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Dubawi (IRE) (TrueNicks,SRO) was a horse very well-suited by some give in the ground, a point underlined by his win in the 2005 renewal of the Prix Jacque Le Marois (gr. I) at Deauville. That the same is true of his offspring is evident by their efforts at Deauville on August 15.

Five years on from his sire's victory in the same race, the English 2,000 Guineas (gr. I) victor Makfi (GB) (TrueNicks) reveled in the very soft underground conditions to score an upset victory over Goldikova - clearly not at her best on soft ground - and Paco Boy. Makfi has won four of his five starts - he was unwell when running below par in the St. James's Palace Stakes - and having accounted for Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs in the 2,000 Guineas (gr. I), has a score over each of what would generally be conceded to be Europe's best milers.

Makfi (TrueNicks A+) is one of eight stakes winners, six group, from the first Northern Hemisphere crop of Dubawi (he also has three stakes winners from his first Southern Hemisphere crop, one group I), and the sire already has two second crop juvenile black type scorers. Out of mare by Green Desert, Makfi has a classic family on the distaff side. His dam is a half sister to the Dewhurst Stakes winner Alhaarth, and the granddam, Irish Valley, is an Irish River half sister to French 2,000 Guineas (gr. I) victor Green Dancer. This is the same Ampola branch of the Blue Demin family that produced Champion French Two-Year-Old and good sire Grey Dawn II. Makfi has a double of the Northern Dancer/Sir Ivor cross through Shareef Dancer (broodmare sire of his sire, Dubai Millennium) and Green Desert, and line breeding to Never Bend, two of the three crosses coming through the similarly-bred Mill Reef and Riverman.

The Mill Reef/Riverman combination is also found in Dubawi's most recent stakes winner, Dubase, who took the listed Grand Handicap de Deauville. She is out of a mare by Riverman's son Bahri, and the dam, Se Ma Va, is a parallel Never Bend/Roberto cross to Deploy, the broodmare sire of Dubawi. Sa Ma Va is half sister to the Spinster Stakes (gr. I) victress Asi Siempre (by El Prado), and is out of Turkish Treasure, a three-parts-sister to Irish 1,000 Guineas (gr. I) heroine Lady Capulet (the dam of El Prado).

Dubawi's third stakes performer on the Deauville card, Split Trois, took second in the Prix Francois Boutin, a seven-furlong contest for juveniles. She's out of a mare by Zafonic, so is a Mr. Prospector/Mr. Prospector cross, with both grandsires being Mr. Prospector/Northern Dancer crosses.  The winner here was Hung Parliament, by the ex-U.S.-based Mr. Prospector horse Numerous (now in France). The dam, Sensational Mover, is by Theatrical, out of the Wilshire Handicap (gr. II) captress Blushing Heiress. Sharp-eyed readers will have spotted that this is an interesting pedigree, as Numerous is out of Number - three-parts-sister to Nureyev - and the broodmare sire, Theatrical, is a son of Nureyev (the same cross produced Numerous's U.S. grade I winner Numerous Times). For good measure, the fourth dam is by Lt. Stevens, a sister to the granddam of Nureyev.

It was also a good day for Numerous's genetic relative Kingmambo (TrueNicks,SRO) (by Mr. Prospector out of Miesque, a Nureyev mare) and his son King's Best. Kingmambo's son, Campanologist followed up a victory in the Deutschland Preis-Grosser Hansa Preis (gr. I) by adding the Rheinland-Pokal (gr. I). Like Hung Parliament, Campanologist is inbred to the Special family as his dam is by Sadler's Wells. This most famous of crosses now has eight stakes winners from 102 foals of racing age, and 79 starters. As a strike rate it's not that much higher than that achieved by Kingmambo the the Sadler's Wells mares bred to him with all other mates, but what is unique is the quality, with six of the eight scoring at grade I level, so when it works, it works big time! Campanologist's dam is out of Champion Glorious Song (sister to Devil's Bag and Saint Ballado), so she's a three-parts-sister to Singspiel, and top South African sire Rakeen, and half sister to Rahy. Kingmambo's son, King's Best, who is having a career year with nine Northern Hemisphere stakes winners, including Eishin Flash and Worforce, the winners of the Japan and Epsom Derbys (both gr. I), also had a weekend stakes winner in Sajjhaa, a three-year-old filly (his sixth three-year-old stakes scorer of the season) who took the Dick Hern Fillies Stakes in England. She's out of a Darshaan mare and TrueNicks rated A++.

In addition to Dubawi, Europe has another second season standout in Shamardal (TrueNicks,SRO). The son of Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO), was represented by the weekend's Hungerford Stakes (gr. II) victor, Shakespearean, also winner of the Solario Stakes last year. He's TrueNicks rated A++, on the basis of Giant's Causeway and sons with Shakespearean's broodmare sire, Priolo, which has two stakes winners from four starters and doubles Northern Dancer/Bold Ruler through Storm Cat and Sovereign Dancer (the sire of Priolo).

Another A++ rated winner over the weekend was the 2008 French Derby (gr. I) winner Vision d'Etat, who was running for only the second time this year following an off-the-board effort in the Dubai World Cup (gr. I), when capturing the Prix Gontaut-Biron (gr. III) the day before the Prix  Jacques Le Marois (gr. I). He's by now-Japanese domiciled Chichicastenango (by Smadoun, by Kaldoun, by Caro) out of a mare by Garde Royale, a son of Mill Reef. There are only three horses by Chichicastenango out of Garde Royale mares, and two of them are Vision d'Etat and group winner Chichi Creasy.

Dansili, who has been killing them in Europe recently indicated that there is little mercy on the horizon when his son Zoffany won what we think is the first juvenile group I event of the year on that side of the Atlantic, cutting back from a seven-furlong group win to land the six-furlong Phoenix Stakes (gr. I). Zoffany (TrueNicks rated A) is the first group I winner for a cross that has a very solid strike rate, that of Danehill and his sons with mares by Machiavellian. Of course Danehill is inbred to Natalma (dam of Northern Dancer) through Northern Dancer and a half sister, and Machiavellian's dam, Coup de Folie, is inbred 3 x 3 to Natalma's dam, Almahmoud, once through a daughter of Natalma. Zoffany's second dam is by Suave Dancer, a grandson of Nijinsky II, out of a mare by Blushing Groom. Dansili's broodmare sire, the Aga Khan-bred Derby winner Kahyasi, is by a son of Nijinsky II out of a Blushing Groom mare, and so far Dansili has at least five stakes winners with Nijinsky II and Blushing Groom in both halves of the pedigree, four group/graded and two group/grade I.

Bred on something of a reverse cross is the promising two-year-old Janood (TrueNicks A++) who took his record to two-for-two in the Washington Singer Stakes. He's by Machiavellian's son, Medicean, out of a mare by Green Desert, another son of Danzig. Medicean had another group winner last week to, in the shape of Via Medici, who took the Prix de Lieurey (gr. III). TrueNicks rated (A+), she's a three-year-old out of a Singspiel mare, so has five crosses of Almahmoud, including doubles of Halo and Northern Dancer.

Still with the two-year-olds, Mr. Greeley (TrueNicks,SRO), whose offspring have done very well in Europe, was represented by Laughing Lashes, who broke her maiden in the Debutante Stakes (gr. II) at the Curragh. The dam is by Unbridled's Song (TrueNicks,SRO) (she's A+ rated on the Gone West/Unbridled's Song cross, which has also worked in reverse). The dam is a half sister to Racing Post Trophy (gr. I) victor Palace Episode, out of a half sister to good graded winners Tejano Run (runner-up in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and More Royal), going back to a half sister to Blushing Groom.

A juvenile filly who would appear to have a great future as the distance increase, is White Moonstone (TrueNicks A+), who won the Sweet Solera Stakes (gr. III) to go two-for-two. She is one of four stakes winners by Dynaformer (TrueNicks,SRO) out mares by Seeking the Gold, and her dam, Desert Gold, is a stakes-winning daughter of a sister to Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) heroine Desert Stormer.

Filed under: Recent Winners