War Front proves the doubters wrong again as US Navy Flag strikes in July Cup

Few sires court such strong opinions as War Front, but the son of Danzig will have silenced more of the doubters on Saturday when his son US Navy Flag produced a tenacious performance to win the Darley July Cup at Newmarket.

War Front's critics, particularly in Europe, have questioned the ability of his progeny to train on at three, with the likes of Air Force Blue, War Command and Hit It A Bomb failing to hit the lofty heights their brilliant juvenile campaigns suggested they might.

But among War Front's 17 elite-level performers now stand four horses who have struck in a European Group 1 aged three or older, with US Navy Flag joining his sister Roly Poly, Declaration Of War and this year's Tattersalls Gold Cup hero Lancaster Bomber.

US Navy Flag was a most progressive juvenile, going from an unassuming fourth at Naas on debut to a dual Group 1 winner, having claimed the Middle Park and, on his tenth and penultimate outing at two, the Dewhurst Stakes.

Relive US Navy Flag's July Cup success

Many will have expected his upward trajectory to be seamlessly maintained into his three-year-old season, but it has not been entirely plain sailing.

He finished last in a 2,000 Guineas trial on reappearance before running a slightly unlucky fifth in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, having lost vital impetus when stumbling badly with less than three furlongs to run.

And while it should not be overlooked that he finished a creditable second to Romanised in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, his effort in the St James's Palace Stakes, when ninth of ten behind Without Parole, was not so encouraging. The whispers about War Front's three-year-olds were beginning to grow louder again.

But whatever the sire, the one constant throughout the Coolmore-Ballydoyle axis is the mastery of Aidan O'Brien, whose innate abilities to harness the genes of the horses under his care came to the fore once again on Saturday.

US Navy Flag's Classic campaign prior to Saturday made perfect sense when looking through his pedigree, as he is the third foal out of Misty For Me, a daughter of Galileo whose four Group 1 wins came over a range of trips, from the 7f of the Moyglare Stud Stakes to the 1m2f of the following year's Pretty Polly Stakes.

Moreover, Misty For Me's second foal - Roly Poly - also proved best at trips beyond sprint distances, winning three Group 1s at three, namely the Falmouth Stakes, the Prix Rothschild and the Sun Chariot Stakes, all over a mile.

But, despite following a route that has served this family well before, US Navy Flag's three-year-old form was proving patchy.

However, the fruit of any mating is exactly what nature intended - regardless of the expectations created by pedigree - and O'Brien had seen that US Navy Flag had inherited more of War Front's proclivity for speed than his older sibling.

And sure enough, dropping the three-year-old back to 6f worked the oracle, as the son of War Front bounced back to his best to see off Brando by a length and three-quarters.

O'Brien told ITV Racing: "Obviously he has the blend of the War Front for the speed and then he has Galileo for the stamina… He has a great pedigree behind him which is vital."

Having a deep pedigree may be vital, but only if the people charged with handling the animal know how best to interpret the clues contained within each horse's bloodlines.

"Obviously he's out of a Galileo mare and going into the last furlong you were wondering were they going to stop him," continued O'Brien.

"But usually any horses that have that Galileo in them, when you go after them they flatten down on the ground and their stride doesn't shorten, they keep going and that's what he did. He has loads of speed as well."

Saturday's effort, in which US Navy Flag made all before quickening up well and then proving gutsy when the challengers inevitably came to have a crack, could be said to have showcased the best traits of both War Front and Galileo.

Perhaps 2018 could well be the year that those who have knocked War Front - who stood his latest season at a fee of $250,000 - will be forced to swallow a slice of humble pie, with Lancaster Bomber winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup as a four-year-old and US Navy Flag, a fine advert for the sire, landing the July Cup on his 16th outing - and his fifth at three.

The result was also an important one for Coolmore, not only because it enhances US Navy Flag's stallion value, but because the operation have placed so much faith in War Front as an effective outcross for their many top-class daughters of Galileo and other Sadler's Wells line stallions.

As for Galileo, the July Cup was his second 6f Group 1 win as damsire, with his daughter Starfish having produced 2011 Phoenix Stakes winner La Collina.

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