THERE were three listed contests in England last Saturday, the opening day of the British turf season, and of the three it is the one that was on the polytrack at Kempton that went to a horse winning his first blacktype event.

The John Gosden-trained Romsdal (by Halling) is four years old, he did not race as a juvenile, and he was among the leading three-year-olds of 2014.

He lost out by a nose in the Group 3 Chester Vase, finished third behind Australia and Kingston Hill in the Group 1 Derby at Epsom, and then chased home that latter rival in the Group 1 St Leger at Doncaster.

His odds-on success in the Listed 888Sport Magnolia Stakes was over 10 furlongs and it would not take much improvement for him to play a prominent role in some of the best 10 to 12 furlongs contests this year.

He was bred by W and R Barnett Ltd, he is the second foal out of the placed Pure Song (by Singspiel), and he is a 65,000gns graduate of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

His Marco Botti-trained half-brother Wolf Albarari (by Medicean) won a nine and a half furlong juvenile maiden at Wolverhampton in November and they have a now two-year-old Dutch Art (by Medicean) half-sister who was bought-back for 80,000gns in Newmarket in October.

Pure Song is a half-sister to the stakes placed Grain Of Truth (by Gulch) and to the 10 and a half furlong Group 3 scorer Goncharova (by Gone West), and she is out of the classic star Pure Grain (by Polish Precedent).

Winner of the Group 3 Prestige Stakes at Goodwood as a juvenile, having earlier been third in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot, Pure Grain became a top middle-distance filly, winning the Group 3 Musidora Stakes at York, finishing third in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom, and then taking both the Group 1 Irish Oaks and the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks.

She was the best of nine winners out of the one-time scorer Mill Line (by Mill Reef), her Group 3 placed full-sister All Grain is the grandam of the Australian Group 3 scorer Caravan Rolls On (by Hernando), and her multiple winning sister Mill Grain is the dam of Fine Grain (by Fuji Kiseki), a sprint winner at the highest level in Japan.

Those are the highlights of the first three generations of the pedigree, but the fourth dam of Romsdal is the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes winner Quay Line (by High Line) and her full-siblings included the juvenile Group 2 scorer Ancholia and the Oaks fourth Shore Line, dam of the dual Group 1 mile star Soviet Line (by Soviet Star).

This is a famous family, and should Romsdal fulfill his potential and succeed at pattern level, then one would imagine that there could be a place at stud for him somewhere whenever his racing days come to an end.