Four foals, four stakes winners - a joyful start for Thunder Snow dam

In an industry rife with chat, it’s doubtful any stallion garnered as much discussion during the early weeks of this season than Helmet. At that point, plenty of eyes - rightly or wrongly - are watching the first results of freshman sires come in, and while it’s usually too early to judge the merits of a stallion, a good initial showing often results in an upsurge of nomination sales for the season.

At this year’s Craven meeting at Newmarket back in April, usually a melting pot of opinions, Darley’s Helmet was a particularly popular topic. In what turned out to be a brilliant bit of advertising, Mark Johnston had sent out two well-connected fillies by the sire, Boater and Chupalla, to score impressively against over-matched rivals during the same afternoon at Kempton in late March, before the turf season had even begun. Then, during Craven week, that good start was consolidated when Orewa won his debut at Beverley.

EASTERN JOY
2006 m Dubai Destination - Red Slippers (Nureyev)