JOHN Connaughton is the owner and breeder of Bloomfield, an eye-catching winner of a three-year-old maiden at the Curragh last weekend on her debut. Such was the manner of her success that it would be no surprise if she went on from this to much better things, and maybe she could be a filly for some valuable group races in 2018 also.

She is the seventh winning progeny for her unraced dam Ramona, a daughter of Desert King, and she is another promising runner for her sire Teofilo, an unbeaten Group 1 winning son of Galileo at two when he captured both the National Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes for Jim Bolger. The trainer has also enjoyed great success with his offspring.

Ramona was purchased for 58,000gns by Ted Naughton for John Connaughton and she has been great value and hugely successful since. Seven of her eight runners are now winners, and have been trained by six different handlers. Jim Bolger has enjoyed most success with her offspring, training both Prima Luce and Toraidhe, while Charles O’Brien, Jeremy Noseda, Patrick Prendergast and Michael Halford all trained winners out of her. Willie McCreery is responsible now for Bloomfield.

Prima Luce has been the best of those seven winners and she was purchased as a yearling for 270,000gns. Trained by Jim Bolger and racing for his wife Jackie and John Corcoran, this daughter of Galileo won the Group 3 Athasi Stakes. She was sold at four for 560,000gns, and subsequently traded on again at 825,000gns to Kilcarn Stud, for when she has bred two winners.

Ramona is tremendously well related, though she has one distinction when compared to her nine siblings. She was the only foal of her Secreto dam Rahaam not to race – and all of the others won. They included the King’s Stand Stakes winner Cassandra Go (by Indian Ridge) and the Coventry Stakes winner Verglas (by Highest Honor).

Cassandra Go has been a huge success as a broodmare, the best of her sons and daughters being the multiple Group 1 winner Halfway To Heaven (by Pivotal). Three of her four wins were gained in the Irish 1000 Guineas, Nassau Stakes and Sun Chariot Stakes, and she is already a group-producing dam with the Galileo filly Flying The Flag.

Another daughter of Cassandra Go worth highlighting is the Rock Of Gibraltar mare Theann. She won the Group 3 Summer Stakes at York and is the dam of a high-class daughter by Galileo, namely Photo Call. She improved out of all recognition when sent to the USA and there she won the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita before connections cashed in and sold her for $3 million. She added a further Grade 1 success afterwards.

Breeders, stallion masters and readers are invited to contact Leo Powell at leopowell@theirishfield.ie with news and updates for the column, and to visit our website www.theirishfield.ie for daily breeding news