READERS of this column will be very familiar with the exploits of Exultant (Teofilo), the five-time Group 1 winner in Hong Kong who raced in Ireland as Irishcorrespondent. Well, he traces back to a mare called Refill (Mill Reef), a four-time winner who was placed in the Group 3 Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket in 1983.

Through another branch of the family, Refill is the third dam of Ka Ying Star, a son of Cityscape (Selkirk) who stands at Overbury Stud in England. Apart from a Group 1 winner in Argentina, Ka Ying Star, who won three times in England as Urban Aspect, is the best son of that Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes winner, and he finally got the group victory he deserved when he landed the weekend’s The Lion Rock Trophy at Sha Tin.

Runner-up in the Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup and third in the Group 1 the Steward’s Cup, Ka Ying Star has now amassed earnings of nearly £1.45 million.

He is the best winner from the stakes-placed Casual Glance (Sinndar), a half-sister to four stakes winners, including Group 2 winner Passing Glance (Polar Falcon) and Group 3 winner Hidden Meadow (Selkirk).