SHEIKH Maktoum Al Maktoum died on January 4th, 2006. He enjoyed great success as an owner and breeder and at the 1997 Tattersalls Houghton Yearling Sale his Gainsborough Stud paid 210,000gns for a filly by Cadeaux Genereux (Young Generation), a horse who raced in his colours, out of High Spirited (Shirley Heights). The filly was bred by Sir Thomas Pilkington and his mother, Elizabeth Burke of Stackallen Stud.

Named Devil’s Imp, she won her only start as a juvenile, the two-runner Newmarket Challenge Cup over seven furlongs. Trained by Ed Dunlop, she won again at three and placed on her only other starts. She was fully deserving of her place at stud as her half-brother Amfortas (Caerleon) won the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, while her half-sister Legend Maker (Sadler’s Wells) was a Group 3 winner in France.

Legend Maker was well-named as she went on to breed the 2005 Group 1 1000 Guineas winner Virginia Waters (Kingmambo) and the Group 3 Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes winner and Group 1 Irish Derby runner-up Alexander Of Hales (Danehill). Legend Maker is grandam of Group 1 Matron Stakes heroine Chachamaidee (Footstepsinthesand) and third dam of Rain Goddess (Galileo), a Group 3 winner and runner-up three years ago in the Group 1 Darley Irish Oaks.

Devil’s Imp compiled a solid record as a broodmare. She had 11 offspring, 10 of which ran and nine of them won. The best was Miss Lucifer, a daughter of Noverre (Rahy). She made her first 10 starts for Barry Hills, finishing third on her debut and then was never out of the first two. She twice won at stakes level, the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket and the Listed October Stakes at Ascot. Transferred to Saeed bin Suroor, she was down the field on a single start in the USA.

Space Blues, the 43rd Group or Grade 1 winner for Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), is out of Miss Lucifer and at the weekend he added the Prix Maurice de Gheest to previous wins in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes and the Group 3 Prix de la Porte Maillot. He is the best of four winners from his dam, though his half-sister Shuruq (Elusive Quality) was a Group 2 winner in Meydan and she is the dam of Anotinette (Hard Spun). The last named, a stakes winner at two in the USA last year, has been placed in 2020 in the Grade 1 CCA Oaks.

Space Blues is trained by Charlie Appleby and he also has charge of Beautiful Fire (Night Of Thunder), his half-sister. Miss Lucifer has a filly foal by Dark Angel (Acclamation) and is in foal to Dubawi.