It's go Greased Lightning for Tweenhills' first season sire

Sussex Stakes winner Lightning Spear is off the mark as a sire with the debut success of his smartly-named son Greased Lightning in Chepstow's seven furlong two-year-old maiden.

The colt, who was purchased by trainer Eve Johnson-Houghton and Highflyer Bloodstock for 26,000gns from Whatton Manor Stud at last October's Tattersalls Book 3 Sale, showed he has inherited plenty of his sire's tenacity when running on late to grab victory.

Racing in the colours of Anthony Pye-Jeary and David Ian, Greased Lightning was bred by Whatton Manor and Robert Cornelius out of the prolific producer How High The Sky. The daughter of Danehill Dancer is now the dam of eight winners from ten runners headed by the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes fourth Thora Barber.

How High The Sky is closely related to the Group 3 Prix la Force and Prix Conde winner High Rock by Rock Of Gibraltar. She is also a half-sister to Group 3 winner Homeland and to Hideaway, a Listed-winning daughter of Cape Cross. More significantly, How High The Sky is a half-sister to Hidden Silver, the dam of Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner and sire Silver Frost and Group 2 winner Spirit Jim.

Lightning Spear is one of 32 individual Group/Grade 1 winners by the late, great Pivotal.

Bred by Newsells Park Stud, he was sold for 260,000gns to David Redvers at Book 1 and after a quiet start to his racing career, Lightning Spear developed into a top-class miler whose victory in the Sussex Stakes at the age of seven was warmly welcomed.

Trained by David Simcock for Qatar Racing, he won the Group 2 Celebration Mile as a five-year-old and was third in both the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Queen Anne Stakes that season. The following year he added a second Celebration Mile and was second in the Lockinge and third in the Sussex Stakes.

His greatest hour came in 2018 with his defeat of Group 1 winners Expert Eye and Lord Glitters at Goodwood and Lightning Spear was runner-up once more in the Lockinge and third for a second time in the Queen Anne.

Out of the Royal Academy mare Atlantic Destiny, whose three Listed wins include the Sirenia Stakes, he was retired to Tweenhills Farm and Stud for the 2019 season at a fee of £8,500.

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