DANON Premium was the champion two-year-old colt in Japan last year. He was unbeaten in three starts, landing the Group 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup on his second outing and then capping the year with his victory in the Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes.

He made his seasonal bow this year in last weekend’s Group 2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho at Nakayama and ran out an impressive winner, extending his unbeaten run to four and setting himself up perfectly for potential classic glory in the coming weeks and months.

Danon Premium is the fourth and final foal for his dam Indiana Gal, an Irish-bred daughter of Intikhab (Red Ransom). Bred and raced by Tom Brennan, Indiana Gal was trained by Pat Martin and her six career victories included a pair of stakes races, the Listed Salsabil Stakes and Carlingford Stakes, both run at Dundalk. She was also group-placed five times, being runner-up in both the Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes and Ridgewood Pearl Stakes, and placed in another six listed events.

Tom Brennan’s Hilltown Stud offered Indiana Gal for sale as a yearling and retained her for just 10,000gns. She was then offered again at the end of her three-year-old season and once again failed to sell, being retained this time for 125,000gns. Patience was eventually rewarded when as a five-year-old she sold to KI Farm in Japan for 160,000gns, while also amassing earnings of some £190,000.

All of her foals have run and she has produced three winners, all sons of Deep Impact (Sunday Silence). That Triple Crown winner and dual Horse of the Year in Japan has gone on to enjoy even greater success at stud, being ranked the leading sire three times to date. He is responsible for 33 Group 1 winners, including some 15 champions.

In recent times Deep Impact achieved the milestone of his 100th blacktype winner and the number, at the time of writing, now stands at 103, with 85 of these winning at group level. His leading money earners are Gentildonna (€14 million), Satono Diamond (€6.5 million), Real Steel (€6.5 million), Vivlos (€4.7 million), Shonan Pandora (€4.6 million), Mikki Isle (€4.1 million), Real Impact (€4 million) and Kizuna (€4 million).

Indiana Gal is the best of seven winning offspring of Genial Jenny (Danehill) and she too was a multiple winner in Ireland for owner/breeder Tom Brennan and trainer Pat Martin. She bred seven winners, one less than the eight produced by her own dam, Joma Kaanem (Double Form). None of the eight earned any blacktype, though one other daughter, Villa Via (Night Shift), bred the Group 3 Premio Omenoni winner Champion Place (Compton Place).

This is a great old Jim Joel female line. Joma Kaanem is out of Ash Lawn (Charlottesville), a half-sister to the Epsom Derby winner and subsequent leading sire Royal Palace (Ballymoss).

Royal Palace also won the 2000 Guineas but he did not contest the final leg of the Triple Crown after sustaining an injury and having his preparation interrupted. He returned as a four-year-old and won four Group 1 races. At stud he sired Queen Elizabeth’s classic winning filly Dunfermline.