WHILE it would be untrue to say that pedigree doesn’t matter at all, it is clear that Japanese buyers, for breeding purposes, put a huge emphasis on performance, and will often purchase a top-class racemare who has emerged from an otherwise pretty average female family. They also like racing soundness in a mare.

Take Dubai Majesty as an example. She is a half-sister to 19-time winner Majestic Dinner (Formal Dinner) who won seven stakes races at Beulah Park and River Downs, and was stakes-placed at Thistledown. They are not Belmont or Churchill Downs! He is one of six winning offspring of his dam.