First-season sire Coulsty comes up with Ascot Group 3 winner Santosha

Coulsty does not have the largest representation among this year's first-season sires but he is doing a good job of making his voice heard, and Santosha – one of only nine runners in Europe for the Rathasker Stud resident so far – became his debut stakes winner on Sunday.

The May-foaled filly, trained by Dave Loughnane for Susan Lynas, stayed on best to land the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot by three quarters of a length from the Exceed And Excel filly Hala Hala Hala.

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Santosha pays a further form tribute to Dandalla, as she finished third to the daughter of Dandy Man in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes last time out. Fev Rover, the runner-up that day, took the Listed Star Stakes on Tuesday.

Coulsty was a sharp two-year-old himself, winning on debut by five lengths and finishing placed in the Listed Prix Francois Boutin and a hot York nursery that season.

He showed marked improvement at three, when he won the Listed King Charles II Stakes and Group 3 Prix de Meautry, while he took the Listed King Richard III Stakes and ran second in the Hungerford Stakes at four.

Coulsty, from the family of high-class sprinters Lugana Beach and The Tatling, retired to Rathasker Stud in County Kildare at a fee of €5,000 in 2017 and has a resultant crop of 45 first-crop juveniles. He has four winners to date.

Coulsty was among four sons of Kodiac to retire to stud in Britain and Ireland that year and all have supplied black-type performers.

Prince Of Lir is the sire of Norfolk Stakes winner The Lir Jet and Listed-placed Puerto Princesa; Adaay has provided Group 3-placed Doctor Strange and Marygate Stakes second Furlong Factor; and Kodi Bear has delivered Pat Eddery Stakes second Cobh.

Santosha was bred by Paddy Murray out of the Zoffany mare Princess Zoffany, a non winner but twice third-placed in Class 6 handicaps and retired with a peak Racing Post Rating of 54.

Princess Zoffany is a half-sister to four winners out of Tara Gold, a winning Royal Academy sister to Gold Academy, winner of the Strensall Stakes and third in the St James's Palace Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Santosha, the only registered foal out of Princess Zoffany, is one of only six runners on the Racing Post database out of a mare by Zoffany, whose oldest crop are aged only seven.

However, that sextet also includes Tiger Tanaka, a close third in the Prix Robert Papin this month, and Gravity Force, fourth in the Horris Hill Stakes last year.

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