Tasleet beats the competition to have his first runner

Shadwell Stud's Tasleet is the quickest of this year's first-season sires off the mark with the Group 2-winning sprinter set to have his first runner at Lyon on Sunday morning.

Texas Hold Em trained by Florian Guyader for Theresa Marnane is the only colt in the 10-strong line-up for the Prix du Premier Pas and is one of two runners in the race for the Marnane family of Bansha House Stud. The other is Bottle Of Bubbles from the second crop of Cotai Glory, one of last year's leading first season sires.

Tasleet's first runner is a homebred for the Marnanes but has Shadwell genes writ large in his DNA. Texas Hold Em is the second foal out of Mulhimatty, a winning daughter of Invincible Spirit and Raasekha, who was third in the Listed Conqueror Stakes at Goodwood. She is a Pivotal half-sister to Shadwell's champion three-year-old sprinter Muhaarar.

Raasekha was bought by Con Marnane carrying Texas Hold Em for just €9,000 from Derrinstown Stud at the 2019 Tattersalls Ireland November Flat Foal and Breeding Stock Sale.

Tasleet was bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud where his sire Showcasing stands and sold to Shadwell for £52,000 at the 2014 DBS Premier Yearling Sale.

His dam Bird Key is a Cadeaux Genereux half-sister to Group 2 winner and July Cup third Etlaala and to Anna Law, the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Battaash.

Trained by William Haggas, he won the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes and the DBS Premier Yearling Stakes and was second in both the Richmond Stakes and the Somerville Tattersalls Stakes. At three he won the Greenham Stakes and developed into a high-class sprinter as an older horse, earning podium places in the Diamond Jubilee, Sprint Cup and British Champions' Sprint Stakes as well as winning the Group 2 Duke of York Stakes.

Retired to Shadwell's Nunnery Stud at a fee of £6,000 for the 2019 season, Tasleet has 68 registered two-year-olds from his first crop.

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