ANOTHER installment in the Frankel success story was written on Saturday when Frankuus won the Listed 32Red Casino Stakes at Haydock Park. This was the third stakes winner for the stallion in his first crop, joining the Group 2 Lowther Stakes winner Queen Kindly and the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes winner Fair Eva.

By my reckoning, Frankuus has an unusual distinction. Of the yearlings sold by Frankel so far he is the least expensive, costing Mark Johnston ‘only’ €130,000 at Goffs last year.

Winner on his debut at the scene of last weekend’s triumph in early June, he was out again nine days later at Royal Ascot and finished fifth behind Churchill.

He ran in two more listed races, including finishing third and beaten about half a length in the Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot.

This stakes win will be welcome news down in Ballylinch Stud where they are no strangers to breeding top-class winners.

The family of Frankuus is an example of one that has provided the Co Kilkenny farm with some memorable days.

Frankuus himself is the fifth foal of Dookus, a daughter of Linamix. Her first produce was a colt by Lawman and the now six-year-old US Law was a very smart juvenile, winning the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon and finishing third in the Group 1 Criterium International.

name change

However, if you look those results up you will see that he ran then as Kitaya and his name was changed when he moved to Hong Kong to continue his racing career and where he has won this year.

He is followed by the winners Itoobeboss, Cherifa and Frankuus and it is a notable feat for Dookus that all of her four successful offspring have won a race in 2016.

All of this is hopefully a good omen for the sale of their Dream Ahead yearling half-sister at Tattersalls in Newmarket next month.

Dookus is a daughter of Pharaoh’s Delight and she was largely responsible for putting the career of her sire Fairy King into orbit.

revelation

A member of his first crop, conceived for a small fee at the Myerscough’s Ballysheehan Stud, she was a revelation as a two-year-old and her three victories that season included the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes and the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes. She was also runner-up in the Moyglare Stud Stakes and later placed in Group 1 races such as the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp.

Pharaoh’s Delight produced seven winners and the only stakes winner among them was the Machiavellian filly Pharmacist.

She won the Listed Rochestown Stakes at Leopardstown at two and she then joined the broodmare band at Ballylinch.

Her own quartet of stakes winners is headed by the Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Red Rocks.

Also winner of the Grade 1 Man O’War Stakes he was no slouch in Europe either and was runner-up in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and third in the St Leger at Doncaster.