Another for Coolmore as first-season sire and Coventry winner Calyx is off the mark

Coolmore resident and Coventry Stakes winner Calyx is the latest first-season sire to get off the mark, with daughter Classic Flower striking at Salon-de-Provence in France on Wednesday. 

Bred by Petches Farm, the two-year-old landed the Prix de la Cote Bleue over five and a half furlongs for Patrice Cottier and owners Jean-Etienne Dubois and Ecurie Hunter Valley. 

Classic Flower is out of the twice-raced Garswood mare Crown Of Flowers, a close relation to Hong Kong winner Art Of Success and a half-sister to other winners, including dual stakes winner and Group 2-placed Bahia Breeze. They are in turn out of Ring Of Love, a winning daughter of Magic Ring and a half-sibling to black type performers Gold Desert and Polar Flight. 

Crown Of Flower's daughter sold from Petches Farm to Arthur Hoyeau for 45,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2021. 

Calyx was the first winner for his sire Kingman when running out an impressive winner at Newmarket, ten days before scorching to success in the 2018 Coventry, beating subsequent triple Group 1 winner Advertise into second. Lightly raced with only four runs, he also landed the Pavilion Stakes on his three-year-old debut the following spring. 

The Juddmonte-bred seven-year-old hails from an excellent family, being out of Observatory's Prix D'Aumale winner Helleborine, also second in the Prix Marcel Boussac at two. Helleborine is a full-sister to Haydock Sprint Cup heroine African Rose - the dam of Frankel's first Group winner Fair Eva - and to Needleleaf, the dam of champion two-year-old and last year's Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Native Trail.

Calyx striding to victory in the Coventry StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Calyx retired to Coolmore in 2020 for an opening fee of Є22,500. He stands the current season at Є10,000 and saw his first yearlings in 2022 sold for up to €205,000. 

His full-sister, Coppice, impressed when winning on debut at Kempton last autumn for John and Thady Gosden. Helleborine has an unraced four-year-old Frankel filly called Helenium, a two-year-old Kingman colt called Stanage and a yearling filly by Kingman. 

Coolmore's first-season sire ranks were already off the mark courtesy of Magna Grecia's Myconian, a winner at Saint-Cloud last month. 

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