LIMATO was Timeform’s juvenile champion male of 2014, rated 121p after an unbeaten season that saw him take a pair of six furlong listed contests in the style of a potential sprint star.

He won the Group 3 Pavilion Stakes at Ascot on his reappearance in April, lost his unbeaten record when runner-up to Adaay in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock, and then confirmed his position as a leading three-year-old sprinter when chasing home Muhaarar in the inaugural Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June. With five wins and two places from seven starts, all over six furlongs, it may have seemed that his career path was obvious, and it was no surprise to see him entered in next month’s Group 1 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes.

All of this was before last Saturday, and the way in which he won the Group 2 Saint Gobain Weber Park Stakes, over seven furlongs at Doncaster, suggests that a mile could be within his compass.

And why not? He is a son of the Rathbarry Stud stallion Tagula (by Taufan), out of a daughter of Singspiel (by In The Wings), and from the immediate family of three Group 1 stars, one of whom won the Yorkshire Oaks. Tagula was a classic-placed Group 1 Prix Morny scorer, and although many of his progeny show speed at up to seven furlongs, he is the sire of the classic and prolific Group 1 mile star Canford Cliffs, and also of the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes scorer Atlantis Prince.

Limato’s dam Come April won over 10 furlongs at Lingfield and she, in turn, is out of So Admirable (by Suave Dancer), an unraced full-sister to the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes winner Compton Admiral. His half-brother Summoner (by Inchinor) won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Group 3 Craven Stakes, and although he was unable to have a career at stud, his half-sister Twyla Tharp (by Sadler’s Wells), who was runner-up in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, is the dam of The Fugue (by Dansili).

There were moments of pure brilliance in the career of that champion filly, and in addition to her aforementioned Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks success, her wins included the Group 1 Nassau Stakes, the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes. Sumoto (by Mtoto), the third dam of Limato, also has some talented relations although their achievements pale in comparison to those of her descendants. Her half-sister Lalindi (by Cadeaux Genereux), for example, won seven times at up to two miles before becoming the dam of the Group 3 Craven Stakes winner Adagio (by Grand Lodge) and of Arvada (by Hernando), the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary third who went on to take the Grade 2 La Prevoyante Handicap over 12 furlongs at Gulfstream Park. Sumoto is also a half-sister to the 12-furlong scorer Kelimutu (by Top Ville), dam of the 10 furlong listed race winner Whitefoot (by Be My Chief).

MILER

With family connections like these the surprise is that Limato has been so good over six furlongs, as with the combination of his sire and this female line one could say that he is bred to be a miler.

Limato, who was bred by Seamus Phelan, is a £41,000 graduate of the Doncaster Premier Yearlings Sale. He could be another mile star for his sire, and as his entries also include the Group 2 Dubai Challenge Stakes, over seven furlongs at Newmarket five days after the Arc, it could be there that we next get the opportunity to assess his potential.