NUMERICALLY, five first-season sires have opened up a gap to the chasing pack in the race to head the sires list based on the number of individual winners. Persian Force (Mehmas) is three in front of Blackbeard (No Nay Never), who is in a ding-dong battle with Minzaal (also by Mehmas), Closing in on them is Bayside Boy (New Bay), while Space Traveller (Bated Breath) is the only other stallion in double figures.

Just outside the top 10 is a stallion who may not be so familiar with readers. Rubaiyat (Areion) did all of his winning in Germany and Italy where he was successful at up to Group 2 level, and at up to a mile. His Group 2 wins came in two races that once were Group 1s, the Italian Gran Criterium at two and the Premio Vittorio di Capua two years later. He was runner-up in two classics, the Italian and German editions of their 2000 Guineas.

Sires in Germany do not cover books of mares comparable with those standing elsewhere in Europe, and their juvenile programme is much more limited, not kicking in as early as in Ireland, Britain and France. Yet Rubaiyat has made an impressive start to his career at stud, posting five winners from 11 runners. One of those winners has been successful twice, the Darius Racing-owned filly Mahasti, and this €10,000 BBAG yearling has just given Rubaiyat his first stakes winner.

Not only did Mahasti win the Listed Grosser Junioren-Preis des Calenberger Kreditvereins, a tongue-twister of a name, in Hannover, but she did do by four and a half lengths, with the others stretched out in arrears. Bred by Gestüt Keilhof, which is owned by Klaus-Peter Keil, Mahasti is the fourth foal but first winner for the unraced Magic (Adlerflug), and she is followed by a yearling colt by Amaron (Shamardal).

Darius Racing

Magic is a full-sister to Manoucheer (Adlerflug) who also carried the colours of Darius Racing. He travelled to France to contest the Listed Prix Michel Houyvet at Deauville, where he was beaten a length into third place. Most German female families earn their stripes in their native country, but this is one that has spread its wings.

Mahasti’s third dam Messina (Dashing Blade) bred six winners, the best being Messi (New Approach) and McCartney (In The Wings).

Messi’s six victories included the Grade 2 Sky Classic Stakes at Woodbine in Canada, and he was back there to run third in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes, in which Hawkbill was second. McCartney started his racing career with Mark Johnston, winning the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. Three years later he won a listed race in Dubai for Satish Seemar.

Rubaiyat has been with the Volz family at Gestüt Ohlerweiherhof since 2023 for a fee of €4,500. With his first crop doing so well, it was no surprise that at the recent BBAG Yearling Sale four of his six lots on offer averaged some €40,000.

BARBERSTOWN Castle’s owner Amanda Torrens loves her racing, is a generous sponsor, and now she might just be in possession of a very talented two-year-old colt. A brief conversation with Katie Walsh this week served only to endorse my belief that what I saw at Naas recently was true.

Amanda owns Nouveau Grey, a grey colt by New Bay (Dubawi) out of the unraced Slickly (Linamix) mare Grey Anatomy. Trained by Katie’s husband Ross O’Sullivan, Nouveau Grey ran out an impressive winner of a seven-furlong maiden on yielding ground, beating 10 opponents comfortably, and while the original thinking was that this might have been enough for now, he has come out of the race very well and could tackle a Group 3 soon.

His breeding suggests anything he does now at two is a bonus, and he is certainly a runner to watch.

The maiden he won has produced its share of Group 1 winners, and in the past decade Aidan O’Brien has won it with the subsequent Irish St Leger winner Flag Of Honour. Katie Walsh paid €145,000 for Nouveau Grey as a yearling last year at Arqana, and she was not letting him go for less than she felt was his worth after breezing him back there in May, retaining him at €160,000.

Truth is that the colt has a stallion’s pedigree, his half-brother Zagrey (Zarak) stands in France, and has his first foals on the ground.

He is at Haras de Grandchamp and covered books of about 70 mares in his first two seasons.

He was a well-travelled horse, winning the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden-Baden in Germany, finishing second to Westover in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, and third to the exceptional Equinox and Westover in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic.

Excellent judgement

Nicola FitzGerald bought Grey Anatomy for just €43,000 in February 2022, a little over two years after she realised €180,000. At last year’s December Sale, a winning daughter, Eepha (Siyouni), sold for 325,000gns, confirming Nicola’s excellent judgement. Nouveau Grey is the mare’s fifth winner, and getting blacktype would make him the fourth of those winners to do so. Anatiya (Dariyan) was listed-placed in Germany, but her half-brother was more talented.

He is the five-time winner Graignes (Zoffany), and while he did not win a blacktype race, he came mighty close to doing so. He was sound, running on 46 occasions. Graignes was denied victory by a nose in the Group 3 Prix Djebel at Maisons-Laffitte, while at two he was a length behind the winner Royal Meeting in the Group 1 Criterium International, with Hermosa in second place. Hermosa, the following spring, won both the English and Irish 1000 Guineas.

This is a deep female line, many of the leading stars in it having excelled in the USA. Some found their way to Europe to race, and performed with distinction. Grey Anatomy’s dam, the English listed winner Light Step (Nureyev), had three stakes-winning siblings. Souplesse (Majestic Light) won a listed race in France, Forest Gazelle (Green Forest) was a Grade 3 winner in the USA, but the best of them was Eltish (Cox’s Ridge). Trained by Henry Cecil, he won the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at two, placed third in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, and was runner-up to Timber Country in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile for Juddmonte.

New Bay

What is there to say about New Bay that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. The Ballylinch sire got Group 1 winners Saffron Beach, Bay Bridge and Bayside Boy in his first three crops, and John O’Connor showed how much respect he had for New Bay when he added Bayside Boy to the stallion roster. He has rewarded them with a fine first crop of runners this year, and will be battling the rest of the year for championship honours. New Bay has 15 yearlings next week in Goffs Orby Book 1, and 16 a week later in Tattersall’s Book 1, reflecting the better quality mares he has received since his fee was raised in 2023 to €75,000. This week he had a son sell at Tattersalls Ireland for €150,000, while earlier in Arqana five yearlings by him sold for €200,000 or more.