Breakthrough wins echo around the world from Fairyhouse to Sydney

Dexterity rises above the noise

In the rush to claim foresight and pronounce who will be the leading contenders for first season sires honours Verbal Dexterity would have been left behind in the stampede. However the 2017 National Stakes winner, who has a tiny crop by modern metrics of eight juveniles, has beaten many of his more highly-touted contemporaries to the winner's enclosure.

Monotone, like his sire a homebred for Jim Bolger, caught the eye when third in the opening two-year-old maiden of the Irish Flat season and he followed that up with victory over five furlongs at Cork on Saturday.

Bolger's singular approach has yielded champions and Group 1 winners including Teofilo, Soldier Of Fortune, Twilight Payment, Dawn Approach, Parish Hall, Trading Leather, Poetic Flare, MacSwiney and Verbal Dexterity in the last two decades.

Verbal Dexterity won a Curragh maiden on debut in June 2017 and went on to be second in the Group 2 Railway Stakes three weeks later before his Group 1 triumph at the same course. He was fourth to Saxon Warrior in the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

As a four-year-old he was second in the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes and stands at Bolger's own farm.

Monotone is the first runner and winner for Verbal DexterityCredit: David Keane

He is a son of Vocalised, who Bolger trained to win the Greenham and Tetrach Stakes, and the Vindication stallion is a grandson of champion and top-class broodmare Serena's Song.

Verbal Dexterity is out of the Holy Roman Emperor mare Lonrach, whose dam Luminous One by Galileo was third in the Listed Eyrefield Stakes at two for Bolger and is closely related to Bolger's homebred Albany Stakes winner Cuis Ghaire. She is a half-sister to Listed winner Luminata, who was placed in both the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Prix Marcel Boussac.

His first winner is a half-brother to Listed Celebration Stakes winner and Irish 2,000 Guineas fourth Wexford Native who is by the brilliant Teofilo.

Red letter day in the land of the silver fern

The Chitty family of Haunui Farm on New Zealand's North Island had a couple of major reasons to celebrate over the weekend as they had close links to Group 1 winners on two continents. 

First up was the Vinery Stud Stakes at Sydney track Rosehill where Orchestral, New Zealand's star three-year-old with victories in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby, Group 2 Avondale Guineas and the Karaka Millions to her name, made her Australian debut.

The daughter of Waikato Stud's outstanding sire Savabeel is one of 33 individual Group/Grade 1 winners for the perennial champion and wowed the crowds with her tenacious victory.

Bred by Barneswood Stud, Orchestral was a member of Haunui Farm's draft for Book One of the Karaka Yearling Sale of 2022 and she brought NZ$625,000 from trainers Roger James and Robert Ellwood.

Orchestral is one of over 30 stakes winners bred on the Savabeel - O'Reilly cross with another, Wymark, winning the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes on the same card.

She is the first runner out of Symphonic, who was second in the Group 3 Cuddle Stakes. Her second living foal, a brother to Orchestral, made NZ$310,000 to the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Karaka Book One in January. He was also consigned by Haunui Farm.

The family is that of New Zealand champions Aegon and Daffodil and the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes winner Atishu, who is by Savabeel.

Old friends: Ribchester and his trainer Richard Fahey catch up Credit: Edward Whitaker

Then came further glory for the stud in Dubai with the victory of Facteur Cheval in the Dubai Turf, a first winner at the highest level for his sire Ribchester who stands at Haunui Farm.

European champion miler at three and four, the quadruple Group 1 winner had previously stood the southern hemisphere season in Australia but replaced his sire Iffraaj at Haunui Farm in 2020.

From small crops conceived in Australia he is the sire of Group 3 winners Red Card and Krakarib, while his seasons at stud in Europe, first at Kildangan then Darley's French base of Haras du Logis, have yielded Facteur Cheval and the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup second and Haydock Sprint Cup fourth Flaming Rib.

His breakthrough Group 1 winner was bred by McCracken Farms and sold as a foal to Hubert Honore for 145,000gns at Tattersalls. He made €120,000 to ASAP Bloodstock as a yearling at Arqana in 2020.

Last season he was placed in four Group 1 contests for Jerome Reynier; the Prix d'Ispahan, Sussex Stakes, Prix du Moulin and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. 

Facteur Cheval is out of Jawlaat, an unraced Shamardal half-sister to triple Group 3 winner Tantheem. Bred by Shadwell, Jawlaat was bought by the McCracken family for 16,000gns at the Tattersalls February Sale of 2016. 

Her Listed-placed dam Riqa is a Dubawi half-sister to the dam of Irish Derby winner Santiago and out of a half-sister to Tamayuz so it is the Allez Les Trois branch of the outstanding Allegretta family.

Long-postponed success at Fairyhouse

Every stallion needs a headline maker to advertise their talents and the victory of Familiar Dreams at Fairyhouse on Saturday, when she defied a penalty to win the Listed Total Enjoyment Mares' Bumper, is fulfilling that role for her sire Postponed.

The 13-year-old son of Dubawi recorded four wins at the highest level, including the Dubai Sheema Classic, and switched to the Futter family's Yorton Farm Stud ahead of the 2024 breeding season having spent the initial part of his stud career at Darley's Dalham Hall.

Postponed's move to the Welsh borders is also a switch of codes so Familiar Dreams' breakthrough is ideally timed for her sire's season. Already placed in a Listed-bumper for Anthony McCann, the five-year-old is the first black type winner in either code for her sire.

Familiar Dreams is the first Listed winner for Yorton Farm's PostponedCredit: Patrick McCann

He is the sire of the Grade 3 Premio Neni da Zara Chase third Movie Night as well as Zestful, who was Listed-placed over hurdles at Cheltenham last season, and Our Boy Wes who was second in the Listed Gladstone Hurdle at Far Hills.

The best on the Flat by Postponed is Almohandesah who was second to Cachet in the Nell Gwyn Stakes.

Familiar Dreams was bred by Meon Valley Stud and is descended from one of their foundation mares; the Queen Elizabeth II and Coronation Stakes winner Milligram. 

Her dam Familliarity was trained by Roger Varian to finish third in the Listed Pontefract Castle Stakes. Twice a winner, she is by Nayef and out of Millistar who is a daughter of Galileo and Milligram.

Millistar is a half-sister to Millennium Dash, dam of the Listed winners Dash To The Top and Dash To The Front and second dam of Group 1 winners Anapurna and Speedy Boarding.

Postponed covered just 29 and 22 mares in his final two seasons at Dalham Hall but with the success of Familiar Dreams, he's bound to attract more numbers at Yorton.

Another Aga Khan Group 1 winner

Whether it is Goffs or Arqana, the Aga Khan's drafts at the horses-in-training and breeding stock sales are the first port of call for trainers and breeders in search of a route into some of His Highness's carefully cultivated family trees.

The latest Group 1 winner for the Aga Khan Studs came at Rosehill on Saturday when Kalapour won the Tancred Stakes for trainer Kris Lees. The seven-year-old only made his Australian debut last May, winning the Group 3 JRA Chairman's Handicap at Doomben and is just the fourth Group 1 winner for his sire War Command, the son of War Front who won the Dewhurst, Coventry and Futurity Stakes as a juvenile for Aidan O'Brien.

He retired to Coolmore but underwhelming results saw him move to France and Haras de Gelos. His last advertised fee, for the 2023 season, was €2,800.

War Command's three previous Group 1 winners all came in South America.

Kalanisi: Kalapour's dam is a close relative of the late Boardsmill sireCredit: Patrick McCann

His new Group 1 winner hails from an outstanding and instantly-recognisable Aga Khan family. He is a half-brother of the Listed Lenebane Stakes winner Kalaxana out of Kaladena, a winning daughter of Daylami.

Kaladena is a three-parts sister to Breeders' Cup Turf, Champion Stakes and Queen Anne hero Kalanisi who was a successful National Hunt sire at Boardsmill Stud. She is also a half-sister to the Group 2 winner Kalaman who was placed in the St James's Palace and Eclipse Stakes and to the Listed winner Kaloura.

She was purchased, in foal to Space Blues, for €30,000 by Kelly Equine Services from the Aga Khan Studs at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale of 2022.

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