ONCE A Group 1 contest, the Oaks d’Italia was downgraded to Group 2 in 2007. Then a target for all the leading European trainers, it was won since 1985 by fillies trained by Jim Bolger, twice each by Michael Stoute and Luca Cumani, Barry Hills, André Fabre, and more, even by Lester Piggott. More recently the challenge to local runners has largely come, and very successfully too, from Germany.

This year two race records were cemented. Victorious jockey Fabio Branca won the race for the fifth time, and four of these were for Stefano Botti, who himself was taking the honours for the sixth time. The winner this year the Irish-bred Piccolo Piumo, a daughter of Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact). When I saw the name of the breeder, Suroben Limited, my first thought, as a crossword fan, was that it was an anagram, and it looked a little like Osbourne. Wrong number of letters however.

That said, I was not far off, and the breeders are in fact John and Valerie Osborne; then it struck me. Suroben is an amalgam of the first few letters of their three children. The couple get a mention on the next page too, as co-breeders of Madbadanddangerous. It was a good weekend for the residents of Tipper House in Naas.

Four-time winner

John and Valerie gave €60,000 for the winning mare Shaaqaaf (Sepoy) in 2021, carrying a colt Triple Double A (Mohaather). They struck immediately when he sold as a foal for €95,000, and is now a four-time winner. The Osbornes would have known that Shaaqaaf sold as a yearling for 200,000gns to Shadwell, a sure sign of a good individual. Piccolo Piuma did not herself grace the Osborne coffers with gold, failing to sell at €24,000 as a foal.

When Piccolo Piuma next appeared at a sale, she did so from Mick and Stephen Byrne’s Knockgraffon Stables, where it took a private sale at €15,000 to get her sold. Valfredo Valiani signed for her. Prior to her classic win, she had won four times, but this was her first blacktype success. Her winnings, earned from just seven starts, amount to €225,000.

Piccolo Piuma is a 10th group winner for Saxon Warrior, and his 21st stakes winner.

The Group 1 Racing Post Stakes winner at two went on to add the Group 1 2000 Guineas the following year. In Australia, his daughter Sheza Alibi is a dual Group 1 winner and current racing star, while his son Victoria Road won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Horse To Watch

Keep an eye on some French and English juveniles

I HAD difficulty deciding which of a pair of two-year-old winners to select as a horse to follow, and so I chose to mention both, though Minzelle is mentioned in the piece about Minzaal.

Juddmonte homebred Amusingly is trained by Francis Graffard, and this daughter of No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) was sent to Compiegne to make her racecourse debut over seven furlongs, facing nine other debutantes. She passed the winning post with three lengths to spare, adding to her value, but that will not have been an immediate issue for her connections. More important will be the hope that she can go on to replicate the success of her full-brother.

Array (No Nay Never), trained by Andrew Balding, was a smart juvenile who won the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes. He is the sole blacktype winner to date for Joyeuse (Oasis Dream) among that mare’s eight winners, though four others were stakes-placed. Indeed, two are Group 1-placed, Jubiloso (Shamardal) in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, and Maximal (Galileo) who was second in the Doomben Cup (beaten half a length) and the Turnbull Stakes. It would not be out of turn for Joyeuse to have a second stakes winner.

Jovial

Another daughter of Joyeuse who must get a mention is Jovial (Dubawi). She won three races, was listed-placed, but is off the mark quickly at stud. Her first foal is Jonquil (Lope De Vega), Last year he won the Group 2 Celebration Mile and Group 3 Greenham Stakes, and is a listed winner this term. He was a head behind Henri Matisse in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-French 2000 Guineas. Jovial’s second foal is the two-year-old Jolivette (Wootton Bassett). She won on her debut in mid-May and finished ninth of 25 runners in the Group 2 Albany Stakes last week.

This is a deep Juddmonte family, and Amusingly’s dam is a half-sister to two Group 1 winning full-brothers. Noble Mission (Galileo) won Group 1s in Ireland, England and France, but he was eclipsed by Frankel who was never beaten in 14 starts, 10 of them Group 1 races.

MINZAAL (Mehmas) has just completed his fourth season at Derrinstown Stud. This is traditionally a testing year for stallions and breeders, given that a sire’s first runners appear and breeders are asked to place their faith in him before they know how good the progeny is on the track. Minzaal’s stock at the yearling sales last year were all the rage, but now is the time to see them in action.

It was late July when Minzaal himself debuted, fourth in a maiden at Ascot, and then he won twice in August, beating eight to win the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes, before finishing third in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes. We know that he was at his best at four when streaking nearly four lengths clear of the rest to take the Group 1 Haydock Park Sprint Cup.

It is about now that we should start seeing the best of Minzaal’s of juveniles. Sure enough, in a four-week period, he has had four winners in England. The Clive Cox-trained colt Satellite Of Love (“he has a great attitude and an exciting future ahead”) started the ball rolling over six furlongs at Windsor, with a daughter of Minzaal back in third.

Satellite Of Love sold for £45,000 and was bred by Kildaragh Stud. The Kavanagh’s farm are also joint-breeders of Sydney Grace, and she sold for £40,000 as a yearling. She won over five furlongs at the second time of asking for Charlie Fellowes and built on a promising debut. Her jockey said: “She was very professional and Charlie likes her”.

Very easy

Another daughter of Minzaal to catch the eye is Minzelle. This 450,000gns yearling (and €85,000 foal) races for Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy, trained by Karl Burke. After a placed debut, she was an easy winner over the minimum trip this week. She will be targeted at York, stepping up in class and most likely in trip, and Burke says that “she’s very easy to deal with”. One for the notebook.

A little over 24 hours after Minzelle’s victory, Tom Dascombe sent yet another filly, Yahaira, out to win a Newbury novice over six furlongs. She showed battling qualities to keep her head in front, and may well have been a bargain purchase at €35,000.

Four winners might not seem many to some critics at this time of year, but seven other runners by the sire have finished second, with a plethora making the frame. With so many knocking at the door, expect a flood of winners as the season progresses. As I write this, Minzaal is only behind Persian Force and Bayside Boy on the sire table in Britain and Ireland.

While many of the better priced sons and daughters of Minzaal have yet to appear, one of his less expensive is doing well in Italy. A €10,000 foal and €17,500 yearling buy by Razza Latina, Minzova has won two of her three starts and looks certain to be blacktype class.