THE late Eamon Cleary was recalled as Arrogate boosted his winnings past the $4 million mark when defeating California Chrome in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. The three-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song is now winner of five of his six starts and they include the Grade 1 Travers Stakes in record time.

Monaghan-born Cleary died in September 2012, the year that the multiple stakes winner Bubbler visited Unbridled’s Song. The resulting colt was sold to Juddmonte for $560,000 as a yearling. Cleary had purchased Bubbler for just $170,000 as a stakes-winning four-year-old. Bridlewood Farm got a bargain when they bought Arrogate’s yearling half-sister by Medaglia D’Oro for $300,000 back in September.

Arrogate is the first offspring of Bubbler, a daughter of Distorted Humor. She only raced nine times, winning on six occasions. Four of these were in stakes races and she was placed in graded-stakes company. She is a half-sister to the minor stakes winner Unbridled Femme, a daughter of Unbridled. A mating with his best son Unbridled’s Song made sense therefore.

Bubbler is out of the graded stakes-placed Grechelle, a daughter of Deputy Minister and the champion two-year-old filly in the USA in 1990, Meadow Star. The latter won just over half of her 20 starts at two and three years and her victories at Grade 1 level were in the Mother Goose Stakes, Acorn Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, Frizette Stakes, Spinaway Stakes and the Matron Stakes.

Drefong is unbeaten in four runs in 2016 and the three-year-old son of Gio Ponti added the Grade 1 Twinspires Breeders’ Cup Sprint to a prior victory in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes. He was a successful pinhook by Peter O’Callaghan, bring bought for $200,000 as a foal and more than doubling in value when sold for $450,000 as a yearling.

Drefong is from the first crop of his sire who stands at Shane Lyons’ Castleton Lyons and is his first Grade 1 winner. The dam of Drefong is the Ghostzapper mare Eltimaas and she was unraced. She cost Shadwell $600,000 as a yearling and two years later they sold her on for just 20,000gns.

Why was she so expensive as a yearling? Well, she is a half-sister to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Action This Day, a son of Kris S. The fourth dam of Drefong is Bitty Girl, the champion juvenile filly in England when she won the Queen Mary Stakes, Molecomb Stakes and Lowther Stakes. Another recent winner at Grade 1 level in the immediate family of the Canadian International Stakes winner Cannock Chase.

Speightstown won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint 12 years ago and he sired his first Breeders’ Cup winner when Tamarkuz landed the Dirt Mile in the colours of Shadwell. He is now an eight-time winner and with earnings of $1.8 million has well repaid the investment of $325,000 made in him as a yearling. Now a six-year-old, Tamarkuz is one of three winners from the Lemon Drop Kid mare Without You Babe, an unraced half-sister to the Grade 1 Travers Stakes winner Stay Thirsty.

Among the older horses to win at Breeders’ Cup 2016 was Tourist, winning his second Grade 1 of the year when taking the Breeders’ Cup Mile to add to a victory in the Fourstardave Handicap. The five-year-old son of Tiznow is out of Unbridled Melody and her first four runners are not just winners, but they are all stakes winners.

Tourist stands head and shoulder above the others, who include the 2016 juvenile winner Harland’s Harmony, a son of Spring At Last.

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