SERGEI Prokofiev, born in 1891 and died in 1953, was a Soviet composer, pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. His works include the ballet Romeo and Juliet, and Peter and the Wolf. He created seven completed operas and the same number of symphonies, eight ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a symphony-concerto for cello and orchestra, and nine completed piano sonatas.

The two-year-old named in his honour has made a promising start to his racing career. Beaten a short head on his debut at Dundalk in early April, he atoned 12 days later at Navan when running out a seven and a half-length winner over five furlongs.

He followed that up with an impressive four-length win in the Coolmore Stud War Command Rochestown Stakes, a listed five-furlong sprint. The son of Scat Daddy (Johannesburg) will surely have his ticket stamped for Royal Ascot now. The Canadian-bred Sergei Prokofiev was foaled in Ontario and bred by Anderson Farms. They sold him to MV Magnier as a yearling last year for $1.1 million, and he had an obvious attraction for Team Coolmore, being a member of the last crop of his sire. Furthermore, his dam Orchard Beach is a placed daughter of the multiple leading sire in the USA, Tapit (Pulpit). Her dam is Song And Danz (Unbridled’s Song), a daughter in turn of Danzig Til Dawn (Danzig). Plenty of proper sires there to be attractive as a potential stallion in time.

Song And Danz ran once only and she is the dam of four winners. Heading that list is Necessary Evil (Harlan’s Holiday) and she won the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes over six furlongs and is now a broodmare in Australia.

Song And Danz is one of just four foals out of the unraced Danzig Til Dawn and one of these was the stakes winning juvenile (over five furlongs) Forest Danz (Forestry).

A couple of generations back and Sergei Prokofiev’s fifth dam bred the 1987 champion juvenile filly Over All (Mr Prospector), winner of the Grade 1 Matron Stakes and Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes.

It was a good day at Naas as Scat Daddy’s son No Nay Never sired his first stakes winner in Servalan. Scat Daddy is also sire of Caravaggio, Dacita, Lady Aurelia, Mendelssohn, Sioux Nation and Nickname – and that is by no means a comprehensive list of his best winners.