IT is not all that long ago that anyone but the most optimistic of dreamers would have believed that an all-weather maiden winner could go on to become a Group 1 star.

Now we are used to the idea of horses winning blacktype races on the artificial tracks and those who have excelled at the highest level may run on those surfaces as a preparation for the Breeders’ Cup, or other top international events.

Last year the Wolverhampton winner Toast Of New York came within a nose of taking the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, his second top-level placing since an eye-catching win in the Group 2 UAE Derby earlier.

Last Saturday we saw another example of such a rise to fame when Jack Hobbs powered to a five-length victory in the Group 1 150th Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.

Runner-up to Golden Horn in the Derby at Epsom on his previous start, the John Gosden-trained bay began his career with a three-length score in a Wolverhampton maiden on 27th December.

It was his second outing that announced the arrival of a possible star. It was only a 10-furlong Class 3 handicap at Sandown in April, but he destroyed the opposition, by 12 lengths and more, one of the most exciting performances by a lightly-raced horse since Frankel’s display in the Royal Lodge Stakes.

He was favourite when runner-up to Golden Horn in the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York, on what could be argued as being his first serious racing experience, and improvement was expected.

Although a literal interpretation of distances and finishing orders in both classics suggests that he only had to run to his Epsom level to win as he did last Saturday, there is every reason to hope that he has improved between the two races and that he could be capable of beating some of the top older horses soon. A rematch with Golden Horn would also be an exciting prospect.

Jack Hobbs was bred by Willie Carson’s Minster Stud, an operation that previously tasted classic success when Minster Son won the Group 1 St Leger in 1988.

The younger colt appears to be the best of Group 1 stars to have represented the retired former Dalham Hall Stud sire Halling (by Diesis), a horse who improved with age and excelled around 10 furlongs.

There was no doubt, from a pedigree perspective, that Jack Hobbs would get the Derby distance, and not just because staying is something that the Hallings tend to do quite well.

His dam was a sprint winner but she is a daughter of an Arc-winning stallion and of a mare whose US Grade 2 success came over 12 furlongs. He cost 60,000gns in Newmarket as a yearling, is the fifth foal out of Swain’s Gold (by Swain) and the most high-profile of his siblings is the Ralph Beckett-trained six-year-old Niceofyoutotellme (by Hernando).

That gelding has won four times from nine to 11 furlongs, he was runner-up in the Cambridgeshire and he has seen his handicap mark rise following good efforts in pattern company.

He was out of the frame in the Listed Wolferton Handicap at Royal Ascot, but the 108-rated bay was fourth in the Group 3 Earl of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket in April and only beaten three-parts of a length when third to Western Hymn and Arab Spring in the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.

Jack Hobbs is one of the market leaders for the Arc and his entries include the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Group 1 Qipco Irish Champion Stakes.

His half-sister Mrs Greeley (by Mr Greeley) missed out on picking up blacktype when finishing fourth in a listed contest at Ascot, a cracking effort from a filly whose rating was only 76.

The first foal of that triple winner is a Kyllachy (by Pivotal) yearling and her second, also a filly, is a daughter of Mayson (by Invincible Spirit) that arrived in February.

As for Swain’s Gold, her two-year-old is a colt named Manson (by Equiano), her yearling is a son of Mayson, and she had a Sepoy (by Elusive Quality) filly in May.

The mare is a half-sister to Brazilian (by Stravinsky), whose four wins in the USA included a listed contest over seven and a half furlongs.

Her daughter La Malaguena (by English Channel) has won eight of her 32 starts, including a pair of listed races over a mile, and she has also been stakes placed over 10 and a half furlongs.

Golden Pond (by Don’t Forget Me) is the grandam of Jack Hobbs and she won a listed race in France before crossing the Atlantic, adding the Grade 2 Orchid Handicap, over 12 furlongs, and also the Grade 3 Suwannee River Handicap.

Her ill-fated half-brother Golden Wells (by Sadler’s Wells) won three times at up to 10 furlongs and he earned his blacktype when finishing third behind Mr Combustible in the Group 3 Chester Vase.

Although he could be described as being a ‘brother-in-blood’ to Golden Wells, another sibling, Stratton (by Fairy King), was a seven-furlong specialist, winning eight times over the trip and improving from a mark of 54 up to 100 in just one season.

The third dam of Saturday’s classic winner is an unraced mare called Golden Bloom (by Main Reef) and her daughter Ceanothus (by Bluebird) also deserves mention as she is the dam of the Group 2 May Hill Stakes winner Pollenator (by Montjeu) and of Wedding Party (by Groom Dancer), the stakes-placed dam of the listed-placed pair Dream Wedding (by Medicean) and Party Doctor (by Dr Fong).

Back another generation you find that Golden Bloom’s siblings include the Group 3 Matron Stakes winner Spring Daffodil (by Pharly) and the Group 1 BMW Australian Derby winner Dance The Day Away (by Seattle Dancer), so Jack Hobbs is not the only top-level winner in his family.

He has confirmed his position as being one of the most exciting colts in training and his pedigree gives him every chance of being better at four. It will also make him a fascinating addition to the stallion ranks as it will offer breeders something that is a bit different from the usually dominant lines.