BIG Mojo (Mohaather) flew the flag for RP Racing last year, breaking his maiden in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood after finishing second at Beverley, placing second in the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster, and then running fourth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Believing that the colt would graduate to Group 1-winning level this year, Conor Quirke outbid Alex Elliott and Amo Racing to secure the colt’s dam Jm Jackson, a daughter of No Nay Never (Scat Daddy), at the Goffs November Sale last year for a tasty €480,000.

The mare was sold in foal to Showcasing (Oasis Dream), and in the spring she foaled a colt. He is just the second living offspring of the Mark Johnston-trained Jm Jackson who never managed to win, but her placed efforts included a second-place finish in the Listed National Stakes at Sandown.

At the sale last year, Quirke was positioned on the balcony where he spent a full minute urging the auctioneer Bernard Condron to drop the hammer. He was relieved when he was finally named as the winning bidder. He said: “It’s for RP racing. The likelihood is she will go to Big Evs, and there’s an outside chance she could go to Blue Point. As a physical she matches both those stallions, and I am delighted for Ringfort [the vendor, Derek Veitch]. Obviously, they are passing the baton at the minute. “

Quirke added: “She is a young mare, has bred a very good horse, and I hope Paddy Power are not watching because I hope to get a good price about the Commonwealth Cup next year. That’s the kind of faith we have in him. That is just the second mare for RP Racing. We pursued her privately and she made more than we planned. We were full stretch at about €400,000.”

Winning reappearance

Big Mojo made a winning reappearance in late April, and must have got Quirke excited when winning the Group 3 Commonwealth Cup Trial Stakes at Ascot. Less than a month later the colt was only a length and a half behind the winner in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes, but there was no fairytale for connections in the Commonwealth Cup itself. Next time out, Big Mojo came agonisingly close to his first Group 1 success when beaten a neck in the July Cup, but the Holy Grail was achieved when he was a clear winner of the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup.

Jm Jackson is a full-sister to Singforthemoment (No Nay Never), and her sole win was in a listed race at two in Bordeaux-Le Bouscat.

They are among six winners out of the once-raced Kawn (Cadeaux Genereux), a 500,000gns Shadwell purchase as a yearling. That valuation was based on the fact that she was a half-sister to Trans Island (Selkirk), a Group 2 winner and Group 1 Lockinge Stakes runner-up, and to the Group 3 winner Welsh Diva (Selkirk).

Flag carrier

Big Mojo is the flag-carrier for Mohaather (Showcasing) who stood this year at Beech House Stud for £15,000. The Group 1 winner is from the first crop of the lightly-raced 110,000gns yearling purchase by Shadwell. Mohaather won the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury shortly after landing his maiden, two of his three juvenile starts. He added the Group 3 Greenham Stakes on the first of just two starts at three, before going on to be rated 129 by Timeform as a four-year-old.

In his third season racing for Sheikh Hamdan, Mohaather trounced San Donato by almost four lengths to take the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, and this was just 18 days before beating Circus Maximus and Siskin in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes over the same trip at Goodwood, a performance that drew rave reviews, and was achieved in a faster time than that recorded by Kingman to win the same race.

All of Mohaather’s three stakes winners are from his first crop, and all gained them at two. He sired 21 juvenile winners last year, and has another five this year. Last year he also had the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes runner-up Serving With Style.

Shadwell has a star in the making

I WAS heartened to hear the comments of trainer Owen Burrows after Touleen (Lope De Vega) took her record for this year to two wins in as many starts. Little wonder that both the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes and Group 1 Fillies’ Mile are on her radar.

This is what the trainer said after the Shadwell homebred won at Leicester. “She’s a very exciting filly, you can be nothing but impressed, especially given the reputation of the filly in second [a 1,000,000gns two-year-old and winner on her debut]. She did everything right at Newbury on her debut and did everything right again today.”

One man who will be hoping that Touleen goes on to achieve greatness is Owenstown Stud owner John Tuthill. In December, he paid just 12,000gns for the unraced Teefan (Kingman), a now four-year-old half-sister to Touleen. Teefan and Touleen are the second and third offspring of the Group 3 City of York Stakes winner Talaayeb (Dansili). The first, also a filly, was Harila (Invincible Spirit), and all are bred by Shadwell.

It is something of a surprise to find that Shadwell sold Harila as a yearling for 120,000gns to Mick and Sarah Murphy’s Longways Stables, and that couple turned a profit five months later when selling her on for €210,000. How fickle then is the bloodstock business when, after winning twice, Harila was valued at only €40,000 at the end of her three-year-old season. She is now at stud.

Talaayeb only ran five times, won twice, and was fourth in the Group 1 1000 Guineas and Group 3 Sceptre Stakes. Given what Touleen has done on her first two starts, and with hopes that she will go on even better, Shadwell will surely retain Talaayeb’s yearling filly by Nathaniel (Galileo) and colt foal by St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni).

After all, this is yet another exciting generation in an outstanding family that the late Sheikh Hamdan carefully cultivated over four decades.

Height Of Fashion

Talaayeb is one of three stakes winners out of the listed winner and Group 1 Oaks third Rumoush (Rahy), herself a half-sister to classic winner Ghanaati (Giant’s Causeway). Their dam was the dual stakes winner Sarayir (Mr Prospector), and she was out of the champion Height Of Fashion (Bustino).

What a legacy that great two-year-old left, with all of her eight winners earning blacktype, six of them stakes winners. Height Of Fashion’s sons Nayef (Gulch) and Nashwan (Blushing Groom) matched each other’s achievement by winning four times in Group 1 company, while another son was Unfuwain (Northern Dancer).

This female family has spawned no end of Group 1 winners, and is treasured by the Shadwell organisation. No wonder. One of their best runners of recent years, Baaeed (Sea The Stars), also has Height Of Fashion as his fourth dam. Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) has worked the oracle with this family, also giving us Baaeed’s full-brother, the Group 1 winner Hukum. The Australian Group 1 winner Shraaoh (Sea The Stars) also features under Touleen’s third dam.

Touleen is one of 14 two-year-old winners this year for Lope De Vega (Shamardal), and that list includes the weekend’s unbeaten French listed winner Ozone, owned and bred by the Wertheimer brothers, and Geryon, a Curragh maiden winner who was runner-up in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes.