Darley's four time Group 1-winning sprinter Blue Point (Ire) made a faster start to his career in the northern hemisphere than he has in the southern but in the back-end of the season his results are really starting to pick up.
Represented by four Australian bred metropolitan winners, as well as the Group 1 placegetter Bosustow since the start of June, Blue Point now has a first season sire tally of eight.
Blue Point (Ire) | Standing at Darley
He has yet to sire a stakes winner locally but in the northern hemisphere seven of his sons and daughters have achieved such success including two in the last four weeks; Tiego The First (Fr) and Rosallion (Ire).
Looking good winning two of his first three starts, Tiego The First, whose third dam is a three-quarter sister to High Chaparral (Ire), was a short priced favourite when taking out the Listed Prix Roland de Chambure at Deauville on July 7.
Group 1 Royal Ascot success for Blue Point
And there was big race success for Blue Point before that. At Royal Ascot on June 18 his son Rosallion recorded his fifth win from seven starts when too strong for his rivals in the G1 St James's Palace S.
The Richard Hannon trained colt, whose dam is a half sister to Triple Time (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who shuttles to the Hunter Valley this spring, is well regarded by his trainer who labelled him "special."
“He is a complete package he is as good as I’ve ever seen in our place.”
“He (Blue Point) is a complete package he is as good as I’ve ever seen in our place.” - Richard Hannon
Fellow Darley shuttler, the dual Group 1 winning sprinter Harry Angel (Ire) has sired 43 runners amongst his first 78 runners in Australia with his G1 Spring Champion S. winner Tom Kitten leading the way.
Another three of his locally bred runners are stakes winners and he has had ten in the northern hemisphere with the most recent of those being Fair Angellica (GB) who has crossed the line in front five times from seven starts.
Harry Angel (Ire) | Standing at Darley
Described by her trainer Richard Hughes as “a fine, big, tough mare,” she measured up nicely in stakes company at Deauville a couple of weeks ago, appreciating a drop back in distance winning the Listed Prix Amandine S.
Starspangledbanner continues to achieve
Several Coolmore Stud horses have also been in good form including Starspangledbanner, the globe-trotting four times Group 1 winning chestnut who has had recent feature race winners in France and England.
On July 7 his three-year-old son Puchkine (Fr) enjoyed Group 1 success in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville, in the aftermath of that win securing a place at stud with Haras de Beaumont's Chehboub family purchasing a 50 per cent share.
The stud's Mathieu Alex called Puchkine “a magnificent horse by a top sire.”
“A magnificent horse (Puchkine {Fr}) by a top sire (Starspangledbanner).” - Mathieu Alex
Those who have supported Starspangledbanner in Australia will be happy to hear him described in that way and there is no doubt that he is one of the most successful of the 'reverse shuttlers', siring stakes winners in nine different countries.
Amongst that tally are Group 1 winners in Australia, England, America, Hong Kong and France.
Puchkine has Australian stakes winners in his family - the four times Group winner Leebaz (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), the G2 Tulloch S. winner Polish Knight (NZ) (Encosta de Lago), the G3 Ladies Day Vase winner Euro Angel (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and three times Group winner Mr Mozart (NZ) (Sweynesse).
Starspangledbanner | Standing at Coolmore
Back in early June Starspangledbanner's daughter Breege (GB) recorded her second victory and her first in stakes company, the G3 Princess Elizabeth S. at Epsom. Earning further black-type with a Listed second at Chester last weekend, she is a three-quarter sister to the G1 Prix Morny winner The Wow Signal (Ire) who stood one season at Swettenham Stud, siring six winners from just eight runners including the Group 3 mare How Womantic.
An unbelievable pedigree
The first Australian bred yearlings for fellow Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett (GB) sold well and one of his 44 stakes winners is Henri Matisse (Ire) who at The Curragh late last month won the Railway S.
It was a second win for as many starts for the John Magnier owned two-year-old who has Group 1 aims.
Wootton Bassett (GB) | Standing at Coolmore
“He's a lovely horse, who tries very hard and is very genuine,” his trainer Aidan O'Brien told the media, “and he has an unbelievable pedigree.”
The third stakes winner for his dual Group 1 winning dam Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), Henri Matisse is a half-brother to the dual Group 1 winner Tenebrism (USA) (Caravaggio {USA}) and the lightly raced Group 2 winning filly Statuette (USA) (Justify {USA}) from the family of Last Tycoon (Ire).
Another horse who calls Coolmore his southern hemisphere home is the four times Group 1 winner Churchill (Ire) who has 55 winners amongst his first 111 runners in Australia including last spring's G1 Toorak H. winner Attrition.
Churchill (Ire) | Standing at Coolmore
The sire of another two Group 1 winners in England and France, he had his daughter Survie (Ire) in the winner's circle at Longchamp a couple of weeks ago, the three-year-old who holds an G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe entry winning the G2 Prix de Malleret.
Dubai Honour now a dual hemisphere Group 1 winner
Already a dual Group 1 winner in Australia, Dubai Honour (Ire) continued the recent good run for his Coolmore based sire Pride Of Dubai when taking out the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud late last month.
It was the first big European success for the tough campaigner who drew praise from owner Mohamed Obaida’s racing manager Philip Robinson and from trainer William Haggas' wife Maureen who represented the stable in France.
Dubai Honour
“The older he gets, the better he gets," Robinson said whilst Haggas noted that "he is a star, every time he gives his all.”
Widden Stud's Zoustar had this year off from shuttling, having on five occasions stood at Tweenhills Stud, from that base siring stakes winners in England, America and France.
His latest success story is Starlust (GB) who last weekend won the Listed City Walls S. at York. Recording his fifth win from 14 starts, the Ralph Beckett trained son of the Group 3 mare Beyond Desire (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is now a dual stakes winner having also won the G3 Sirenia S. at Kempton last September.
Getting quicker
“He seems to be getting quicker as he gets older and is turning into a professional sprinter,” noted his jockey Hector Crouch.
Also in recent stakes winning form for Zoustar was Mgheera (GB) who won the Listed Prix Hampton at Chantilly late last month.
“He (Starlust) seems to be getting quicker as he gets older and is turning into a professional sprinter,”
Swettenham Stud's Toronado (Ire) also had a new stakes winner in the shape of Shiroke (Tur) won won the Listed Nene Hutun in Istanbul. Her pedigree has a taste of Australia with her dam Mashka (Ire) being a daughter of Exceed And Excel.
A dual Group 1 winning son of High Chaparral (Ire), Toronado is now a permanant Victorian resident with most of his success enjoyed in this part of the world, 20 of his 39 stakes winners from Australia, including four of his six Group 1 winners with another, the Hong Kong galloper Victor The Winner, being Australian bred.
Fellow Victorian stallion Blue Gum Farm's Flying Artie also enjoyed international success recently, the G1 King Charles III. victory recorded by Asfoora well enjoyed by Australians!
A quiet achiever
Oaklands Stud's dual Group 1 winner Power (GB) has been somewhat of a quiet achiever and he too has had recent success in Europe with his son Ponntos (Ire) recording his fifth black-type win, the G2 Prix du Gros-Chene at Chantilly on June 2.
Last year crowned Horse Of The Year in the Czech Republic, the tough campaigner has won nine of his 37 starts and now seeks stakes glory in England with a trip to Goodwood on the cards.
Power (GB) | Standing at Oaklands Stud
A son of Oasis Dream (GB) who has spent time in New Zealand as well as Queensland, Power has sired 27 stakes winners with twelve of those racing successfully in the southern hemisphere.
Westbury Stud's G1 French Derby and G1 Queen Elizabeth S. winner Reliable Man (GB) has a promising filly in Germany, at just her third start Erle (Ger) winning the G3 Hoppegarten Diana Trial on June 9.
Interestingly all three of Reliable Man's Group 1 winners, Miami Bound (NZ), Inspirational Girl (NZ) and Miss Sentimental (NZ), are fillies. He has sired 27 stakes winners in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Germany, France and Italy.
Singapore and Hong Kong success for Australasian stallions
Fellow New Zealander, Windsor Park Stud's G1 Newmarket H. winner Shamexpress (NZ), has a nice one in Singapore; Lim's Saltoro (NZ) tasting defeat only once in nine starts.
His two wins, both in June, came in Listed company and it will be interesting to see where the G1 Singapore Derby bound, Daniel Meagher trained three-year-old ends up when racing comes to an end in that city.
Shamexpress (NZ) | Standing at Windsor Park Stud
Shamexpress also has a good one in Hong Kong, the David Hayes trained Ka Ying Rising (NZ) who just recently earned the crowns of Champion Griffin and Most Improved Horse. Hailing from the prolific Taiona (NZ) (Sovereign Edition {Ire}) family, the G3 Sha Tin Vase winner has won five of his seven starts.
And another horse with a great record in Hong Kong is Galaxy Patch - son of Larneuk Stud's G1 Australian Guineas winner Wandjina. He too featured in the Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Awards, named Champion 4YO.
He has won seven of his 13 starts including two Group 3 races, the Lion Rock Trophy and the Premier Plate, in June.
