Solario Stakes winner another positive result for Cheveley Park Stud sales

A productive spell for Cheveley Park Stud's yearling sale graduates continued on Saturday as Positive held on by just a nose to win the Group 3 Solario Stakes over seven furlongs at Sandown.

Fast-finishing runner-up Kameko kindled memories of last year's champion three-year-old Roaring Lion, who died last week after a recurrence of colic, as the Andrew Balding-trained colt is also by Kitten's Joy and carries the silks of Qatar Racing.

View full result and watch race replay

Positive, trained by Clive Cox for Alan Spence, won a Salisbury maiden by five lengths in June before being beaten by the same margin when second to the exciting Pinatubo in the Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last month.

The February-foaled bay is the first foal out of the Makfi mare Osipova, a dual winner over 12 furlongs at Kempton for James Fanshawe.

He hails from an instantly recognisable Cheveley Park Stud family, as Osipova is out of Barynya, a daughter of the operation's outstanding stalwart stallion Pivotal and its 1,000 Guineas heroine Russian Rhythm.

The dam is a half-sister to another horse who carried Cheveley Park's illustrious red and white silks with distinction in Zonderland, winner of the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes and twice a runner-up in the Celebration Mile at Goodwood.

The decision to send Osipova to Positive's sire Dutch Art in early 2016 made sense as Zonderland – also by the son of Medicean – had shown considerable promise during his two-year-old season in 2015.

Osipova also has a yearling filly by Dutch Art and a filly foal by Ulysses born in March, and returned to Ulysses after the birth.

Positive becomes the 12th Pattern winner for Dutch Art, who won the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes at two and finished third in the 2,000 Guineas and second in the the July Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest at three.

Dutch Art's greatest hits at stud are the Group 1-winning sprinters Garswood, Mabs Cross and Slade Power and high-class performers such as Caspar Netscher and Dutch Connection.

The 15-year-old stood at a private fee at Cheveley Park Stud this year.

Cox bought Positive for 55,000gns from the Cheveley Park Stud draft at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale last year.

Other horses sold by Cheveley Park at yearling sales who have excelled this year include multiple Group 1 hero Advertise (bought by Dermot Farrington for £60,000 at Goffs UK) and Abernant Stakes winner Keystroke (bought by Jeremy Noseda for 120,000gns at Book 1).

Such success will surely make buyers give the stud's drafts at this autumn's yearling sales even more respect than usual.

There are 12 lots at Book 1, including a Lethal Force half-brother to Advertise and colts out of gifted racemares Hooray (yearling is by Gleneagles), Infallible (by Frankel), Integral (by Dark Angel), Nannina (by Kingman) and Spacious (by New Approach).

Next come seven Cheveley Park yearling colts at Book 2 and another five at Book 3.

Another notable element to Positive's Solario Stakes victory is that he becomes a first stakes winner out of a mare by Makfi, the 2,000 Guineas winner by Dubawi who stood at Tweenhills and Haras de Bonneval until his sale to Japan in 2016.

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