MOST of the attention on three-year-olds at this time of the year is focused on the classics, but an unbeaten colt who is not engaged at Newmarket, the Curragh or Epsom caught the eye recently, partly because of his impressive pedigree.

Long Island Sound made his first public appearance in Keeneland when only 10 months old, fetching $800,000 at the November Breeding Stock Sale almost exactly three years after his most famous relation was narrowly beaten on her final start.

Bred by Edward Cox Jr and trained by Aidan O’Brien, the colt did not make his racecourse debut until a month ago and it resulted in a two and a half length success in a mile maiden at Dundalk.

He ran the distance almost a full second faster when following up at the same venue last Friday, this time making most of the running.

WAR FRONT

His outstanding young sire War Front (by Danzig), who stands at Claiborne Farm, has 10 Group/Grade 1 winners to his name and they include this afternoon’s Group 1 Qipco 2000 Guineas favourite Air Force Blue.

Last season’s juvenile champion already has three Group 1 victories to his name, his big race entries include next month’s Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, and the list of potential candidates for that top mile event also includes Long Island Sound.

The form required to win a maiden and conditions event at Dundalk is quite different from what will be necessary for success at the highest level, but as this colt is by a major sire and out of a half-sister to the brilliant Zenyatta (by Street Cry) it is easy to imagine that anything could be possible.

Treasure Trail (by Pulpit) is also a half-sister to Balance (by Thunder Gulch), whose three Grade 1 wins pale a little beside the 13 that Zenyatta accumulated, and although she shared none of their considerable talent on the track, there is no reason why she should not compensate for that at stud.

Her first foal is the winning filly Terrific Treasure (by Street Cry), Long Island Sound is her second, and her third, now aged two, is another three-parts sister to America’s much-loved champion.

Zenyatta was back in the news recently following the birth of a War Front colt who so resembled his dam that at least one Facebook poster suggested he should be named Carbon Copy, but tragically the foal did not survive.

And in a horrid twist of fate, his full-sister died after an accident as a weanling in 2014.

Zenyatta’s four-year-old son Cozmic One (by Bernardini) has disappointed in two starts and her second, three-year-old Ziconic (by Tapit), finished third in a seven furlong maiden at Santa Anita in February, his only start to date.

Vertigineux (by Kris S), the grandam of Long Island Sound, won two of her seven starts, she was out of the one-time scorer For The Flag (by Forli) and that made her a half-sister to the Group 2 Sun Chariot Stakes runner-up On The Staff (by Master Willie), to listed scorers Blash (by Master Willie) and National Service (by Master Willie), and also to Restrained (by Robellino).

That pattern-placed triple French stakes winner has several blacktype scorers among her descendants, including the prolific sprinter and Group 3 Prix de Ris-Orangis winner Abu Sidra (by Shirocco).

With a pedigree like this Long Island Sound could be expected to make a leading mile to 10 furlong horse and it will be fascinating to see how his career turns out.