Supreme in the Middle Park

The son of first-season sire sensation Mehmas becomes a Group 1 king, writes Aisling Crowe

MEHMAS HAS transformed the European first-season sires’ title race into a procession, breaking the record held by Iffraaj for most two-year-old winners sired by a first-season sire in the process.

And although Tally-Ho Stud’s and Al Shaqab’s son of Acclamation has held a numerical advantage over some of his contemporaries, his debut crop is not short on quality either with nine stakes horses out of 40 winners (at the time of writing).

Mehmas was a high-class juvenile, winning the Group 2 July and Richmond Stakes, and placing second in the Group 1 National Stakes and Group 2 Coventry Stakes, his only season to race.

From just this first crop of runners he has already sired a colt who has surpassed his own achievements – the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner Supremacy.

Trained by Clive Cox, Supremacy emulated his sire with victory in Goodwood’s Group 2 Richmond Stakes, and then stepped up to Group 1 class, fending off the challenge of Lucky Vega, who had previously won the Group 1 National Stakes, to win the Middle Park Stakes.

It was a 1-3 in the race for Mehmas whose Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes winner Minzaal took bronze for Shadwell and trainer Owen Burrows.

Supremacy was bred by the Honourable Kenneth Lau’s Kangyu International Racing operation and is from a top-class family.

His dam Triggers Broom is an Arcano half-sister to dual Group 1 Hong Kong Champions Mile winner Xtension and to Beatrix Potter. She is dam of Harry Angel, who won the Group 1 July Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup, and of last year’s Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes winner Pierre Lapin.

Another half-sister A Huge Dream (Refuse To Bend), was Listed placed in France and is the dam of Listed winner Mrs Gallagher.

It is also the family of Grade 1 winners Stephen Got Even and Artemis Argotera.

Lau boards his mares at John Tuthill’s Owenstown Stud and the farm consigned Supremacy at Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale where he was purchased for £65,000 by Cox.

Triggers Broom has a yearling colt by Cotai Glory who made 180,000gns to SackvilleDonald at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, consigned by Owenstown, who also offers her filly foal by the same sire as Lot 987 at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

Belardo and New Bay add to their successes

Mehmas was not alone among the first-season sires to have a winner of an important late-season juvenile contest.

Both Darley’s Belardo, himself a winner of the Dewhurst, and New Bay, who stands at Ballylinch, added to their impressive early records. Belardo’s daughter Isabella Giles added the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes to her previous success in the Group 3 Prestige Stakes for Clive Cox and owner Paul and Claire Rooney.

She was bred by Ballylinch Stud, who bred her sire, and is out of the Dubawi mare Majestic Dubawi, winner of the Group 3 Firth Of Clyde Stakes and dam of the German Listed winner Majestic Clodovil.

She is from the family of Group 2 winner Dark Vision and the Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Lope Y Fernandez.

The Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner New Mandate was the first stakes winner for New Bay in the Flying Scotsman Stakes (L), and at Newmarket he became the Dubawi sire’s first Group winner.

Saffron Beach, winner of the Oh So Sharp Stakes (G3) for trainer Jane ChappleHyam, gave the sire his second Group winner just a fortnight later.

New Mandate was bred by the Mishar Syndicate, which includes Henri Bozo, Francois Drion’s Taroka Stud, Ecurie Des Charmes and Haras de l’Hotellerie. The colt is out of an Authorized half-sister to Puggy, the dam of Group 1 winner Avenir Certain.

He was bought by Elliott Bloodstock Services Ltd at the Arqana August Sale from Hotellerie for €30,000 for an ownership trading syndicate, the Lucra Partnership.

He was then sold on to current owner Marc Chan after winning his maiden on his third start.

Saffron Beach was bred by the China Horse Club and purchased as a foal by Norris/Huntingdon for 55,000gns.

Saffron Beach is now reportedly wrapped up for winter with the Group 3 Nell Gwyn as the spring target

After numerous non-appearances at the sales as a yearling and then as a young horse in training, she was sold privately to owners Mrs BV Sangster and James Wigan ahead of her first run which came in a Newmarket maiden on September 26, the same day as the Royal Lodge Stakes.

She made that a winning debut before a quick return to action to take the Group 3 on just her second start finishing ahead of the No Nay Never filly Thank You Next.

Saffron Beach is now reportedly wrapped up for winter with the Group 3 Nell Gwyn as the spring target.

New Mandate and Frankie Dettori take the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes for new owner Marc Chan

Alcohol Free adds to No Nay Never’s CV

Young sire No Nay Never added his third Group 1 winner in as many crops to his haul when his daughter Alcohol Free won the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes for Jeff Smith’s Littleton Stud, Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy.

Alcohol Free is the result of one of Smith’s intermittent forays into the market for the famed owner-breeder of Group 1 winners Lochangel, Lochsong and Arabian Queen, as well as the beloved Persian Punch. Smith bought her from breeders Churchtown House Stud at Goffs November Foal Sale for €40,000.

Her dam Plying was also sold at Goffs in November 2018 making just €21,000 to Jossestown Farm, which offers her Dandy Man colt foal as Lot 698 at the Goffs November Foal Sale.

Plying is a winning daughter of Hard Spun and the dam of two black-type winners from three runners – her fouryear-old Camelot gelding Alexander James won the Listed Prix Fabuleux.

Plying is out of Nasaleeb, a Listed-placed half-sister to Group 3 Solario Stakes winner and sire Raise A Grand.

She has a Starspangledbanner yearling filly, who was sold for €40,000 by Jossestown Farm to Pegasus Bloodstock at Goffs February Sale. She was subsequently withdrawn from the Orby Sale this autumn.

Alcohol Free joins the Middle Park Stakes and the July Cup winner Ten Sovereigns and Chilean Oaks winner Brooke as a Group 1 winner by No Nay Never.

Amongst his 14 Group winners are the Group 1-placed Arizona, Nay Lady Nay, Vitalogy and Wichita, as well as the Listed winner and Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes third Moss Gill and the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes third The Irish Rover.

French sires take the plaudits

Future Champions Weekend at Newmarket saw French-based sires take the Group 1 plaudits as Siyouni’s son St Mark’s Basilica won the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, and Pretty Gorgeous (Lawman) took the Fillies’ Mile.

Purchased for 1.3m guineas as a yearling St Mark’s Basilica sported the purple and white Coolmore silks of Derrick Smith and was ridden by Frankie Dettori for Aidan O’Brien.

Bred by Robert Scarborough, he is a halfbrother to last year’s 2,000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia, who also won the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at two.

Third in the Group 1 National Stakes at The Curragh prior to his Newmarket success, he hails from a classy juvenile family.

He is out of the Galileo mare Cabaret, who won the Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes at two. She is a half-sister to Group 3 Solario Stakes winner Drumfire (Danehill Dancer) and the Pivotal gelding Ho Choi, who won the Listed Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin.

Second dam Witch Of Fife was second in the Listed Sweet Solera Stakes at two and is a half-sister to the dam of Group 3 C L Weld Park Stakes winner and Group 1 Moyglare Stakes second Ugo Fire.

Norelands Stud, where Cabaret boards and who sold Magna Grecia and St Mark’s Basilica on behalf of their breeder, consigned the yearling full-brother to St Mark’s Basilica at Book 1, four days before his older sibling’s triumph – he was bought back at 650,000gns.

Cabaret has no reported foal and was covered by Kingman this year.

The aptly-named Pretty Gorgeous trained by Joseph O’Brien gave owner John Oxley, a well-known and successful figure in American racing, his first Group 1 winner in Europe when prevailing by half a length from Indigo Girl.

Pretty Gorgeous was bred by a group that includes Haras du Cadran and Ecurie la Boetie and is from the final Irish crop of Lawman, who moved from Ballylinch Stud to Haras de Grandcamp ahead of the 2019 breeding season.

She is the second winner out of Lady Gorgeous (Compton Place), who was third in the Listed Surrey Stakes and is also the dam of Alwaab, winner of the Prix Nureyev (L).

Lady Gorgeous is a half-sister to Group 3 third Kartica, who is the dam of Group 1 Coronation Stakes and Prix Rothschild winner Qemah (Danehill Dancer).

Second dam Cayman Sunset won the Listed Dahlia Stakes and was third in the Grade 2 Canadian Handicap at Woodbine.

Pretty Gorgeous was sold by Haras du Cadran to Margaret O’Toole for €55,000 at the 2018 Arqana December Sale.

Trainer O’Brien had to pay considerably more – a total of 525,000gns – to secure Pretty Gorgeous from Glenvale Stud in Book 1 last year.

Her Shalaa yearling half-brother brought the Morrin brothers of Pier House Stud pinhooking success at this autumn’s Book 2 when selling for 200,000gns to Sackville Donald. She was bought with Peter and Ross Doyle for 90,000gns last December.

Lady Gorgeous has a colt foal by Zoffany who is catalogued as Lot 976 from Norelands Stud at Tattersalls December Foal Sale and she was covered by No Nay Never this year.

St Mark’s Basilica: stepped up to Group 1 success after a third in the National Stakes in September