WHILE Pinatubo (Shamardal) has remained steady on the stud fee front since going to Dalham Hall at £35,000, taking a small drop this year for the first time to £30,000, he has been waiting for his first group winner. His first crop three-year-olds had delivered three stakes winners, and a few pattern-placed runners, but they seemed to be somewhat mired in listed company.

That has now changed, thanks to Qilin Queen’s trip to France to contest the Group 2 Prix de Malleret at ParisLongchamp. Now a three-time winner, her only time out of the money in seven starts was when she was unplaced in the Oaks. Trained by Ed Walker, Qilin Queen is one of some 38 winners from Pinatubo’s first crop that also includes Croquis and Tipinso, both of whom are stakes winners in France.

His second crop, juveniles of this season, are headed by Dickensian who was runner-up in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Qilin Queen sold as a yearling for 280,000gns, the same price exactly that her dam, Seagull, realised as a foal. She was born in 2011 and was from the first crop sired by Sea The Stars (Cape Cross), enjoying a bumper year as a broodmare sire. After winning and being placed second twice in just four starts for Lady Rothschild, Seagull sold at three for just 57,000gns, a few years before the emergence of two of the family’s most famous runners.

Seagull produced sales horses from day one. Five of her first six foals are named, went for sale, and all are winners. They have realised, all as yearlings, €3750,000, 580,000gns, 360,000gns, 105,000gns and 280,000gns. This year Seagull has a yearling filly by Naval Crown (Dubawi). Qilin Queen is the second stakes winner for Seagull, after Monbaher (Muhaarar).

Since Seagull’s purchase 11 years ago, her half-sister Nightime (Galileo), winner of the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas, has become the dam of the European champion Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) and his Grade 1-winning half-sister Zhukova (Fastnet Rock). Nightime and Seagull were bred by the late Marguerite Weld, mother of Dermot, and are from her stakes-winning mare Caumshinaun (Indian Ridge).

O’Callaghan enjoys Grade 1 win on the double

FEW newcomers to racing and breeding have made such vast initial investments as Resolute Racing’s John Stewart. He makes his mark wherever he goes, and this week that included some significant buys in Japan.

Last year one of his major purchases was at the Arqana December Sale, when he paid €1.6 million for Excellent Truth (Cotai Glory). The Group 3 winner was second in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild and provided a bonanza payback to owner Montgomery Motto on her €52,000 yearling price. The now five-year-old was bred by Sandra Russell, and at the weekend provided her sire with his second winner at the highest level. The other was The Platinum Queen, and both are from his second crop.

Excellent Truth has made a great start to her new career in the USA, and her three starts there this year have all been in Grade 1 races. She was second in the Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland in April, second at Saratoga in the Just A Game Stakes, and this past weekend she got her nose in front in the Diana Stakes, also at Saratoga. These three efforts added $470,000 to her winnings.

Trained by Mauricio Delcher Sanchez in France, Excellent Truth is now in the care of Chad Brown. She is a half-sister to the Italian classic-placed filly Memo De L’Alguer (Mehmas), and two other winners. The count could grow soon, as Excellent Truth’s two-year-old half-brother Armstrong (Starman) was placed on his debut. That €115,000 foal was resold for 280,000gns as a yearling. Excellent Truth’s Teofilo (Galileo) dam Moment Of Truth is a half-sister to the French Group 1 two-year-old winner Zafisio (Efisio).

Superb filly

After his purchase of Excellent Truth, Stewart said: “She was at the top of my list. She’s a superb filly with a great pedigree. I’m looking for fillies to run in the States on the turf. The track at Keeneland is unique, as it is usually soft or sometimes heavy ground, which doesn’t always suit American horses. For the horses that have already run on heavy ground it’s different – they adapt well and are very good. I haven’t won a race there yet, so that’s my main aim next year.”

Sandra Russell is certainly enjoying great success from Moment Of Truth, while Tally-Ho Stud’s Tony O’Callaghan will also be delighted with the latest win. Not only does he stand the stallion, but last year he paid 92,000gns at the Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale for the winning juvenile Mirroring (Mehmas) and, you guessed it, she is a half-sister to Excellent Truth.

Barouche delights with Yellow Jersey’s Vichy victory

CONGRATULATIONS to the team at Barouche Stud on their astute purchase at last year’s Tattersalls December Sale. They spent 40,000gns on the French-bred Hestia, an unraced three-year-old (then) by Churchill out of Psara, a winning daughter of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert). Hestia was sold in foal to Kameko (Kitten’s Joy), whose £15,000 fee then went up to £20,000 this year.

From an outstanding pedigree that not only regularly produces Group 1 winners, this family is even more often responsible for sale toppers. Hestia had been bought from her breeders, who included the late Lady O’Reilly, for €200,000 as a yearling, and so Barbara Facchino could already be seen to have done some fine business.

That said, Mrs Facchino was going to have to rely on the younger stock out of Psara coming up with the goods, and they had a better chance than most.

Hestia’s year-younger half-brother Yellow Jersey (Dubawi), a €400,000 yearling, was unraced last year, while Psara’s then yearling was a son of Siyouni (Pivotal). He had been purchased for €140,000 earlier that year. Psara was due this spring to Night of Thunder (Dubawi), and had a filly.

Psara herself made a splash in the sales ring, bringing €250,000 as a yearling, and exactly doubling in value when sold carrying Hestia, her first foal. Making just four starts, Psara won a mile and a half maiden before contesting three blacktype races, all her starts. She was narrowly denied third place in the Listed Prix de l’Avre at ParisLongchamp, and finished fifth on both her other outings.

Unbeaten

Now, Psara has come up with the goods, and Hestia’s half-brother Yellow Jersey, trained by André Fabre, is unbeaten in two starts. Gelded, he was impressive on Monday when winning a listed mile and a half race at Vichy in the colours of Qatar Racing. He is the latest in a long list of stakes winners in one of the best families of recent decades.

Psara is a daughter of the Group 3 winner Pacifique (Montjeu), and 10 years ago her son, Parabellum (Dubawi), topped the Arqana yearling sale at €2,600,000. He won once. Pacifique’s five winners are led by Paix (Muhaarar), also a Group 3 winner and whose two-year-old daughter Skydance (Night Of Thunder), a €1 million yearling buy last year at Arqana, was third in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes at the Curragh recently on her second start.

Group 1 winners appearing in the next three removes of the family include, with sale prices in some cases, Alexandrova (Sadler’s Wells), Chicquita (Montjeu: €6 million), Magical Romance (Barathea: 6,000,000gns), Magic Wand (Galileo: €1.4 million), Channel (Nathaniel: 1,200,000gns) and Aspeter (Al Kazeem).