SECOND COMMONWEALTH CUP ADVERTISES SHOWCASING'S POTENTIAL

Royal Ascot 2019 will be remembered for the remarkable Group 1 double notched up by Godolphin's Blue Point and that now-retired five-year-old son of Shamardal (by Giant's Causeway) has booked his stall at Dalham Hall Stud for the 2020 breeding season.

He was not the only good sprinter on display at the festival, of course, and it would be no surprise to see the Martyn Meade-trained Advertise establish himself as one of the star six-furlong horses in training.

He chased home Calyx in last year's Group 2 Coventry Stakes, won the Group 2 July Stakes at Newmarket and Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, and rounded off his juvenile campaign by chasing home champion Too Darn Hot in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes.

That performance suggested that he had the potential to stay a mile at three, something that his pedigree backs up, but that first-season record also made it possible that sprinting could prove to be his game.

This too was possible on breeding for a son of Whitsbury Manor Stud's excellent young stallion Showcasing (by Oasis Dream) and a well-related daughter of Pivotal (by Polar Falcon).

He disappointed in the 2000 Guineas on his seasonal reappearance, won last week's Group 1 Commonwealth Cup in style over six furlongs at Ascot, and holds entries in both the Group 1 Darley July Cup and Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes.

Advertise is by the sire of the dual Group 1 sprint heroine Quiet Reflection – another Commonwealth Cup star – and of the Group 1-placed five-furlong Group 2 scorer Soldier's Call among a tally of 37 stakes winners (to Thursday evening) and so he is by a proven source of speed.

But Showcasings are also proving adept at a mile, with the US Grade 2 scorers Prize Exhibit and Projected and classic-placed French colt Dice Roll three notable examples.

The contribution of the distaff line will be important, of course, and Advertise's third dam is the dual classic-placed Grade 2 scorer Heart Of Joy (by Lypheor), a prolific winner at around a mile.

Her top runner is the notable Japanese sprinter Meiner Love (by Seeking The Gold), her great-grandson Saayerr (by Acclamation) won the Group 2 Richmond Stakes, and that colt's winning dam Adorn (by Kyllachy) is a half-sister to Furbelow (by Pivotal), the mare who gave us Advertise.

The colt's sprint potential is obvious, but there is every reason still to think that he may stay seven furlongs – his entries include the Group 2 Minstrel Stakes and Group 2 Qatar Lennon Stakes – or even the mile.

His half-brother Flavius Titus (by Lethal Force) has won twice over six furlongs at Newmarket this year but has a prior seven-furlong success to his name, which adds to the case for him being a sprinter who may stay a little farther, and as noted above, he is a direct descendant of a high-class international miler.

However he turns out though, this Cheveley Park Stud-bred colt is already a dual Group 1 winner and this, combined with his proven precocity and being by a rising star in the stallion ranks, all but guarantees that he will have a busy stallion career ahead of him whenever his racing days come to an end.

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JAPAN LOOKS ODDS-ON FOR GROUP 1 SUCCESS

Coolmore's classic-placed colt Japan was one of the most visually impressive winners of the recent Royal Ascot festival and the now dual Group 2 scorer looks a shade of odds-on to make the breakthrough at the highest level before long.

He holds the array of Group 1 entries that you'd expect of a potentially top-class middle-distance three-year-old, he was only beaten by a total of half a length when third to Anthony Van Dyck and Madhmoon in the Group 1 Investec Derby and he defeated Bangkok by four and a half lengths in last Friday's Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes.

He won a maiden and the Group 2 Beresford Stakes from three starts as a juvenile and now boasts a record of three wins from six runs and over £375,000 in earnings.

That is a promising start for the Newsells Park Stud-bred bay although he still has some way to go to repay the 1,300,000gns he cost from Book 1 of 2017's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt is a son of Galileo who, as of Thursday evening, now ties with his great sire Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer) for second place on the all-time stakes-winners list.

Their totals of 294 apiece still lag behind the remarkable 348 notched up by Danehill (by Danzig), and it is that dynasty-maker who also holds the world record for Group 1 winners.

That target stands at 83, but Galileo is on 78 and counting, with Sadler's Wells in third on 73. All three, of course, have been prolific champion sires for the Coolmore team.

Japan's full-brother Sir Isaac Newton won the Group 3 International Stakes over 10 furlongs at the Curragh when trained by O'Brien, he won the Listed Wolferton Handicap over the same trip at Royal Ascot and finished fourth (no blacktype, of course) in both the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes and Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes before moving to Australia.

However, it is their full-sister who is the star sibling. She was demoted after finishing first past the post in the Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes at Arlington but won the Group 2 Middleton Stakes and a pair of listed contests – one of them by 10 lengths – and was runner-up in both the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom and Group 1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) at Dusseldorf.

Their dam, the John Gosden-trained Shastye (by Danehill), won over 12 and 13 furlongs in the UK and came within a neck of landing a listed contest at Pontefract in a nine-race career.

Blacktype is valuable in any filly but especially so when backed up by a strong pedigree, and in addition to being by one of the world's most influential stallions, Shastye went to stud as a stakes-placed half-sister to two Group 1 stars: Sagacity (by Highest Honor) and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Sagamix (by Linamix).

Her siblings also include the Group 2 Prix de Mallaret heroine Sage Et Jolie (by Linamix) – the dam of Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan scorer and dual-purpose stallion Sageburg (Johannesburg) – and she is out of Saganeca (by Sagace), who won the Group 2 Prix de Royallieu and chased home Mashaallah in the Group 1 Gran Premio di Milano.

Several colts have staked their claim as leading contenders for championship honours in the middle-distance division of 2019 – and Saturday's Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby could strengthen that of at least one of them – but right now Japan has to rank highly among the three-year-olds too.