Off the mark: Ballylinch’s Bayside Boy snares his first winner as Blessed Voyager impresses at Newbury

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Ballylinch’s first-season sire Bayside Boy got his second career off to a flying start when the Ralph Beckett-trained Blessed Voyager – only his second runner –gained a hard-fought win in the Dubai Duty Free EBF Maiden Stakes at Newbury on Friday.

The colt emulated his sire by breaking his maiden at the same track, hitting the front inside the final furlong and staying on bravely to repel the late challenge of Harry Knows to win by a head.

Blessed Voyager was an €80,000 pick-up for Alex Elliott and Billy Jackson-Stops from the draft of his breeders Ballylinch at Book 1 of last year’s Goffs Orby Sale and now runs in the ownership of Valmont and Michael Blencowe.

The colt is the second foal out of the Group 3-winning Belardo mare Elysium, who brought €160,000 from Meridian International at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale in 2022.

Last year, the mare produced a filly by Bayside Boy’s sire New Bay, who also stands at Ballylinch Stud.

Bayside Boy retired to stand at his breeders' operation, Ballylinch in County Kilkenny, in 2023 after his brilliant victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

Raced in partnership by Teme Valley Racing and his breeders, he captured the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at two and finished close up in both the Dewhurst Stakes and Futurity Trophy.

The stallion's first runner, the Henri-Francois Devin-trained Belisa Bay, also showed huge potential on her debut when finishing second in a newcomers' event at Lyon Parilly last month.

Introduced at €15,000, Bayside Boy is covering his fourth book of mares at €12,500, unchanged from last year after a sale season in which his first yearlings averaged 41,380gns.

Among the highlights was a 300,000gns colt who sold out of Oneliner Stables’ draft to Blandford Bloodstock at Tattersalls Book 1.

He covered 132 mares in his first year, 111 in his second season and 65 in 2025.

Ombudsman's sister impresses

Some high-class pedigrees were on show in the Bridget 'Confined' Maiden Fillies' Stakes and the cream rose to the top when the Ed Walker-trained Synchronicity produced a classy display to get off the mark at the first time of asking.

By Night Of Thunder, the filly was bought by SackvilleDonald for 900,000gns from the draft of her breeder, James Hanly’s Ballyhimikin Stud, and pulled clear of her rivals in the final stages, crossing the line two lengths ahead of Song Of The Clouds, another daughter of Darley's reigning champion sire.

Synchronicity's price at the sales was generated in large part thanks to the exploits of her brother Ombudsman, a three-time Group 1 winner for Godolphin and John and Thady Gosden, who realised 340,000gns at Book 2 of the October Sale in 2022.

The pair are out of Syndicate, a dual-winning daughter of Dansili who Hanly purchased through Anthony Stroud for just 25,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2017.

Syndicate’s two-year-old filly by Ten Sovereigns has been named Syndicale.

I’m The One throws down Oaks gauntlet

I’m The One entered the next race on the card, the Dreweatts Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, with a tall reputation. Trained by the Gosdens, the filly showed the hype was well-founded when she easily accounted for her rivals to score her first win, advertising her credentials for the Oaks in the process.

A homebred for Cayton Park Stud, the daughter of Sea The Stars is out of Group 1 Grosser Preis von Bayern winner Sunny Queen, a three-quarter sister to Suestado, a Listed-winning son of Montjeu.

Further back, this is the same family as Prix de Diane-winning pair Sparkling Plenty and Stacelita, who in turn produced Hanshin Juvenile Fillies winner Soul Stirring, Frankel's first elite-level winner.

The filly was one of two winners on the day for the Sea The Stars/Camelot cross with the William Haggas-trained Maltese Cross, who landed the Darley EBF Novice Stakes, also bred on this nick.

Bred by Ecurie du Sud and Ecurie Gribomont, Maltese Cross was a 350,000gns purchase for Sam Haggas' Hurworth Bloodstock at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2024 and now races in the colours of George Waud. The colt had realised €200,000 as a foal at the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale the year before.

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