SEA The Stars has started 2017 with a bang and his son Mekhtaal was the latest to step up to the mark when he landed his maiden Group 1 success last weekend, capturing the nine-furlong Prix d’Ispahan for Al Shaqab Racing and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. The four-year-old, a €300,000 Arqana yearling buy, was bred in partnership by Haras du Mezeray and Skymarc Farm.

Runner-up on his previous start this season in the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt, a race he won in 2016, Mekhtaal becomes his dam’s first winner at the highest level. That dam is the Silver Hawk mare Aiglonne and she was no slouch herself, winning the Group 3 Prix Fille de l’Air at three in France and being placed at Grade 2 level in the USA.