First stakes winner continues the curious rise of rags to riches Kuroshio

Breakthrough stallion Kuroshio passed a new milestone on Saturday as daughter Kurious became his first stakes winner with a convincing victory in the Listed Scurry Stakes at Sandown.

The filly, trained by Henry Candy for Hot To Trot Racing, was scoring for the first time since opening her account at the course as a two-year-old last June but in between she had put up some good efforts in defeat, including when a close ninth in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, fourth in the Bosra Sham Stakes and second in a competitive Sandown handicap.

Kuroshio's stallion career has played out in remarkable fashion.

The well-bred son of Exceed And Excel was a Group 2-winning sprinter in his native Australia before joining the Darley stallion roster in Victoria in 2014. After completing his first southern-hemisphere season it was confirmed he would shuttle to Overbury Stud in Gloucestershire but, perhaps because he was an unfamiliar name in Europe and maybe because he was a late announcement, he gained little traction and covered only 33 mares in the north to produce 22 foals.

Unsurprisingly, Darley elected not to shuttle Kuroshio again but that small sole northern hemisphere crop raised eyebrows when they stepped onto the track last year as there was a good number of winners among them including Vintage Stakes runner-up Dunkerron and Marygate Stakes second Daphinia.

The stallion was duly brought back to Europe this year, and he has reportedly covered more than 110 mares at an advertised fee of €6,000 under the Compas Stallions banner at Clongiffen Stud.

Kuroshio goes on parade at Clongiffen StudCredit: Patrick McCann

It has been an eventful season for Kuroshio one way or another, as not only does he have a first stakes winner on the board, but two weeks ago his close relation Anthony Van Dyck showcased the pedigree on the biggest stage when winning the Derby. Anthony Van Dyck – and his champion sprinter half-sister Bounding – are out of Kuroshio's Group 3-winning sister Believe'N'Succeed.

It must be said, though, for all the talk of Kuroshio, that Kurious owes a lot of her talent to her outstanding dam Easy To Imagine, who has previously clicked with two other inexpensive stallions to produce Group 1-winning sprinters – Alpha Delphini (by Captain Gerrard) and Tangerine Trees (by Mind Games).

Kurious, Alpha Delphini and Tangerine Trees are among six winners bred by Beverley-based breeder Marie Matthews from Easy To Imagine, an unraced daughter of Cozzene and Coronation Stakes third Zarani Sidi Anna bought for just 5,200gns.

Zarani Sidi Anna was in turn by Danzig out of the stakes-winning Affirmed mare Emmaline and further back it is the family of US Grade 1 winners Bates Motel, Hatim and Spanish Queen.

Easy To Imagine was given a well earned retirement from breeding at the age of 19 this year, with Kurious her last reported foal.

Her achievements can be summed up by the fact that her six winners, the worst of whom on Racing Post Ratings still had a respectable mark of 88, were bred from stallions who stood for no more than £15,000. Her two Group 1 winners Alpha Delphini and Tangerine Trees were conceived at fees of £3,500.

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