Sunday best! Silence line in royal double

Concerted efforts have been made over the past ten years or so to introduce Sunday Silence blood into Europe and North America. Some ventures have been more successful than others but those who championed the cause had reason to feel somewhat vindicated last week at Royal Ascot when two of the juvenile events fell to members of that line, once purely the domain of Japanese breeders.

September had looked special when winning her debut at Leopardstown and duly followed up with another impressive performance, this time over colts in Saturday’s Chesham Stakes. In the process, she became a first Royal Ascot winner for Deep Impact, himself the Japanese phenomenon of the current era.

Deep Impact, a champion racehorse who made an immediate impact at stud, has long held the attention of various elite international breeders, many of whom were probably at Longchamp the day he ran a close third behind Rail Link in the Arc. Dabirsim, sire of Friday’s Albany Stakes winner Different League, is a little different. He was a champion French two-year-old for Christophe Ferland and has been well supported at stud but at a fee of €9,000, making him an affordable option for anyone in Europe looking to utilise a member of the Sunday Silence clan. After standing his first two seasons at Gestut Karlshof in Germany, he switched to Haras de Grandcamp in Normandy, where he reportedly covered 180 mares this season.