NEW GROUP 1 WINNER FOR MASTERCRAFTSMAN
Coolmore Stud's Group 1 star and classic sire Mastercraftsman (by Danehill Dancer) was represented by his fifth individual winner at the highest level when Thee Auld Floozie won the Group 1 Harcourts Thordon Mile at Trenthem, in New Zealand, on Saturday.
The Stephen Marsh-trained five-year-old is her sire's second top-level winner in that country. His European trio are, of course, Amazing Maria, The Grey Gatsby, and Kingston Hill, and the latter is also a member of the Coolmore stallion team.
Thee Auld Floozie was bred by John and Sue Young, and she is out of Thee Auld Hussie (by Spinning World), who was a multiple pattern-placed dual stakes winner at up to 10 furlongs.
Her grandam is the Group 3 winner Thee Old Dragon (by Desert Sun), who was runner-up in the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas and finished third in the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas.
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ANOTHER GRADE 1 WINNER FOR ZAFONIC SON
Darley stallion Iffraaj has established himself as an important European stallion but he is not the only son of the brilliant Zafonic (by Gone West) who has several Group/Grade 1-winning progeny to his name.
Count Dubois, who was bred by Cliveden Stud, won the Group 1 Gran Criterium as a juvenile, and went to stud in South Africa where he has sired juvenile Grade 1 winners Asylum Zeeker and Zeeno, Grade 1 S.A. Fillies Classic heroine Zaitoon, and dual Grade 1 star French Navy, among others of note.
On Saturday, his Brett Crawford-trained three-year-old Edict Of Nantes won the Grade 1 Investec Cape Derby over 10 furlongs at Kenilworth, ridden by Frankie Dettori and beating the Australian-born Zodiac Ruler (by Zoffany) by one and three-quarter lengths.
He was bred by Klawervlei Stud and he is out of the prolific winner Pagan Dance (by Jet Master), a half-sister to the multiple blacktype-placed Welsh Emperor (by Go Deputy), who was runner-up in the Grade 3 East Cape Derby over 12 furlongs at Fairview last year.
His grandam, Welsh Pagan (by Al Mufti), is a half-sister to the Grade 1-placed Queens Consul (by Stage Colony), while third dam Yuppie (by Del Sarto) is a half-sister to the Grade 1 winner and South African champion Colonial Girl (by Stage Colony).
If you go back another generation of the family tree then you find European roots and a branch leading to Group 2 Richmond Stakes winner Son Pardo (by Petong) and pattern-winning sprinter Atraf (by Clantime).
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CHAMPS ELYSEES MARE WINS AGAIN
Former Banstead Manor Stud stallion Champs Elysees (by Danehill) is beginning his first season at Castle Hyde Stud and already with flat graded success to his name in 2017.
Juddmonte Farms' homebred mare Suffused, who started her career in the Roger Charlton stable, has been a member of the Bill Mott team for just under a year.
She won a Grade 3 contest over 11 furlongs at Saratoga in September, lost by just a nose when runner-up in the Grade 1 E P Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in October, and justified favouritism with victory in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante Handicap over 12 furlongs at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.
The second foal out of stakes-placed mile winner Scuffle (by Daylami), Suffused is a five-year-old half-sister to the stakes-placed filly Battlement and her dam is a half-sister to Group 1 scorer Cityscape (by Selkirk) and to the Group 1-placed Group 2-winning sprinter Bated Breath (by Dansili), both young stallions.
Tatina (by Distant View), who is the grandam of Suffused, won the Listed Sceptre Stakes, her siblings include the dam of Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes scorer and new Rathbarry Stud stallion Ajaya (by Invincible Spirit), and she is out of Grade 2 Dahlia Handicap heroine Didina (by Nashwan).
Those who appear under the fifth generation of the family include the Group/Grade 1 stars Xaar (by Zafonic), Senure (by Nureyev) and Close Hatches (by First Defence), and there are many more top-level winners to be found when you go back even further.
Champs Elysees, a multiple Grade 1-winning full-brother to leading international sire Dansili, has been represented by Group 1 Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris and the classic-placed pattern scorers Jack Naylor and Xcellence among a growing number of blacktype winners.
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NEW GRADED WINNER FOR DR MASSINI
One-time ante-post Derby favourite Dr Massini is one of the many sons of Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer) to have sired a string of big-race winners under National Hunt rules and he added to his tally when Foxtail Hill won a Grade 3 handicap chase over two miles, five furlongs at Cheltenham on Saturday.
An eight-year-old trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, the gelding has now won three of his eight starts over the larger obstacles, adding to a single hurdle race win.
He was bred by Maureen Gill, he made €4,200 in Goffs as a foal and returned to that venue two and a half years later to fetch €9,500 at the Goffs Land Rover NH Sale.
Foxtail Hill is a full-brother to the one-time chase scorer and multiple point-to-point placed gelding Flynsini and he is a half-brother to Folie A Deux (by Anshan), a horse who won once over hurdles and six times over fences, between two and three miles.
He is out of Flynn's Girl (by Mandalus), who was placed over fences, and his grandam is an unraced mare called Flynn's Field (by The Parson).
She had just three runners from eight foals but one of the unraced individuals was That's The Spirit (by Mandalus) who became the dam of Thats My Man (by Remainder Man) and Spirit Leader (by Supreme Leader).
The former won the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and Grade 3 For Auction Novice Hurdle, while the latter, whose wins included the Grade 3 Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle and the Grade 3 Tote Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle, is the dam of Prince Of Scars (by Flemensfirth) and Folsom Blue (by Old Vic).
Prince Of Scars was pulled-up in the Grade A Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park recently but won the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown just over 13 months ago and his big race entries include the Grade 1 RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Folsom Blue was unplaced over hurdles last month, but last year's Grade A Irish Grand National fourth is a talented performer and a blacktype scorer over hurdles and over fences.
Their half-sister That's The Bonus (by Executive Perk), who was unraced, is the dam of the Grade 2 bumper scorer Crocodiles Rock (by Heron Island) and of the blacktype-placed mare Fickle Fortune (by Heron Island), and she is the grandam of the Grade 3 winners Johns Spirit (by Gold Well) and The Game Changer (by Arcadio).
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UNBEATEN SON OF KAYF TARA
Point-to-point scorer Constantine Bay has run three times over hurdles for the Nicky Henderson stable and he maintained his unbeaten record with a head win in the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett River Don Novices' Hurdle at Doncaster on Saturday.
The third place finisher in this three-mile, half a furlong contest was another 13 lengths behind and this six-year-old son of Kayf Tara (by Sadler's Wells) looks like another potentially top-class runner for his sire.
He was bred by Mike Paul, he is the second foal out of the flat, hurdle and chase scorer Alina Rheinberg (by Waky Nao), he is a full-brother to the dual chase-winning mare Pandy Wells, and his younger siblings include a Schiparelli (by Monsun) yearling colt who made £6,200 at the Goffs UK January Sale last month.
His dam's siblings include the Group 3-placed 12-time German winner Auvano (by Silvano) and his grandam is Auenfeuer (by Big Shuffle), a winning full-sister to the high-class sprinter and successful stallion Auenadler.
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REPEAT SUCCESS FOR CALIFET'S BOY
Ziga Boy won the Listed Sky Bet Handicap Chase over three miles at Doncaster on Saturday, taking the race by a quarter-length further than when he lifted the same prize 12 months before.
The Alan King-trained eight-year-old, who was bred in France by Guy Cherel, is a son of Boardsmill Stud stallion Califet (by Freedom Cry), a high-class middle-distance flat runner who spent his early years at stud in France.
A half-brother to the dual hurdles winner Our Prince (by Prince Kirk), Ziga Boy is out of Our Ziga (by Linamix). She did not win but her dam, Zigaura (by Ziggy's Boy), was runner-up in the Group 3 Cherry Hinton Stakes.
The next dam is Our Feast (by Banquet Table) and she has the distinction of having been a half-sister to the Grade 1 winner Our Native (by Exclusive Native), the stallion whose offspring featured Group 1 star and outstanding National Hunt sire Be My Native.
I reviewed the pedigree of Ziga Boy in more detail in the 6th February 2016 edition of The Irish Field.
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FRENCH-BRED GELDING ON CHELTENHAM TRAIL
Forest Bihan holds an entry in next month's Grade 1 Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase at Cheltenham and the Brian Ellison-trained six-year-old took his record over fences to three wins from four starts when successful at Doncaster on Saturday.
The race was the Grade 2 Sky Bet Lightning Novices' Chase, over a few yards beyond two miles, and he is one of the latest high-class National Hunt horses to carry the FR suffix to blacktype success.
He is a a half-brother to the Auteuil chase winner Tiger Lann (by Tiger Groom), he is son of the smart flat stayer Forestier (by Nikos), who won the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil and Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier in 2004, and he is out of the winning French hurdler Katell Bihan (by Funny Baby).