With 23 individual G1 winners currently to his name, that Dubawi is among the world’s best stallions is a well-established fact. But among the cavalcade of his outstanding performers in recent seasons, it is easy to forget that Dubawi began breaking records with his very first crop.
No stallion has ever sired more G1 winners from their first crop than Dubawi, who notched up an incredible six winners at the highest level. That group included a Classic winner in Makfi, and just a month after the 2,000 Guineas, it also yielded a first Royal Ascot Group winner in Monterosso.
Monterosso is out of the Australian G1 winner Porto Roca and was sent into training with Mark Johnston.
He debuted late at two and few could have predicted from his fifth place finish at Wolverhampton in November 2009 what lay ahead for the bay colt.
Monterosso’s three-year-old reappearance came early when he finished second by a head over seven furlongs at Lingfield and Johnston turned him out again just eight days later when he broke his maiden in emphatic style over a mile at the same venue, winning by three and a quarter lengths.
The future juggernaut was off and rolling and Monterosso quickly added two more victories in handicaps over a mile to his tally at Lingfield and Ripon. His bid for a four-timer came to an end at Newbury in May in the London Gold Cup Handicap over ten furlongs when he was beaten four lengths by Green Moon, who made all carrying 4lbs less than Monterosso. Given that Green Moon was a subsequent winner of the G1 Melbourne Cup there was little shame in defeat, especially as the runner-up drew over three lengths clear of the third-placed Doctor Zhivago.
Monterosso was out again two weeks later, storming to victory by nearly four lengths in a competitive ten-furlong contest at Newmarket.
The stage was set for a step up in class, and Monterosso had shown more than enough in his four victories to persuade connections to pitch him straight into the deep end in the G2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.
