Close relative to Kentucky Derby winner Country House offered at Arqana

There could hardly have been a higher-profile overnight page update than the one received by lot 9 in the upcoming Arqana Breeze-Up Sale.

The grey colt, by Three Chimneys Farm’s Palace Malice, is now a half-brother to the dam of a Kentucky Derby winner following the controversial success of Country House at Churchill Downs.

His dam is the Sky Classic mare Shooting Party, whose best performance came with a second in the Grade 1 Garden City Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Belmont. She shares her mother with Quake Lake, whose meeting with Lookin At Lucky has produced Country House, the beneficiary of the stewards’ momentous decision to demote Derby first-past-the-post Maximum Security to 17th place for impeding rivals.

View Arqana catalogue here

Country House had broken his duck at the third time of asking at Gulfstream in January but had earned his place in the line-up after taking third in the Arkansas Derby.

Bill Mott’s first Derby winner, as well as for Lookin At Lucky, was bred by the late Joseph Shields and is owned by his widow Maury along with various friends and family.

Brown Island Stables' representative will breeze at Deauville on Friday

This particular colt, who was unsold for $17,000 when offered by Cara Bloodstock at Keeneland last September, is now in the care of Johnny Collins’ Brown Island Stables, a leading consignor in the breeze-up sphere, and will get the opportunity to strut his stuff at Deauville on Friday before the auction begins on Saturday.

"Any updates are always good to hear," said Collins. "He's a big, good-moving horse who goes well. I bought him privately and the pedigree was always quite good, although this is obviously a big update."

Some 160 two-year-olds have been catalogued for Arqana, with notable graduates including the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Teppal and US Grade 2 winner War Of Will - who was the chief victim of Maximum Security hanging right into the home straight at Churchill Downs on Saturday before finishing seventh in the Run for the Roses.

If you enjoyed reading this, you might also like...

Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke tells us about the brilliant breeding of Tacitus

'I think the bloodstock industry needs to e regulated' - Johnny Hon

Best of Times for Newspaperofrecord breeder Allan Belshaw