Cable Bay brother earns Coventry quotes after Curragh debut success

Chinese billionaire Zhang Yuesheng has been a tremendous supporter of sales in Ireland, buying horses across all levels of the market, and his latest winner represents the best of Irish breeding.

The Jessica Harrington-trained Indigo Balance was a fluent winner of the Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF Maiden over 6f at the Curragh on Sunday, carrying Zhang's increasingly familiar green and white silks.

The colt earned quotes of 16-1 for the Coventry Stakes after beating Decrypt (by Dark Angel) by one and a half lengths into second, with Vidiyni (Siyouni) an eye-catching third after a slow start.

Indigo Balance – who was first past the post in a Dudalk barrier trial this month – is by Irish National Stud flagbearer Invincible Spirit, the source of 15 Group/Grade 1 winners and an influential sire of sires through the likes of I Am Invincible, Lawman and Zebedee.

It was the Irish National Stud that bred Indigo Balance out of the placed Diktat mare Rose De France, who has already clicked with Invincible Spirit to produce Challenge Stakes winner and Dewhurst runner-up Cable Bay, who stands at Highclere Stud and will be represented at the sales this year by his debut yearlings.

Rose De France is also the dam of Group 3-placed Sea Wolf (Amadeus Wolf) and is a regular concubine of Invincible Spirit, with a yearling colt by him and having been covered by him again in 2017.

The mare is out of Haydock Sprint Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest heroine Cherokee Rose, making her a half-sister to Group 3 winner and Classic-placed Bowman, Al Quoz Sprint runner-up Ahtoug and Moyesii, the dam of Group 1 winners Kirklees and Mastery and granddam of Coral-Eclipse victor Mukhadram.

Rose De France was bought by McKeever St Lawrence on behalf of the Irish National Stud for €55,000 at the Arqana December Breeding-Stock Sale of 2008, and that has proved to be a great find as her yearlings have generated €1,659,000 for the organisation at the sales.

Mayaadeen, the three-year-old brother to Indigo Balance and Cable Bay, was sold to Shadwell for €750,000 at Goffs in 2016 and he was a promising second on debut for Dermot Weld at Tipperary this month, with entries at Gowran Park and Fairyhouse this week.

Indigo Balance was a snip less expensive, knocked down to BBA Ireland on behalf of Zhang for €155,000 at last year's Orby Yearling Sale.

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