Matron Stakes. No Matter What is also responsible for US Grade 2 scorer Utley (by Smart Strike), Grade 1-placed Grade 3 winner Just As Well (by A.P. Indy), dual Grade 3 scorer Winter View (by Thunder Gulch), and the notably talented Wissahickon (by Tapit). That John Gosden-trained colt looked a potential star in the making when taking the notably tough Cambridgeshire Handicap in style at Newmarket last year, followed that with a pair of listed race wins over ten furlongs on the Polytrack at Lingfield and then easily won the Group 3 Winter Derby Stakes over that same course and distance in February. He suffered a shock defeat to Matterhorn on All-Weather Championships Day but holds entries in the Group 1 Investec Coronation Cup, Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes, and Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes. There are many other talented horses in the family including No Matter What's half-brother E Dubai (by Mr Prospector), who won the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap and Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes, was runner-up in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes and Grade 1 Super Derby, and enjoyed some success at stud. All of this combines to make Castle Lady a very well-bred filly, one for whom classic victory could be the launching pad to a notable career on the track and eventually at stud.
Talented four-year-old Who's Steph was an odds-on favourite for the Group 3 Irish National Stud Racing Irish EBF Blue Wind Stakes at Naas following her recent runaway listed success at Gowran Park, but the Ger Lyons-trained grey was caught near the line by Tarnawa, who won by a neck. That Dermot Weld-trained three-year-old could now head for the Group 1 Investec Oaks at Epsom.
The Ballydoyle three-year-olds Delphinia and Peach Tree were another three-quarters of a length and short-head back in third and fourth. The winner was partnered by Chris Hayes. Tarnawa was placed in each of her three outings as a two-year-old, the final one being in a mile listed contest at Navan in which she chased home Peach Tree, who won by one and three-quarter lengths. The chestnut stepped up to ten furlongs on her seasonal reappearance at Leopardstown in early April, won that maiden, then finished third to Pink Dogwood in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Salsabil Stakes over the same trip at Navan 25 days later.
The daughter of Kildangan Stud's outstanding stallion Shamardal (by Giant's Causeway) is the first foal of Tarana (by Cape Cross). That mare won a mile maiden at two, was runner-up in the Listed Trigo Stakes over ten furlongs at Leopardstown at three and had a notably good season at the age of four. She won the Listed Martin Molony Stakes at Limerick and Listed Oyster Stakes at Galway, both over 12 furlongs, and her four other pieces of blacktype that year included third place in the Group 3 Curragh Cup over 14 furlongs. Her only other foal is a Fastnet Rock (by Danehill) colt born in mid-May of last year. Tarana is a daughter of the Group 3-placed Listed Galtres Stakes winner Tarakala (by Dr Fong) and granddaughter of the dual stakes-placed Tarakala (by Shahrastani), and so she represents a branch of the family whose many blacktype winners include Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak scorer Tiraaz (by Lear Fan) and Group 1 Phoenix Stakes heroine Damson (by Entrepreneur). In addition to the Epsom classic, Tarnawa holds entries in the Group 1 Juddmonte Pretty Polly Stakes and Group 1 Darley Irish Oaks. She needs to make further improvement to be up to winning at the highest level, but it would not be a surprise to see her make such progress.
The Ballydoyle team secured another classic trial victory when their Anthony Van Dyck made a winning return to action in the Listed RaceBets Derby Trial Stakes at Lingfield. A Group 2 Futurity Stakes winner who was runner-up to Quorto in the Group 1 National Stakes and third to Too Darn Hot in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, the Timeform 118-rated son of Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) is among the market leaders for next month's Group 1 Investec Derby.
The bare form of this two-and-a-quarter-length win appears some way below what's required to succeed at the highest level but he did it well and, importantly, it showed us that he stays the distance, something that was in slight doubt on breeding. Not every Galileo stays beyond ten furlongs – although most do – and this colt is out of a daughter of speed influence Exceed And Excel (by Danehill) who has produced a Group 1-winning champion sprinter in the southern hemisphere.
Bounding (by Lonhro) got that win in the Group 1 Railway Stakes over six furlongs at Ellerslie in New Zealand, she also won Group 3 contests over that trip and over seven furlongs in that country and to those she added a four-length score in a five-and-a-half-furlong Group 3 at Caulfield in Australia. There are many top sprinters who also stay a mile and Bounding is among them. She only tried the distance once but was a three-quarter-length runner-up to Costa Viva in the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock 1000 Guineas at Riccarton Park. The pair are out of Believe'N'Succeed, whose two wins at two featured a five-and-a-half-furlong Group 3 contest, and that mare's siblings include listed scorer Agulhas and the speedy Group 2 winner Kuroshio, both of whom are also by Exceed And Excel. The latter is a reverse shuttle stallion whose first juveniles caught the eye in the UK last year, and he stands at Clongiffen Stud in Ireland. Arctic Drift (by Gone West), the grandam of Anthony Van Dyck, is a winning daughter of Grade 1 Alabama Stakes and Grade 1 Test Stakes heroine November Snow (by Storm Cat) and that full-sister to graded winner and blacktype sire Scatmandu is also notable as being the grandam of Grade 1 Carter Handicap scorer Morning Line (by Tiznow). Anthony Van Dyck, who was bred by Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt, has the potential to win at the highest level. Whether or not he can make the necessary progress in time for Epsom remains to be seen, but it is worth noting that he is a May 19th foal and so has not yet reached his physical third birthday, which means that he could still be getting better in the autumn and next year despite having already raced eight times in his life.
John Gosden unveiled yet another top prospect when Anapurna put six lengths between herself and her closest pursuer, Tauteke, in the Listed RaceBets Money Back All Losers Oaks Trial Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield. Soft ground and an extended 11-and-a-half-furlong trip made it a test of stamina for these three-year-old fillies. Frankie Dettori was in the saddle.
The daughter of Frankel (by Galileo) carries the famous black and white colours of Helena Springfield Ltd and is homebred at Meon Valley Stud. She was unplaced in a Wolverhampton maiden on her debut in late December but won easily over ten furlongs at Lingfield a month later and was making her first appearance on turf today. As one might expect, she holds entries in both the Group 1 Investec Oaks at Epsom and Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, and she is now among the ante-post favourites for the former after this exciting performance.
Anapurna is a half-sister to the stakes-placed ten-furlong winner Very Dashing (by Dansili) and to Dynasty (by Danehill Dancer), a former Ballydoyle trainee who was short-headed in the Group 3 Tetrarch Stakes nine years ago. Her dam, Dash To The Top (by Montjeu), won the Listed Hoppings Stakes over ten at Newcastle a couple of months before getting within half a length of beating Punctilious in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, which came a month before she finished fourth to Shawanda in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille. The mare's half-sister Dash To The Front (by Diktat) is the stakes-winning dam of Group 1 Prix de l'Opera and Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet heroine Speedy Boarding (by Shamardal), and they are out of Millennium Dash (by Nashwan), a daughter of the brilliant miler Milligram (by Mill Reef). That Timeform 130-rated star was runner-up in both the 1000 Guineas and Irish 1000 Guineas but then an easy winner of the Group 2 Coronation Stakes before becoming one of the rare horses to beat the even more brilliant Miesque, that memorable day coming in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in 1987. Anapurna, who represents the increasingly popular 3x3 inbreeding to Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer), is a filly of considerable potential and it will be fascinating to see how highly in the rankings she can go. There is every reason to hope that she could be a Group 1 filly in the making. |
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