THE Charles Hills-trained Khaadem made a winning seasonal debut when beating Oxted by half a length in the Listed Shalaa Carnarvon Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.
This was a third win in four starts for Hamdan Al Maktoum’s promising three-year-old and the mid-April-born colt holds entries in both the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup and Group 1 Darley July Cup.
He was bred by Yeomanstown Stud, which is where his sire Dark Angel (by Acclamation) stands, and he made 750,000gns from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
With a price tag like that it is hardly a surprise that he has a notable sibling, and although his full-brother Log Out Island has not won a pattern race he did take the Listed Two-Year-Old Trophy in style at Redcar back in 2015, was runner-up to Waterloo Bridge in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, chased home Ribchester in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury, and was only beaten by a total of half a length when third to Gutaifan in the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster.
Stallion team
That latter rival is, of course, also a member of the stallion team at Yeomanstown and the son of Dark Angel is among those freshman sires of 2019 who are already off the mark.
Khaadem’s dam White Daffodil (by Footstepsinthesand) won a five-furlong Nottingham maiden for Richard Hannon senior 10 years ago, joined the Joe Murphy team and landed a six-furlong apprentices’ handicap at Cork on her second of three Irish starts.
Her trio of blacktype siblings include Group 3 and listed-placed Umniya (by Bluebird), Listed Woodcote Stakes runner-up King Malachi (by King Charlemagne) and, best of all, Lady Links (by Bahamian Bounty).
Another trained by Hannon, she easily won a listed sprint in Italy as a juvenile before adding the 2002 edition of the race her ‘nephew’ won on Saturday.
Lady Links is also notable as being the dam of Selinka (by Selkirk) and it is that seven and eight-furlong listed scorer who has given us the high-class sprinter Hit The Bid (by Exceed And Excel).
Now aged five and holding an entry in next month’s Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Ascot, that listed and dual Group 3 scorer has been Group 2-placed at Meydan, just missed out on a Group 1 placing when fourth to Havana Grey in last year’s Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes, and he is the star of the Darren Bunyan stable.
Pedigree
If you go back another step in the pedigree then you will find that Sparky’s Song (by Electric), the grandam of Khaadem, was a half-sister to the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner and Group 1 July Cup runner-up Bold Edge (by Beveled) and to pattern-placed stakes-winning sprinter Brave Edge (by Beveled).
It remains to be seen just how good Khaadem will be at his peak, but there is no doubt that he has made a promising start to his career. And should this young stakes winner go on to earn a place at stud some day then his relationship to blacktype sire Bold Edge could gain further significance.
COOLMORE’s dual Derby hero Australia (by Galileo) went to stud as a horse who could get some smart autumn juveniles while excelling with his three-year-olds and older horses.
His eldest offspring are currently only aged three but so far he’s showing signs of doing exactly that.
He had a Group 2 winner and three Group 1-placed runners among his first two-year-old runners and one of the latter is this year’s dual Group 3 scorer Broome, one of the favourites for the Group 1 Investec Derby.
Group 3 bet365 Classic Trial scorer Bangkok is also among the market leaders for the Epsom classic and Western Australia, who was third to Magna Grecia in the Group 1 Vertems Futurity Trophy in October, advertised his classic potential when winning at Navan on Saturday.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained chesnut had never previously run beyond nine furlongs but found the extra half-mile to be well within his compass, beating Pythion by a length and a half and with a further gap of two and three-quarter lengths back to Masaff, the favourite, in third.
The race was the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Yeats Stakes, the ground good-to-firm, and this Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes and Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby entrant could be a leading Group 1 St Leger candidate come September.
He was bred by Pier House Stud, cost 260,000gns from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and is a half-brother to 10-furlong listed scorer Hoarding (by Elusive Quality).
His dam, What A Treasure (by Cadeaux Genereux), won a pair of seven-furlong Leicester handicaps on soft ground as a three-year-old, when trained by Luca Cumani, and it was over that same trip that her full-brother Toylsome easily won the Group 1 Prix de la Foret, also on soft.
Potential
Their half-sister Coral Mist (by Bahamian Bounty) won the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes over six at Ayr, and although this may not sound like the distaff line of a potential St Leger and Cup horse, their siblings also include Woolfall Treasure (by Daylami), a dual winner over two miles on the flat and over a little farther over hurdles.
That level of form is a world away from Group 1 stamina, but their dam, Treasure Trove (by The Minstrel), is a half-sister to Dance Parade (by Gone West), the Group 3 Queen Mary Stakes and Grade 2 mile-winning dam of 2013’s Group 1 St Leger hero Leading Light (by Montjeu).
He won the Group 1 Gold Cup the following year, is a popular member of the team at Coolmore’s Grange Stud and his eldest progeny are three-year-olds.
Australia’s second crop has already tasted success too as the Fozzy Stack-trained juvenile Mohican Heights made a winning debut over seven furlongs at Leopardstown on May 17th.