ALMANAARA is a name that merits inclusion in this column for two reasons. He is a maiden winner with a strong pedigree, and he was bred by Malih Al Basti who sponsors these pages.

What the future holds for the Hamdan Al Maktoum-owned Almanaara is uncertain, other than probable improvement, but when he was purchased as a yearling by Shadwell at the Tattersalls October Sale in 2014 for 370,000gns, he had the potential to be a quality racehorse and, hopefully, eventually a stallion.

He is the eighth offspring of the Machiavellian mare Midnight Angel, and all but one of her foals have been colts. The exception, a daughter of Aussie Rules, was never named.

The seven named foals ran and six of them won. Visits in her first three years at stud to Entrepreneur, Ashkalani and Croco Rouge produced three winners in Innovator (three wins in Yugoslavia), Humbolt (a 12-time winner in Switzerland) and Colleton River. Her fourth foal was the once-raced Moon Ray, a son of Xaar.

Then her fortune changed for the better. Her fifth born was a colt by Acclamation and he went on to become one of the leading two-year-olds of 2007.

He was Dark Angel who won four times, progressing from a maiden win to landing the £300,000 St Leger Yearling stakes, to winning the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes and finally the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes.

Retired to stud as a three-year-old Dark Angel has grown in stature as a sire and his best offspring include such stars as Mecca’s Angel, Lethal Force, Birchwood, Gutaifan, Estidhkaar and Alhebayeb.

Two years after Dark Angel was born, Midnight Angel foaled a colt by Pastoral Pursuits. Though he failed to scale the heights reached by his older sibling, he did become a listed winner and was runner-up at two in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes. He carried the colours of Malih Al Basti to four victories.

It was in early 2010 that Malih Al Basti purchased Midnight Angel at Goffs for €145,000 and that investment paid off when he sold the only offspring he had from the mare for 370,000gns.