THE death in 2016 of Society Rock was a second blow to the O’Callaghan family’s Tally-Ho Stud, as it followed the news that their newest acquisition that year, G Force, had proven to be infertile. Society Rock was just on the verge of completing his third season at stud.

The son of Rock Of Gibraltar (Danehill) has his third and final crop racing this year as juveniles, and much will be expected of them following how well his first two crops have performed.

Trained by James Fanshawe Society Rock developed into a leading sprinter, racing for five seasons and gaining his finest moments in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Group 1 Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock, races he won at the ages of four and five respectively. He was also runner-up four times at Group 1 level.

Society Rock made a flying start at stud when his first crop was headed by the Group 1 Darley Prix Morny winner Unfortunately, now a member of the Cheveley Park Stud stallion roster. That initial group also numbered stakes winner Corinthia Knight, Grade 2 hurdle winner Rocky Blue, Group 3 Jersey Stakes runner-up Society Power, Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes runner-up Tangled, and the listed-placed duo So Hi Society and Yolo Star among the winners.

Last year’s second crop of juveniles produced 20 winners, and notable among them was the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes winner Shumookhi. However, the best runner was The Mackem Bullet, a £9,000 graduate of the Goffs UK Silver Yearling Sale who won over five furlongs at Carlisle on her third start. After that her racing career went into overdrive.

Trained by Brian Ellison, she was twice runner-up to Fairyland, a Tally-Ho Stud bred daughter of their star sire Kodiac, in group races, beaten a nose at York in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes and beaten a neck in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes. She was sold to Katsumi Yoshida and transferred to the USA where she won again on New Year’s Eve.

Now she has set herself up for a possible classic tilt after she made a successful first start on turf in the USA for trainer Wesley Ward, handling soft ground to win the $200,000 Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland on Sunday. This was the filly’s first victory over a mile and she would look to be overpriced at 40/1 and more for the 1000 Guineas, the first English classic of the year for fillies.

Following her two-year-old career it was no surprise that she would attract Japanese interest. She is the third foal, third runner and second winner for her dam Elkmait. That daughter of Trade Fair (Zafonic) won over six furlongs as a juvenile at Yarmouth in the colours of Saeed Manana before selling to Bobby O’Ryan as a three-year-old for a mere 7,000gns.

Her second foal was the dual winner Inuk (Kodiac) who gained both her successes at two when in the care of Richard Hughes. Elkmait has had four fillies to date, the most recent being a yearling daughter of Mehmas (Acclamation).

It is when you get to the next generation of the family that the Japanese attraction becomes understandable.

Elkmait was one of 11 winners from the placed three-year-old Rich Dancer (Halling), and she was foaled in the same year that her dam was sold at the Tattersalls December Sale for 145,000gns to The Mackem Bullet’s Katsumi Yoshida. That was 2008 and one of the most attractive aspects of Rich Dancer at the sale was that she was carrying a full-sibling to that year’s Irish and English 2000 Guineas winner Stubbs Art (Hawk Wing).

Stubbs Art did not progress as might have been expected and ended up winning in Saudi Arabia as a seven-year-old, but in Japan Rich Dancer has become very successful as a broodmare and her offspring there include the Group 2 winner Moonquake (Admire Moon), the multiple Group 3 winner and Group 1 Yushun Himba (Oaks) placed Bounce Shasse (Zenno Rob Roy), and last year’s Group 3 winning two-year-old Contra Check (Deep Impact).

This is a family that is getting better and better. The Mackem Bullet’s third dam Fairy Flight (Fairy King) was a two-year-old winner and two of her four successful progeny were stakes winners. Just James (Spectrum) won the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket and the Group 3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot, while Blue Jack (Cadeaux Genereux) won nine times, including a listed race at Chester, before suffering the ignominy of being sold for £500 at Ascot as an eight-year-old.

Fairy Flight had four winning siblings, the best of which were listed winners Northern Tide (North Pole) in Ireland, and Titled Ascent (Sir Ivor) in France. They were out of the Irish juvenile Rising Tide (Red Alert).