11 minute read
Economic progression
William Haggas’ patient approach has reaped Group 1 rewards, writes Amy Bennett
IT HAS BEEN 15 years since Dubawi enjoyed a notable juvenile Group race double at the end-of-season Doncaster meeting, that achieved with his first crop, and since then, Darley’s leading sire has founded a dynasty, including several highly talented stallion sons.
Dubawi was responsible for a new stakes winner in the Park Hill Stakes (G2) heroine Nakheel, and was fitting that the Godolphinbred three-year-old filly, who races in the colours of Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum for trainer Owen Burrows, should highlight once again the hugely profitable cross of Dubawi over a Galileo mare – in this case, the Group 3-placed Into The Mystic
But the spotlight deservedly fell on offspring of his sons, on both sides of the Irish Sea, over the course of Irish Champions weekend and the St Leger meeting.
The best outcome of the Dubawi-Galileo nick to date has come courtesy of the leading sire’s son Night Of Thunder, who enjoyed a splendid run of results at both Doncaster and during Irish Champions weekend.
His daughter, the Godolphin homebred filly Desert Flower, kicked things off when cruising home in the May Hill Stakes (G2), easily stepping up from her maiden and novice victories on Newmarket’s July course, to smoothly step up in trip and win with some ease from the Listed winner and Group 2-placed January (Kingman).
A three-parts sister to last year’s Solario Stakes (G3) winner Aablan, she is out of the Rockfel Stakes (G2) winner Promising Run (Hard Spun), who trained on to win a hat-trick of Group 2 contests in Dubai, as well as win a Group 3 in Turkey.
Desert Flower certainly gave every impression of more to come, and holds Group 1 engagements.
However, even better was to come for Night Of Thunder – two days later his bonny white-faced son Economics triumphed in the Irish Champion Stakes (G1). It might not have been the prettiest of victories but, following his romps in the Dante Stakes (G2) and Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (G2), the colt showed his grit as well as his talent, picking up, sticking his head out and staying on well.
Having been well looked after this season, owner Sheikh Isa Salman Al Khalifa must be salivating at the prospect of what lies ahead next year.
Bred in the name of the late Guy Reed’s Copgrove Hall Stud, the colt is from a family that has been a little light on black-type in recent years, other than the two victories for his dam La Pomme d’Amour (Peintre Celebre) in the Prix de Pomone (G2) carrying the famed and eye-catching colours of Reed.
Night Of Thunder is not the only son of Dubawi going into the winter with a exciting 2025 prospect.
On St Leger day at Doncaster, New Bay was represented by the exciting Bay City Roller, who capitalised on the late withdrawal of the favourite Chancellor (Kingman) to triumph by half a length in the Champagne Stakes (G2).
Trained by George Scott for Victorious Racing, the colt stepped up again on the form that saw him land novice contests at Sandown on debut in late July and at Chelmsford a month later. Bred by John Connaughton, the colt was a pricey buy at €320,000 from Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Sale, and is out of the dual Listed winner Bloomfield (Teofilo).
Big money transfer reaping dividends
As the Coolmore team continues to seek diversity from the blood of Galileo and sons, Wootton Bassett is stealing headlines with his first Irish-conceived crop.
A big-money transfer from Haras d’Etreham in the summer of 2020, the son of Iffraaj made an immediate impact with breeders when introduced at a fee of €100,000 (since risen to double that mark).
At Leopardstown on Irish Champions Day, the sire enjoyed a quick-fire juvenile double with Chantez opening the batting in the 7f Listed Ingabelle Stakes. Making her third start, the Ger Lyons-trained filly had got off the mark second time out over course and distance and skipped home well in Listed company to see off a well-bred field.
Bred by Ben Sangster, the filly sported the colours of Newton Anner Stud Farm, having been snapped up by the operation for 220,000gns during Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
A half-sister to the King Edward VII winner Changingoftheguard (Galileo), they are out of the Excellent Art mare Lady Lara, who carried the Sangster colours to Listed success in the UK, before earning Grade 2 glory when transferred Stateside.
Half an hour after Chantez scored, Green Impact brought up the double for their sire with victory in the mile Champion Juvenile Stakes (G2). In defeating the odds-on favourite Delacroix (Dubawi) by half a length, Green Impact franked the form that saw him defeat the same rival over course and distance in July; the colt holds a couple of eye-catching Group 1 entries to possibly round off his year.
A homebred for owner Marc Chan, who also enjoyed a standout success with old favourite Kinross in the Park Stakes (G2) at Doncaster later in the day, Green Impact is the first foal out of Emerald Green (Galileo), who did not exactly set the world alight during her first career with a couple of places her best results from 10 runs.
A half-sister to the Group 2-placed Alphabet (Lawman) and the Listed-placed Mirage (Oasis Dream), she hails from the further family of the Irish Classic winner and sire Power (Oasis Dream), from a deep Hascombe and Valiant family.
Emerald Green entered the Chan broodmare band having been snapped up for 475,000gns by Jamie McCalmont at the 2021 Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
Frankel’s juvenile stormers
Not to be outdone, Frankel also notched up an eye-catching juvenile scorer on Irish Champions Weekend in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) – albeit not with the filly most people were expecting.
Responsible for four of the five runners in the race – the outlier being Too Darn Hot’s daughter Simmering – Frankel could have expected his hitherto unbeaten daughter Bedtime Story to record another victory romp, following her most recent success in the Debutante Stakes (G2).
In the event, Bedtime Story finished last, albeit beaten less than 3l, with victory going the way of Lake Victoria. Like her paternal half-sister, the winner is a daughter of Frankel out of a Group 1-winning sprinter, in this case the 2016 Haydock Park Sprint Cup and Commonwealth Cup heroine Quiet Reflection (Showcasing).
A £44,000 yearling sale purchase, Quiet Reflection made more impact on her final trip through the sale ring when knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock and MV Magnier for 2,100,000gns at the 2017 Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
The mare has since produced a yearling colt and a colt foal, both full-brothers to the Coolmore-bred winner.
Mehmas on top
An Aidan O’Brien hotpot was also overturned in the National Stakes (G1) with Henri Matisse (Wootton Bassett) giving best to Scorthy Champ (Mehmas), who showed plenty of pace to score by three-quarters of a length.
A winner on debut at Leopardstown, Scorthy Champ had finished third to Henri Matisse in the Futurity Stakes (G2) in August, but was a progressive and worthy winner at The Curragh.
Bred by Healthy Wood Co. Ltd, and a 155,000gns purchase by his trainer Joseph O’Brien at Tattersalls October Book 1, the colt is a full-brother to Malavath, winner of the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte (G2) and Grade 1-placed at two in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and the Horris Hill
Stakes (G3) winner Knight. The trio are out of Fidaaha (New Approach), who never finished closer to the winner than eighth during her own brief racing career.
The winner is a fifth top-level success for his sire, and his second juvenile Group 1 winner after his first-crop’s Supremacy won the Middle Park Stakes (G1) in 2020.
It has been a good two-year-old season for the Tally-Ho Stud sire, this crop conceived in the wake of that record-breaking season with his first runners, Mehmas’s current large crop of juveniles were bred in 2021 off an advertised fee of €25,000, a massive leap from the €7,500 he stood for in 2020, but only half of his 2024 fee of €50,000.
Mehmas is now the easy leader on the table of juvenile sires in Europe by both prize-money and winners in the wake of Irish Champions Weekend, and he also enjoyed success at Doncaster two days prior when Wathnan Racing’s Aesterius defeated Big Mojo (Mohaather) to triumph in the Flying Childers (G2).
Already a Group 3 winner in France, the winner has danced every dance this season since his debut victory at Bath in May.
Bred by Sean Maguire, out of the unraced Hallowed Crown mare Jane Doe, the colt has made three trips through the sale ring, the most recent at the Goffs UK BreezeUp Sale proving the most lucrative, when purchased for Wathnan at £380,000.
The old guard
Not for the first time, Galileo was responsible for the winners of both the English and Irish St Legers, with Kyprios crowning his unbeaten season to claim success at The Curragh for the second time, following his success in the same race in 2022, having finished runner-up last year.
A day earlier at Doncaster, Jan Brueghel got the better of a fine tussle with his paternal half-brother Illinois, to become his sire’s 101st Group/Grade 1 scorer.
It is 18 years since Galileo’s first crop yielded firstly the Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Nightime and a 1-2-3 in the St Leger – run that year at York – with Sixties Icon leading home The Last Drop and Red Rocks.
Since then, numerous other 1-2s or 1-2-3 in top-level contests have followed around the world, but the finish to the 2024 St Leger had a poignant edge.
The great sire’s small final crop of 13 foals are now two, and it is certainly not inconceivable that a final Classic victor is among them.
But, should we have witnessed the last Classic confrontation between progeny of the stallion who has redefined greatness in the modern era of stallions, how fitting that it should have come, full circle, in the race that laid down that first milestone, nearly two decades ago.
New Century makes the Grade 1 breakthrough for first-season sire Kameko
AS NOTED HERE PREVIOUSLY, this year’s crop of first-season sires has been slower to fire than in some years previous. However, things have finally started motoring for the class of 2024, with several sires now hitting their stride with their freshman runners, as well as a steady trickle of impressive stakes performers.
Tweenhills inmate Kameko became the first off the mark at the highest level when New Century travelled to Canada to win the Summer Stakes (G1) at Woodbine.
The success was particularly fitting as it came in the colours of Kameko’s owner, Qatar Racing, and for the stallion’s trainer, Andrew Balding.
Previously winner of the Listed Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury, New Century catapulted up in class to score in Canada and become the second stakes winner out of his dam Potent Embrace (Street Cry) following the Group 3 success of the gelded Passion And Glory (Cape Cross).
A winning daughter of the multiple Group 3 winner Karen’s Caper (War Chant) and from a strong family, Potent Embrace was snapped up by David Redvers for €150,000 from the Godolphin draft at Goffs November in 2016.
Retired to stand at £25,000 at Tweenhills, the top-class performer Kameko perhaps never quite got the plaudits he deserved on the racecourse, through no fault of his own as he was a runner right out of the top drawer.
Winner of the Vertem Futurity (G1) after it was rerouted to Newcastle’s All-Weather track, he went on to Classic glory in the 2,000 Guineas, in that topsy-turvy, Covid-ravaged season of 2020.
Fourth in the Derby in that strangest of racing years, he bounded back with victory in the Joel Stakes (G2).
A son of Kitten’s Joy, he was retired to stud a year after the sudden and tragic death of his paternal half-brother Roaring Lion, and is in the process of carving out a valuable niche for himself in the British stallion ranks.
Kameko had 10 individual winners on the board at the close of the St Leger meeting, including Ghost Run, who bagged a lucrative fillies’ nursery at Doncaster, and Wimbledon Hawkeye, twice placed in Group 2 company.
Also off the mark with that all-important first stakes winner is Hello Youmzain. The Haras d’Etreham resident was represented by Misunderstood, who made virtually all to land the Prix des Chenes (G3) by four and a half lengths at Longchamp.
