LAST year’s winner of the Brocklesby Stakes at Doncaster was The Last Lion and he went on to enjoy a hugely successful season, culminating in victory in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes. Indeed, he won or placed in all of his 10 starts and is already busy covering mares at Kildangan Stud where he stands for €12,000.

Ironically his stud fee is half the yearling sale price of this year’s Brocklesby winner Santry. This colt, by Harbour Watch, was bred by Peter Molony at his Rathmore Stud and sold through Kitty Cowhey’s Loughmore Stables in Goffs. He is the third foal and third winner for his Shamardal dam Babylonian and winning trainer Declan Carroll was understandably attracted to him as he trains his Sleeping Indian half-sister Pull The Plug, a five-time winner.

Babylonian was bought out of Mark Johnston’s yard for £13,000 and she comes from a stout and successful German female line. She never won herself, running four times and never finishing worse than fifth. Five of her siblings are winners and the best to date has been the stakes winner Empire Day. That son of Lomitas was also placed in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. There could be more to come as Babylonian has a three-year-old half-brother by Dubawi in the wings.

Babylonian’s dam Evil Empire (by Acatenango) was a Group 3 winner in her native Germany and placed in both the German Oaks and 1000 Guineas. She was one of three stakes winner from the Dschingis Khan mare Elea and the best of the rest was the German St Leger winner El Tango.

Harbour Watch was unbeaten at two, his only season to race, and the Group 2 Richmond Stakes was his biggest win. A son, like Dark Angel and Equiano, of Acclamation, Harbour Watch’s third dam was the exceptional racemare and broodmare Fall Aspen. She bred four Group 1 winners and is grandam of Dubai Millennium. The list of Group 1 winners descending from her grows every years, Ribchester being one of the most recent.

Harbour Watch stands for £6,000 at Tweenhills Stud and his first crop of runners last year included the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin winner Tis Marvellous.

On the same day, at Kempton, he three-year-old Harbour Watch colt Wefait won for Richard Hannon. He was bred by Peter Molony’s Rathmore Stud in partnership with Conor Murphy and sold, again through Kitty Cowhey, for £32,000 as a yearling at Doncaster to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock.

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