Dubawi and Exceed And Excel were both represented by new Group winners on Saturday, while Abjer paid a posthumous tribute to Singspiel and Sajjhaa and Royal Revival gave King's Best a brace of black-type victories.
France was the scene of a famous victory for a King’s Best colt last weekend when the Derby winner Workforce became only the sixth horse in history to go on from Epsom to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. This weekend, at another Parisian track, it was the turn of King’s Best’s son Royal Revival to shine. The three-year-old colt won the Listed Prix le Fabuleux at Maisons-Laffitte and led home a Darley-sired trifecta, with Rysckly, by Slickly, in second and Atlantis Star, by Cape Cross, third. The winner was bred by Newsells Park Stud from Holy Nola (Silver Deputy), whose yearling colt sold for 280,000gns at Tattersalls last week.
A few hours later in Milan, King’s Best’s Darley-bred daughter Sajjhaa won the G3 Premio Sergio Cumani for British trainer Michael Jarvis. She is out of the Darshaan mare Anaamil, who was also trained by Jarvis and is a daughter of the Oaks runner-up Noushkey. Sajjhaa was scoring for the third time having won on debut at Sandown in May before going on to land the Listed Dick Hern Fillies’ Stakes at Bath in August.
Dubawi’s two-year-old daughter Split Trois became her sire’s 15th individual Group winner from only two crops of racing age when gaining her first black-type win in the 1200m G3 Prix Eclipse. Out of the Zafonic mare Auenpearl, she was bred by Nicholas Hughes and races in France for Christian de Villeneuve. Split Trois won on debut at Chantilly in June and was runner-up in the Listed Prix Francois Boutin at Deauville in August.
Dubawi was also represented in Italy by his dual Classic-winning son Worthadd, who finished third in the G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua at San Siro.
At Ascot, Exceed And Excel juvenile Electric Waves continued an excellent season for her owner John Fretwell by winning the G3 Cornwallis Stakes over five furlongs. She is one of six Racing Post Yearling Bonus Scheme winners for Fretwell and also won the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury in August. Electric Waves was bred by Michelle Lyons and is out of Radiant Energy, by Spectrum.
Another of Exceed And Excel’s Group-winning daughters this year, Tech Exceed, lined up for the G3 Premio Verziere in Milan, in which she finished runner-up.
Later on the Ascot card, Abjer reminded us just what a loss his sire Singspiel is to the breeding world when winning the G3 Autumn Stakes. The two-year-old colt was bred by Malcolm Parrish from the Lando mare Fine And Mellow.
Darley America’s bright young star Bernardini sired his first Group One winner when Godolphin’s unbeaten colt Biondetti won the Gran Criterium at San Siro with Shamardal two-year-old Billy Budd behind him in third.
