BECKFORD landed the Group 2 Gain Railway Stakes on Saturday and, in doing so, he gave his sire Bated Breath a well-deserved landmark first group winner. This year, the son of Dansili also had his first stakes winner with the two-year-old filly Vik The Billy who landed the Listed Premio Perrone at Rome in late May.

Bated Breath had his first runners in 2016 and sired 19 winners and three group horses. The number of winners matched that in the first season at stud for his sire Dansili (by Danehill) who stands alongside his son at Banstead Manor Stud. This year Dansili covered at a fee of £65,000, while Bated Breath was a mere £8,000. The latter was extremely popular and covered more than 130 mares in each of his first two seasons at stud, ensuring that he will be well represented on the racecourse.

It is reasonable to expect that Bated Breath’s career will go forward on an upward trajectory. After all, he himself was a horse who improved with age and reserved his best performances for the age of four and five. Indeed, he did not see a racecourse until he was three and won three times from five starts that season, all over six furlongs. Two of these wins were at Pontefract.

Trained by Roger Charlton for his breeder Khalid Abdullah, Bated Breath won just two of his nine starts at four, a listed race at Windsor being the best of those victories. However, he was denied three Group or Grade 1 wins by less than a length. He finished half a length behind Dream Ahead on the July Cup at Newmarket and got even closer in the Sprint Cup at Haydock Park. He travelled to Canada for the Nearctic Stakes and was denied victory by a neck.

Kept in training at five, he accounted for Sole Power in the Group 2 Temple Stakes over five furlongs, his first win at the minimum distance, while he was again beaten less than a length at Royal Ascot when runner-up in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes.

Bated Breath’s year older half-brother Cityscape, a son of Selkirk, won more than £3 million in a racing career which stretched to six seasons and he gained his biggest win at the age of six years, capturing the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes. At the same age he was twice runner-up to Excelebration, in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Given that both of these horses did better with age, and that Bated Breath’s best achievements came at the age of four, it would be a fair guess that we will also see the best of Bated Breath’s progeny as time goes on. Therefore, a pair of juvenile stakes winners already is a good omen for his future.

Last year, his first crop of runners included the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes and Prix Robert Papin runner-up Al Johrah who was also fourth in the Group 1 Prix Morny. This year Beckford is his best runner and he is a horse with a bright future based on his most recent success.

Joyce Wallsgrove bred Beckford, who was born and raised in Newmarket at Dwayne Woods’ Brook Stud. Joyce bought the dam Whirly Dancer – who is by Danehill Dancer (Danehill) – for just 9,500gns at the Tattersalls February Sale in 1992 as a horse out of training.

Initially in the care of Sir Henry Cecil, Whirly Dancer was placed on four of her five starts at two, but she opened her winning account on her first start at three and added one more win, also over seven furlongs, before she was sent to the December Sale.

There she was bought by Gunner Nordling for 45,000gns and sent to be trained in Sweden by Lennart Reuterskiold Junior. She disappointed in her new environs and was sent back to England to be sold.

Following her purchase by Joyce the mare was sent up the road to the National Stud and covered by Dick Turpin, producing the 28,000gns foal and two-year-old winner Lagenda.

Beckford, who sold for 58,000gns as a foal and €55,000 as a yearling, is her second offspring, while last year’s foal, a filly by Mukhadram, realised 31,000gns. The latter is catalogued from Baroda and Colbinstown Studs at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale next month. This year Whirly Dancer had a filly by Poet’s Voice and is in foal to New Approach.

At the time of her purchase Whirly Dancer was the first foal and only winning offspring for the Nashwan mare Whirly Bird. That mare won five races and was listed placed from seven starts. Since then four more of her offspring are winners and they include Malabar, and the Poet’s Word who was just denied in the Group 3 Huxley Stakes on his most recent start.