Dewhurst Stakes pedigree preview including City Of Troy, Iberian and Alyanaabi
Alyanaabi (Too Darn Hot x Alyamaama by Kitten’s Joy)
Being a daughter of Mr. Prospector and Height Of Fashion, Alyamaama’s dam Sarayir essentially had the summit of Mount Everest to conquer if she was going to live up to her illustrious parent’s achievements. Sarayir must have channelled her inner Sir Edmund Hilary. In addition to her own Listed Oh So Sharp Stakes success on the track, she has left a remarkable legacy. Alyanaabi is the latest pattern winner to add his name to the Height Of Fashion dynasty via Sarayir and his dam Alyamaama who became her seventh daughter to produce a Stakes winner.
Too Darn Hot became the first freshman sire to produce a Group One winner when Fallen Angel won the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh. Given the alarming rate in which his progeny have gathered momentum in the latter part of the season, another in the very same race he dominated back in 2018 would hardly come as a shock.
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Array (No Nay Never x Joyeuse by Oasis Dream)
If ever there was a pedigree destined for juvenile stardom it goes by the name of Array. No Nay Never is achieving unprecedented success with his two year olds. Enjoying a rich vein of form at present, supplemented Array is one of 9 stakes winning two year olds for his sire in 2023 alone. Of No Nay Never’s 57 lifetime stakes winners, 35 won stakes as juveniles. Array isn’t going to boost that remarkable 61% strike rate with his juveniles having already won the G2 Mill Reef Stakes, but he would be a welcome first G1 winner of 2023 for his sire. The nature of the pattern means a sire who dominates with his juveniles is going to appear to have less G1 winners but do not be lured into underestimating this colt.
Everything about his pedigree suggests Array is destined to reach the zenith of his career today. This is a No Nay Never colt, out of a daughter of Oasis Dream and not just any daughter of the promising broodmare sire. Joyeuse was a talented sprinter in her own right, winning a pair of Listed races over 6f. She took after her sire and dam rather than her peerless half-brother Frankel, and given Array is her first stakes winner from visits to Shamardal, Galileo and Dubawi, the evidence suggests she is doing the same in her second career. Is Array’s zenith enough to topple City Of Troy? The jury is out.
City Of Troy (Justify x Together Forever by Galileo)
There are no guarantees in life but sending the G1 Fillies Mile winner Together Forever to US Triple Crown winner Justify was a calculated risk that was more likely than many to pay off. A €680,000 yearling, Together Forever more than fulfilled her potential when winning the fillies equivalent of her colt’s assignment this weekend. Her first three foals earned black type and with her fourth Bertinelli officially rated 109 after just five starts, black type looks a mere formality.
City Of Troy is her brightest star to date and if he brings his A game his rivals have it all to do. The Justify over Galileo mares cross is one we are likely to become very familiar with in the seasons to come. If there is anything to be learned from the thoroughbred history books (a rhetorical statement, of course there is), it is that European and American bloodlines have much to gain from each other. One such example is Dubawi whose sire Dubai Millenium would never have come to be had his French trained dam Colorado Dancer (Shareef Dancer) never crossed the Atlantic to visit Seeking The Gold at Claiborne Farm, a son of breed shaper Mr Prospector.
The decision to send such a valuable mare as Together Forever to the unproven Champion Justify already looks an inspired one. There is nothing to suggest that will change at Newmarket on Saturday.
Iberian (Lope de Vega x Bella Estrella by High Chaparral)
Lope de Vega is the name on everybody’s lips on the sales circuit. Given his success around the globe and the international flair we have grown accustomed to (and grateful for) at our domestic sales, is it any wonder? If there’s one box Lope de Vega might like to tick again it would be a Group One winner on ‘home’ soil. Lope de Vega’s last Group 1 winner in Great Britain was Belardo in 2016 whilst across the Irish Sea it was Lucky Vega in the 2020 Phoenix Stakes. From Australia to Santa Anita, Lope de Vega’s globe trotting offspring quash any fears he has lost his lustre but were Iberian to bring up a hat trick of G1 winners for 2023 (so far), it would be a welcome home win.
A worthy second favourite, Iberian is the second foal of three by Lope de Vega out of Bella Estrella. The first is unraced and the third brought a spectacular 1.1 million guineas from Nurlan Bizakov’s Sumbe to secure him at Tattersalls Book One last week. Lope de Vega’s progeny are widely recognised as better equipped than most to handle softer conditions underfoot. Iberian did exactly that in the Champagne Stakes and the late change in going will not hinder his chances.
Indian Run (Sioux Nation x Just Wondering by Danehill Dancer)
Though Indian Run boasts some pretty impressive ancestry, his immediate pedigree is undeniably weaker than his key rivals. Credit to his dam, she has produced winners and is by a good damsire in Danehill Dancer but until Indian Run came along, it had been a while between ‘black type’ drinks.
Indian Run is exemplary of many of the more romantic aspects to our complex sport. Owned by a syndicate spearheaded by ambitious owner breeder Steve Parkin, each of his victories are celebrated by numerous part owners. Indeed, his success before he even reached the track deserved much merriment too as Rea O’Connor turned his €6,000 investment in the Sioux Nation colt to 75,000gns the following September as a yearling. We can only hope the Acomb winner’s breeder Ciaran McGrath will ultimately enjoy his piece of the pie either through Just Wondering’s progeny to come or hopefully retaining a daughter.
Unfortunate to have his first two year olds arrive on the scene at the same time as Havana Grey, Indian Run is a fine example of Sioux Nation’s talent. A breakthrough Group One is imminent given the sheer quantity of his group performers to date; however, I suspect it might not be today. It seems harsh to knock a colt who has done very little wrong but his form lacks some zest in comparison to some of his rivals.
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Eben Shaddad (Calyx x Galileo’s Lady by Galileo)
Being the first foal of an unraced mare and an unproven sire, breeder Charles Fipke really rolled the dice when selecting first crop sire Calyx for his daughter of Galileo. A daughter of the late great Champion Galileo and out of Grade Two winner Lady Shakespeare, Galileo’s Lady undoubtedly deserved an opportunity at stud. Based on what has happened since her first visit to the breeding shed, she has proven well worth it.
Given Eben Shaddad’s February birthday, we can safely assume his dam’s illustrious and decorated half-sister Lady Speightspeare was unraced at the time of his conception. What followed was a significant upgrade to Galileo’s Lady’s pedigree while Eben Shaddad was in utero.
Lady Speightspeare subsequently worked up an unbeaten sequence of four which included Woodbine’s Grade 1 Natalma Stakes in 2020. Calyx enjoyed his nineteenth individual winner from his first crop this week and is giving strong indications he is passing on his sire and grandsire’s speed and class. On form, Eben Shaddad has improvement to find but on pedigree there is a lot to like. He comes from a family littered with Grade 1 winners and very much progressive in nature. He will need to progress to trouble the market leaders here, but with course form and only making his third start, he might be the each way play.
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