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While the death of Red Ransom was a serious loss to the breeding industry, we take a degree of comfort in his undoubted legacy as a sire of sires and as a broodmare sire. His influence in that first role was underlined over the last two weekends when Snow Fairy, by Red Ransom’s son Intikhab, took the Epsom Oaks, and the rapidly improving Pressday, from the first crop of Darley Australia's promising Red Ransom horse Domesday (AUS) (TrueNicks,SRO), captured the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (gr. II), then returned a week later to add The T. J. Smith (gr. I).

The omens for the Australian-raced offspring of Red Ransom look particularly auspicious. His first major Australian-foaled son with runners, Charge Forward, is a prominent second season horse, with his offspring headed by grade I winner Headway, and graded winners Shrapnel, Response, and Solar Charged. Other locally-bred sons of Red Ransom in the early stages of their stage careers or about to retire to stud include the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) winner Onemorenomore; Toorak Handicap (gr. I) victor Red Dazzler; All American, successful in the Cantala Stakes (gr. I); BTC Cup (gr. I) scorer Duporth; and Red Arrow, who began his career in Australia but won the Los Angeles Handicap (gr. III) in the U.S.

From a first crop conceived at a relatively modest stud fee, Domesday already has four winners from his first 17 starters, including Pressday, who has now won the Champagne Classic (gr. II), BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (gr. II), and The T.J Smith (gr. I) in the space of four weeks. Several other Domesday runners have also shown talent out of the ordinary, including the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) third Divorces; the Oaklands Plate second Exchanges; Domesky, third in the Anzac Day Handicap at Flemington; and the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (gr. II) fourth, Backgammon.

That Domesday had the potential to get early two-year-olds was clear from both his race record and his pedigree. He took his first two starts, the second of which came in the Silver Slipper (gr. II), and although he never won again, he did add a second in the Todman Stakes (gr. II), ran fifth to Stratum, Fashions Afield, Media, and Mnemosyne in a very hot renewal of the Golden Slipper (gr. I), and fourth in the AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes (gr. I). Domesday’s dam, In The Past, is a daughter of Zafonic and a three-parts-sister to juvenile star Xaar. His second dam, Victorian Order, is a daughter of Storm Bird and three-parts-sister to Masterclass (Domesday already has a stakes-placed horse out of a Masterclass mare). The third dam, the speedy Monroe, is a sister to Show Lady, granddam of Hurricane Sky and Umatilla, and third dam of Redoute’s Choice and Al Maher.

Pressday is out of the Kaaptive Edition mare Kaaptive Empress, the winner of nine races from 1200m to 1600m. Out of the U.S. black type winner, Nile Empress (by the Nijinsky II stallion Upper Nile), Kaaptive Empress is bred on similar lines to the Avondale Gold Cup (gr. I) winner The Mighty Lions (by Grosvenor, a son of Sir Tristram, the grandsire Kaaptive Edition, and out of a half sister to that mare). Nile Empress was the only stakes winner produced by her dam, I Assume, but that daughter of Young Emperor – an English Champion Two-Year-Old by Grey Sovereign – was a sister to an important mare called I Rule. Like I Assume, I Rule did nothing of note on the racecourse, but to Domesday’s grandsire, Roberto, she produced Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Sookera. At stud Sookera produced three stakes winners, including the Nunthorpe Stakes (gr. I) victor So Factual. Sookera is also granddam of the famed mare Hasili (like the Pressday’s second dam, by a Nijinksy II line stallion), dam of Champions Banks Hill and Intercontinental; grade I winners Cacique and Champs Elysees; and group winner and outstanding sire Dansili. Hasili’s half sister Dissemble is dam of Champion U.S. Turf Horse Leroidesanimaux. This family has also produced two other notable sires. Itsabet, the granddam of I Assume and I Rule, is also granddam of the mare Imsodear, and when she was bred to Roberto, the result was a mare called Immense, now best-known as the grandsire of Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO), and Itsabet’s dam is half sister to the third dam of Straight Strike, only a stakes-placed runner in the U.S., but subsequently a successful sire and broodmare sire in New Zealand.

Filed under: Recent Winners, Sires