Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

8 August 2019Horse& Hound 75

ITwasa weekofmixedfortunes

forJapan’sbloodstockindustry

andShadaiFarminparticular,

whosuffereda severeblow

withthelossofDeepImpacton

Tuesday, 30 July.Justtwodays

later,theyreceiveda boostwith

thehistoricvictoryofDeirdre

inGoodwood’sQatarNassau

Stakes,becomingthefirst

Japanese-trainedUKGroupOne

winnersinceAgnesWorldwon

theJulyCup 19 yearsago.

Deirdreis a daughterof

Harbinger(pictured),who

shareshissireDansiliwithother

top-levelproducersinRailLink,

StrategicPrinceandZoffany.

A TattersallsOctoberBook

Oneyearling,Harbingerwas

consignedbyKirtlingtonStud

on behalf of his Malaysian-based

breeders,theOoifamily,and

wassoldfor180,000gnsto

JohnWarren.

OnjoiningSirMichaelStoute,

hewasplacedintheAdmiral

RoussyndicateofHighclere

thoroughbredsandwasunraced

attwo.Animpressivewinner

ofhismaidenatChester’sMay

meeting,hewentontowinthe

GroupThreeGordonStakesat

“GloriousGoodwood”ononly his

thirdstart,agedthree.

A RECORDWIN

ITwasnotuntilHarbinger’s

four-year-oldseasonthathe

blossomed,whenunbeatenin

four starts at Group level. His

BLOODSTOCK

A Japanese winner

ByDEBBIEBURT

ExploringthebloodlinesofDeirdre,

who made history for Japan

TALKING

POINTS

JOHNSTONISTOP

OFTHETRAINERS

TRAINERMarkJohnstonis

somethingofa phenomenon

atGoodwood.Hishaulofsix

winnersduringtheweek

tookhimpastSirMichael

Stoute’srecord,andheis now

themostsuccessfultrainerat

“GloriousGoodwood”everwith

84 winners.

Fellownorthern-based

PJMcDonaldwasleading jockey

with four winners.

FOURFROMFOUR

THEpickofthetwo-year-olds

hastobetheCharlieAppleby-

trainedPinatubo.Hecame

toGoodwoodhavingwonthe

Cheshambyfivelengthsandhe

dida similarjobintheVintage

Stakes.Heis nowfourwins

fromfourstartsandis favourite

fornextyear’sGuineas.

MAKINGHISTORY

KHADIJAHMELLAH(pictured)

wontheannualGoodwood

charityrace,theMagnoliaCup,

becomingthefirstwomanto

raceina hijabinBritain.She

partneredtheCharlieFellowes-

trained Haverland to success.

PatDobbstakesa

tenaciouswinaboardBeat

LeBonasthepairland

the Unibet Golden Mile

theUnibetStewards’Cup,with
Khaadem,whowonbya yawning
2¾lengths.That’snotmeantto
happenina sprinthandicap.
“Itwasa terrificrunat
Newburylasttime,butnothing
wentquiterightforhim,”said
Hills.“Ithinkhe’suptoGroup
standard.Hedidthatreally
impressivelytoday,apartfrom
a littlemomentwhenit looked
asif hemightnotgeta runup
therail.
“Withhisracing,he’sjust
gotbetterandbetter.Mentally
hewasn’tonhis‘Agame’earlier
intheseason,buthe’sgrowing
upandwehavetogoforthetop
racesnow.He’sa great-looking
horse,histemperamentis coming
rightandhislasttworaceshave
beenfantastic.Wewillgofor the
Haydock Sprint next.”

Lastyear,trainerRichard

HannonconsideredBeatLeBona

potentialClassichorse.Although

hemaynotbethatnow,hewill

nodoubthavetostepupoutof

handicapsafterjockeyPatDobbs

stucktenaciouslytotherailand

it openedupbeautifullyforhim

tobeatValeOfKenta lengthin

theweek’sbiggesthandicap,the

UnibetGoldenMile.

“Hetriedtogetuptheinside

—he’smad,youcan’tdothat,

buthedidit,”saidHannonof

cool-headedjockeyDobbs.“I

havealwaystoldhisowners,

JaredSullivanandCharlieNoell

[SullivanBloodstock/Merriebelle

IrishFarm],thatI thoughthe

wasa goodhorsebuttheysaid,

‘Don’tgiveusthatflannel!’

However,I amrightandtheyare

wrong for a change.”H&H

careerculminatedinan11-length

demolitionoftheKingGeorgeVI

andQueenElizabethStakesfield

ina recordtime—leavingtwo

Derbywinnersandthree-timeArc

secondYoumzaininhiswake.

Sadly,hiscareerwascutshort

bya fracturedcannonboneand

he retired as the top-rated horse

intheworldon135,andwas

voted 2010 HorseoftheYear.

PurchasedbytheYoshida

familytostandatShadaiFarm,

hemadeanimmediateimpact

andwascrownedJapanese

freshmansireof2014.Though

hisinitialcropscontainedno

three-year-oldsofnote,inthe

autumnof2017,thefilliesDeirdre

andMozuKatchangavehimhis

firstGradeOnewinners,followed

bythecoltPersianKnight.

In2018,BlastOnepieceadded

tothattallyandwastheleading

three-year-oldcoltinJapan.

Anotherfilly,Normcore,broke

thecourserecordatTokyowhen

winningtheVictoriaMileinMay.

Harbingeris thebestprogeny

ofhisdamPenangPearl,whose

grandamSauceboatwassecond

intheNassauStakes.Deirdre’s

connectionswithGoodwood

arenotjustconfinedtohersire

line,asherdam,Reizend,is a

granddaughterofmultipleGroup

OnewinnerSonicLady,a winner

of the Sussex Stakes.H&H