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Quite a weekend for the Danzig sire line again -- Danehill Dancer keeps on doing the job.

Another stakes winner in the well-related (and well-named!) What's Up Pussycat, a TrueNicks A rated filly. Interesting to note that she is owned in part by M.V. Magnier, son of John. Add to this Westphalia, a progressive 2-year-old for Aiden O'Brien who landed the Champagne Stakes (Eng-II) and Mastercraftsman was able to nose out Shaweel in the National Stakes (Ire-I) to remain the best colt seen out in Ireland to date.  That is some weekend by any measure. 

Danehill Dancer's son Choisir also got into the action with the cleverly-mated Hurried Choice defeating the top class Flying Spur mare Forensics in the Theo Marks Stakes (Aus-II). For those that believe inbreeding to Northern Dancer is a "no-no," take a look at the pedigrees of these two speedy fillies -- Northern Dancer abounds!

A while back on this blog we mentioned that Three Chimneys stallion Exchange Rate (TrueNicks,SRO) was having a big year with his 2-year-olds, particularly in Canada -- that could be the understatement of the year. He sired a third stakes winner in the shape of the A++ TrueNicks rated filly C Karma, winner of the Natalma Stakes (gr. III) at Woodbine.

Exchange Rate's barn mate Sky Mesa (TrueNicks,SRO) got in on the action also. While it was by disqualification, Terrain (A++ TrueNicks) won the Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes (gr. III). With 18 individual juvenile winners, Sky Mesa is now the leading sire in North America of 2-year-old winners, all from just 78 foals (yes...18 from 78). Interestingly for Sky Mesa, Terrain is out of a mare by Mr Prospector's son Forty Niner. Sky Mesa's own sire Pulpit has done well with the limited number of mares by sons of Mr Prospector that he has seen and maybe Sky Mesa is appreciating the same.

Back to Europe, Aussie-bred shuttle sire Exceed and Excel sired his third stakes winner in Europe with Mrs Kipling winning a listed race over 1,000 meters (5 furlongs) in Italy. The filly is out of a mare by Carnegie so there can be no doubt that Exceed and Excel provided the speed and precocity there. It is interesting to note that he now has a stakes winner out of a mare by Carnegie and one out of a mare by Carnegie's sire Sadler's Wells (Infamous Angel). Could it be that a Darley stallion becomes the most prominent foil for mares by Coolmore's breed-shaper? The pedigree is a reverse of the good Aussie mare Tuesday Joy who is by Carnegie out of a Danehill mare and won the W.H Stocks Stakes (Aus-II) on the weekend also.

Speaking of combinations working both ways, the Sadler's Wells/Darshaan combination got into the picture yet again. Honolulu (by Sadler's Wells' son Montjeu out of a Darshaan mare) won the Doncaster Cup (Eng-II) over 18 furlongs, or 3,600 meters, and managed to get himself a weight penalty for the upcoming Melbourne Cup. Honolulu is of course a shade behind Septimus, a son of Sadler's Wells out of a Darshaan mare, who took out the Irish St. Leger (Ire-I) over 14 furlongs (2,800 meters) on the weekend and also heads to the Melbourne Cup where he is installed as current favorite and for some reason managed to escape a penalty, despite winning by 13 lengths. Septimus beat New Zealand, a son of Galileo out of a Darshaan mare. Finally, Conduit, a son of Dalakhani (by Darshaan) out of a Sadler's Wells mare from the family of Spectrum, won the time-honored St. Leger Stakes (Eng-I) that the great Nijinsky II once won.

Grand matriarch Thong got back into the picture again as a mare to inbreed to in the shape of the stakes winners Lady Gloria and Jumbajukiba (try saying that name three times quickly!). The former won the Select Stakes (Eng-III) at Goodwood and is by Diktat out of a Polar Falcon mare (thus has Sadler's Wells and Nureyev), while the latter is by Barathea out of a mare by Thatching.

Globetrotting sprinter Takeover Target may have seen better days, but the world may yet hear from his half brother Predatory Pricer, a son of Street Cry (IRE) (TrueNicks,SRO) , who is in fact still a colt after he won a listed race in Australia on the weekend. A raw, gangly type, nothing like his brother to look at, Predatory Pricer looks the type with classic aspirations after coming from well off the speed in a 1,400-meter (7-furlong) event.

Also on this blog Alan Porter once made mention of the interesting pedigree of Plan, a son of Storm Cat out of the former crack racemare Spain. Well this weekend marked another stakes winner for Spain in the shape of Dreamtheimpossible, this one a daughter of the white-hot Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO) . That is stakes winner #23 for the year and if there is a stallion that is doing better on the track than him right now he certainly isn't living and standing in Kentucky.

And all of this without mentioning Big Brown....

Filed under: Recent Winners