USUALLY I focus only on stakes, pattern, or National Hunt graded winners in Ireland and Britain, but there has been a recent achievement, by an Irish-based stallion that deserves attention. In the space of one month, from Arc weekend up to last Sunday, he got two Group 1 winners, a Group 2 scorer, and a Group 3 winner, among his big-race victors in 2014.

A brilliant horse, and multi-millionaire, whose 10 wins included the Arc, King George, Prix Ganay, Irish Derby, and two Irish Champion Stakes, Dylan Thomas (by Danehill) has spent his career under the Coolmore banner, and he stood at their Castle Hyde Stud this year.

In 2013 he got his first winners at the highest level with German Group 1 success for Nymphea and a US Grade 1 victory for Tannery, and last month he added two more, thanks to the classic winning duo of Dylan Mouth and Final Score. Both are trained in Italy by Stefano Botti, and their Derby Italiano and Oaks d’Italia wins carry only Group 2 status, but Final Score won the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio over 10 furlongs at Capannelle on 26 October, one week after Dylan Mouth was an easy winner of the Group 1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club over two furlongs further at San Siro.

Two weeks earlier, the Richard Hannon trained colt Pether’s Moon took the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes at Ascot, his third pattern success of the year, and at Capannelle last Sunday, the Stefano Botti-trained Porsenna won the Group 2 Premio Ribot over a mile. Pether’s Moon was bred by Michael Daly, he is out of Softly Tread (by Tirol), and he comes from a family that gets a lot of blacktype-placed horses.

Final Score was bred by Razza Del Velino Srl, she is out of Holy Moon (by Hernando), and so is a half-sister to the Group 2 Oaks d’Italia winners Cherry Collect (by Oratorio) and Charity Line (by Manduro), the latter also a winner of the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio.

Likely champion three-year-old Dylan Mouth, who is reportedly to race outside of Italy next year, has won seven of his eight starts, he was bred by Azienda Agricola Mariano, and he is out of the Group 3 scorer Cottonmouth (by Noverre).

Porsenna, whose Holy Roman Emperor (by Danehill) half-sister is catalogued as lot 741 in the Goffs November Foal Sale, was bred by the partnership of Gennaro Stimola and Vito Colonna, his grandam is the classic-placed Grade 2 scorer Sopran Mariduff (by Persian Bold), and his third dam is the Italian joint juvenile champion Marina Duff (by Caerleon). Porsenna’s two-year-old half-sister Astrelle (by Makfi) was runner-up in the Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket last month.

The dual Group 3-winning miler Captain Cat, the South African Group 2 scorer Dylan’s Promise, the Australian six-furlong Group 3 winner Not Listenin’tome, and the Hong Kong millionaire and dual local Grade 1 scorer Blazing Speed have also done Dylan Thomas proud in 2014.