KATSUMI Yoshida paid one million dollars at the Keeneland November Sale in 2016 for the Vindication (Seattle Slew) mare Dust And Diamonds. She was sold in foal to Pioneerof The Nile (Empire Maker), and four years earlier she had been sold at the end of her racing career for $900,000.

At the time of her sale to Mr Yoshida Dust And Diamonds’ first offspring, a then two-year-old daughter Legallini (Hard Spun) had run once and been unplaced. She had a yearling filly and colt foal on the ground, and the latter, by Pioneerof The Nile, sold for $600,000 at the same sale his dam was sold at. At the time it appeared that Mr Yoshida had bought well, but time has shown that he did very well.

Dust And Diamond’s sixth produce is a two-year-old of 2021, the Heart’s Cry (Sunday Silence) colt Do Deuce. Bred at Northern Farm, he is now unbeaten in three starts, adding the Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at Hanshin last weekend to a previous victory in the Listed Ivy Stakes at Tokyo. Sunday’s race is, usually, the result that determines what two-year-old will be crowned champion of his generation as a juvenile.

Now, not only has Do Deuce got the perfect race record, but his dam has a perfect breeding record. All her six foals have run and won, with the $600,000 foal buy I mentioned earlier, named Much Better, going on to win back $275,000 of that with four wins and a couple of Grade 3 placings. He is now a five-year-old and he won this year.

More glory

Much Better’s full-sister, Fulleran (Pioneerof The Nile), was born in Japan and she has won a couple of times and been placed, again running in 2021. She was followed by the now three-year-old Lonsdaleite (Deep Impact) who has just run twice, winning on his second start during the summer. Now the year just ending has brought more glory to the pedigree with Do Deuce graduating to Group 1 class.

Dust And Diamonds only raced on 11 occasions and she won six times, half of them in stakes company. Her victories include the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont and a Grade 3 at Gulfstream Park, and she was a fine second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on dirt at Santa Anita a decade ago.

Heart’s Cry was champion in Japan as a four-year-old, that year having also run second in the Group 1 Japan Cup. At the time the majority of the best races in Japan only carried listed status as they were not open to foreign runners. As a five-year-old the son of Sunday Silence (Halo) travelled to the UAE and won the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic, and then he was third, beaten two half-lengths by Hurricane Run and Electrocutionist in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

At stud he has been responsible now for 11 Group 1 winners, and a few have gained success at that level out of Japan. Lys Gracieux has won four Group 1s, two in Japan and two in Australia, the latter comprising the Cox Plate and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Yoshida won twice at Grade 1 level in the USA, Admire Rakti captured the Caulfield Cup, while one of Just A Way’s two Group 1 wins included the Dubai Duty Free Stakes.

Do Deuce is the second of his sons to capture the Asahi Hai Futurity as Salios won it two years ago, and Heart’s Cry has also sired two winners of the Group 1 Japan Cup. This year, at Shadai Stallion station, Heart’s Cry commanded a fee of approximately €80,000.