Still making a Deep Impact: two exciting new winners for sire legend in Europe

Deep Impact may be gone but the Japanese sire phenomenon won't be forgotten any time soon and on Sunday he registered two new winners in Europe who could have bright futures ahead of them.

Both maiden scorers are out of Galileo mares, dropping a strong clue as to why Deep Impact – by the great Sunday Silence out of the Alzao mare Wind In Her Hair – was sought out by European breeders in need of outcrosses for Sadler's Wells, Danehill and their sons.

Indeed, the Deep Impact-Galileo cross has already been exhibited to good effect in Europe by Racing Post Trophy and 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior, now stationed at Coolmore, while this month's Prix de Diane heroine is by Deep Impact out of the Sadler's Wells mare Chenchikova.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Snowfall and Harajuku, Deep Impact's latest winners in Europe, could be Classic winners in time.

Snowfall, trained by Aidan O'Brien for Coolmore, had finished third on debut and stumbled on her next start but she made no mistake third time out in a seven-furlong fillies' maiden at the Curragh, scoring readily by half a length.

Bred by Coomore entity Roncon, Chelston and Wynatt, she is the first foal out of Group 3 Give Thanks Stakes winner Best In The World, a daughter of Lockinge Stakes heroine Red Evie and thus a sister to champion Found.

Best In The World also has a yearling colt by Deep Impact and has visited Dubawi at Dalham Hall Stud for the last two years.

Harajuku, meanwhile, made a glowing impression on her debut for trainer Andre Fabre and owner-breeders the Niarchos family in a seven-furlong fillies' maiden at Chantilly, winning by two and a half lengths.

She is the third produce of Phaenomena and is a half-sister to King Of Koji, winner of the Grade 2 Meguro Kinen at Tokyo in May.

The dam – a sister to Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Nightime, who in turn has produced top-flight scorers Ghaiyyath and Zhukova – has a yearling filly by Fastnet Rock but sadly her Dubawi foal born this year died.

Deep Impact enjoyed a glittering career at the Shadai Stallion Station, with Fancy Blue becoming his 47th Group/Grade 1 winner with her French Classic victory.

He died last year at the age of 17, having been stood down for most of the 2019 breeding season due to a problem with his neck, leaving a small final crop of northern hemisphere foals born this year.

Snowfall is one of two Deep Impact two-year-olds registered as in training with Aidan O'Brien by Weatherbys, alongside the unraced colt National Ballet, the first foal out of Fluff, a winning Galileo sister to Saxon Warrior's Group 1-winning dam Maybe.

France Galop reports a further four Deep Impact two-year-olds as in training in France, besides Harajuku.

They are High Impact, a half-brother to Stormy Antarctic with Henri-Francois Devin; Mellow, a filly out of Harmonious with Francis Graffard; Sentimental Mambo, a filly out of Stacelita with Fabre; and Souspir, a colt out of Sasparella with Carlos Laffon-Parias.

Deep Impact's Japanese-based two-year-olds include five winners to date – the colts Chevalier Rose, Lord Max and Yoho Lake and the fillies Satono Reinas and Tausendschon.

JBIS records the sire as having a penultimate crop of 113 yearlings with four final foals having made it on to its database.

At last week's JRHA Select Sale, Deep Impact accounted for all of the five most expensive yearlings sold and eight of the top ten.

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