GESTÜT Söhrenhof in Switzerland has had some fine racecourse successes, going back -40 years. They have doubtless enjoyed watching the female line descending from the American-bred mare Vanishing Prairie (Alysheba) do well, a number of which carry that country’s suffix SWI. Söhrenhof is certainly one of the most prominent names in Swiss breeding.

The stud was founded in 1983 with just three thoroughbred mares. While such as Walter Haefner chose to base his business in Ireland, there was a move in the eighties to try to improve racing and breeding in Switzerland. Söhrenhof was to the forefront, and they stood, some for just a single season, Arazi, the classic winner King Of Kings, and Brief Truce. They also were home to the French Derby winner Blue Canari.

At the turn of the millennium, Söhrenhof enjoyed a purple patch. In fact, 2003 saw the three-year-old Vespone (Llandaff) become the top-rated colt in France thanks to a pair of Group 1 wins, in the Prix Jean Prat and Grand Prix de Paris. The same year, two-year-old Russian Valour (Fasliyev) won the Group 3 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. Vespone became a Group 1 sire.

In 1993, Vanishing Prairie won both her starts in Ireland for trainer Michael Grassick, in the colours of his wife Miriam. She had come from France where she was placed on all her three runs. As a four-year-old she sold, in foal to Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer), for 215,000gns and she became the property of Gestüt Söhrenhof. The foal she was carrying, a filly, won in France and placed in a Swiss listed race. She became the dam of listed winners in France and Germany.

At stud, Vanishing Prairie would go on to have 14 foals, all but one of which would race. Eleven of them won, and five at stakes level. She was always well covered, and especially so after Vespone appeared. She had two French listed-winning sons, but her only group winner, apart from her dual Group 1 son, was La Sylphide, and she was one to have (SWI) as part of her name. She won the Group 3 Prix Flore at Saint-Cloud.

Craig Bennett

In fairness, Vanishing Prairie came tantalisingly close to having a second Group 1 winner. This was with her son Purple Moon (Galileo). Bred by Söhrenhof, he sold as a yearling in France to Demi O’Bryne and joined Sir Michael Stoute. Purple Moon was a winner and listed-placed, before trading at three for 440,000gns, bought by Gerry Griffin and he joined Nicky Richards. He raced twice over hurdles for Craig Bennett, winning and placed second, but then left to join Luca Cumani.

That change of heart and plan was to prove a smart one. Purple Moon might have ‘only’ won a listed race at Goodwood and the Ebor Handicap at York, but he would go on to amass more than £1 million with some lucrative placed runs. He was second, beaten half a length, in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup, and a year later was denied a short head by Doctor Dino in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase. He was a short neck third in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic.

Why all of this back story you might be asking now? La Sylphide came into the ownership of Sheikh Mohammed and she would go on to breed eight winners. Her best runner was Expansion (Maria’s Mon) and he was actually sold as a yearling for $150,000. He would go on to race for Gary and Mary West, winning at Grade 2 level and placed in a couple of Grade 1 races. He later sold for $7,000.

Sheikh Mohammed held on to some of the family, and notably four-time winner and German listed-placed Monday Show (Maria’s Mon), a full-sister to Expansion. Monday Show is dam of six winners, with another highly likely, and three of her daughters won stakes races. Magnetic Charm (Exceed And Excel) did so for the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Snow Day (Shamardal) won in France, a listed race in Germany, and was group-placed in Italy.

André Fabre

Best of them by far was another daughter of Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway). Usherette was trained by André Fabre but the highlights among her seven triumphs came in England. She won the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot – and was placed the following year – and she beat Arabian Queen in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket. She lost nothing in defeat when less than a length back in third behind Mekhtaal in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan, with no less than Zarak in fifth.

Naturally, Usherette was only going to visit the best at stud. Her first foal, Great Deed (Galileo), raced in the UAE and won over a mile on the dirt at Meydan as a four-year-old. Her second foal, and only filly to date, is Star Guest (Dubawi). She won three times for Charlie Appleby who almost managed to get a stakes win out of her. She was beaten half a length on her final run in a Saratoga stakes race. Star Guest’s first foal was born in February, a daughter of Frankel (Galileo).

What a pity that Usherette’s third progeny, a son of Siyouni (Pivotal), was never named, but all has come good as her fourth is the weekend Group 1 winner Talk Of New York (Wootton Bassett). After a couple of missed years, Usherette had a colt in mid-April by Frankel, and, along with her daughter Star Guest, they both were covered this year by the Juddmonte behemoth.

Quality field

Talk Of New York will race again in 2027, and the world looks to be his oyster. He won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes well, beating a quality field of classic winners and Group 1 older horses, and all of his eight runs have come within a 12-month period. He has posted five wins, and finished less than two lengths behind Bow Echo in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and a length behind Title Role (Grade 1 winner) in the Listed Jumeirah 2000 Guineas. He will be an important stallion addition to the Darley roster in time.

The loss of Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) will continue to be regretted for many years to come. He is two wins off his 100th stakes winner, and two-thirds of these have been at group level. More than a third of his pattern winners have been successful in Group or Grade 1 races, and he will have another spate of sons heading to stud in 2027. His sons are going to be especially valuable for the breed in the long term.

Wootton Bassett’s final crop of foals numbers more than 150 this year, so we will be celebrating his triumphs for a long time to come. Talk Of New York is the first of Wootton Bassett’s Group 1 winners out of a mare by Shamardal. Sadler’s Wells and Northern Dancer appear just one time each in the fifth remove of his family, adding to his stud appeal in time.