ANAGLOGS Daughter was among many good winners to carry the colours of Bill Durkan during her racing career, and memories of such victories came flooding back at the weekend when Bill was listed as the trainer, with son Neil heavily involved, of Screaming Colours, a comprehensive winner of the Listed Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter.

The 10-year-old winner, bred by John Studd, carries the Durkan colours and races in the name of Bill’s daughter Margaret. Racing folk will be well aware of the Durkan influence on the sport, including that of the late John, and what a pity that RTE and some presenters on the racing programmes could only call out the trainer as William, with no knowledge obviously of his racing history.

A dual point-to-point winner and now a three-time chase winner, Screaming Colours is a son of Dubai Destination who was also on the roster of winning sires at the Cheltenham Festival with Coole Cody. He has been a successful sire on the flat and under National Hunt rules, though these successes did not come in time to prevent him being sold to Saudi Arabia after completing the 2014 covering season at Rathbarry’s Glenview Stud.

Dubai Destination, a son of Kingmambo (Mr Prospector) was a bay with no white markings. Bred by Calumet Farm, he was sent to the Keeneland July Sale in 2000 and bought for $1.5 million by John Ferguson Bloodstock, acting on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed. He was sent to be trained by David Loder in Newmarket and was ridden in all but one of his races by Frankie Dettori.

A hot favourite on his debut at Newbury, he was caught in the final strides and beaten a short head by the John Gosden-trained Waldenburg. A month later he was even longer odds-on for a maiden over seven furlongs at Newmarket, drawing away in the closing stages to win by three and a half lengths from Sohaib who later won the Dee Stakes.

In September Dubai Destination contested the Group 2 Champagne Stakes over seven furlongs at Doncaster. He started second favourite behind Rock Of Gibraltar who had won the Railway Stakes and Gimcrack Stakes. Dubai Destination overtook the favourite 100 yards from the finish and won by a length, eased down by Dettori.

Dubai Destination then joined Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing operation and spent the winter in Dubai with Saeed bin Suroor. He returned to Britain but had training problems and made only one racecourse appearance. Ridden by Jamie Spencer, he started favourite for the Listed Predominate Stakes over 11 furlongs at Goodwood but was beaten two lengths into second place.

Royal Ascot

After an absence of more than a year, Dubai Destination returned over a mile at Nottingham at four and won easily by six lengths. A fortnight later he was sent to Royal Ascot for the Queen Anne Stakes which was being run for the first time as a Group 1 race. He had the likes of Hawk Wing, Where Or When (Queen Elizabeth II Stakes), Tillerman (Celebration Mile), Desert Deer (Sandown Mile), Victory Moon (UAE Derby) and Right Approach in arrears as he raced to a four-length victory. He failed to shine in two further outings.

Dubai Destination was retired to begin his stud career at Dalham Hall Stud where he stood for six seasons, his fee falling from an initial £25,000 to £7,000. His first crop included his sole Group 1 flat winner, Ibn Khaldun winning the Racing Post Trophy. Another son Top Trip won the Group 2 Prix Hocquart, Family One landed the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin as a juvenile, while his southern hemisphere crops included a pair of Group 2 winners.

Golden Horn

As a broodmare sire, Dubai Destination has done well, and his daughter Fleche d’Or is dam of the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Golden Horn (Cape Cross).

Five seasons followed for Dubai Destination at Glenview Stud and under National Hunt rules he has sired such as dual Grade 1 winning hurdler Next Destination, Grade 1 Cheltenham Festival winning mare Roksana, Elegant Escape (Grade 2 chaser winner and successful in the Welsh Grand National), Grade 3 winners Kildisart and Coole Cody, the latter winning three times at that level in Cheltenham.

Screaming Colours cost Tom Lynch €11,500 as a foal when he was sold under the Rathbarry banner. He is one of four winners for his dam Colour Scheme (Perrault), a French-bred listed winner on the flat in her native country.