Golden Horn sires debut Group winner as West End Girl steals Sweet Solera show

Golden Horn passed a significant milestone in his nascent stallion career on Saturday when West End Girl became his first black-type winner when stealing the show in the Group 3 german-thoroughbred.com Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket.

This was not the first good turn that the Mark Johnston-trained filly has done her sire, as she also became his first winner when she made a successful debut at Haydock early last month.

West End Girl hails from a debut crop of 99 foals sired by Golden Horn, who covered his first book at Darley's Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket at a fee of £60,000 in 2016.

West End Girl breaks her maiden at HaydockCredit: Grossick Racing

Anthony Oppenheimer's homebred retired to stud having compiled a quite brilliant racing CV, which included four Group 1s, namely the Derby, Coral-Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

As befits his exceptional race record, Golden Horn covered a glittering first book, with 55 per cent of his mares having gained black type, and 25 of whom were winners at Group level.

Among the elite performers he covered were Baltic Baroness (produced a colt named Baltic Gold); Folk Opera (Folk Dance, filly); Molly Malone (Moonlight And Gold, filly); and Rosanara (unnamed filly).

He also received a plethora of mares who have already produced top-level performers, meaning his debut two-year-olds include siblings to the likes of: Amazing Maria (a filly named Golden Hind); Awtaad (Al Zaraqaan, colt); Dariyan (Darzaviyna, filly); Ivanhowe (Maitre Sage, colt); Lumiere (Solar Screen, colt); Nightime (Skye, filly); Pakistan Star (Noble Heritage, filly); Polarisation (unnamed colt); Sea The Moon (Sea The Gold, filly) and Veracious (Galata Bridge, colt).

Bred by Car Colston Hall Stud, West End Girl is the second foal out of Free Rein, a daughter of Dansili who won a Newcastle maiden while in training at three with Ralph Beckett.

The progressive two-year-old descends from Car Colston Hall's foundation mare Wiener Wald, who owners Nicholas and Jane Forman Hardy purchased for $210,000 at the 1995 Keeneland November Sale.

The Woodman mare produced five stakes performers, headed by the full-brothers Crowded House, who struck in the Racing Post Trophy in 2008, and the Listed-winning On Reflection.

Her first foal was Argent Du Bois, a placed daughter of Silver Hawk whose name has been kept in the headlines through the exploits of her son Brando, winner of the 2017 Prix Maurice de Gheest and a valiant runner-up to Advertise in the latest renewal of that race.

Argent Du Bois also produced Sant Elena, dam of top-class juvenile Reckless Abandon, who won the 2012 Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes, and his half-brother Best Approach, a Listed winner in Japan. Free Rein is also a sibling to that pair.

West End Girl was a typically shrewd yearling purchase by Mark Johnston, having been picked up for 95,000gns from Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. She carries the familiar colours of Alan and Mike Spence.

Free Rein has a yearling filly by Lope De Vega and delivered a colt by Acclamation earlier this year.

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