A STALLION on a roll is Manton Park’s Advertise (Showcasing), and York is proving to be a fertile ground for his offspring.
The triple Group 1 winner got off the mark as a stakes sire when his first crop daughter Secret Satire won the Group 3 Tattersalls Musidora Stakes there in May, and that homebred by Guy Brook is trained by Andrew Balding and was ridden by Oisin Murphy. That first crop also includes Al Shabab Storm, another Balding inmate, and this homebred for Ahmad Al Shaikh won a listed race at Chester last month, before adding the Group 3 Goldene Peitsche at Baden-Baden to his four-win tally at the weekend.
Now the star of Advertise’s second crop has emerged, and Cool Hoof Luke’s victory in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York puts him firmly among the best juveniles of the year, and he becomes his sire’s third stakes winner. Incredibly, he is also trained by Andrew Balding. Bred by Tony Nerses, Cool Hoof Luke was bought as a foal for just 16,000gns by Vinesgrove Stud, Paul and Billy McEnery’s Co Kilkenny nursery, but they saw no profit when reselling him last year at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale for €20,000 to his current trainer.
Cool Hoof Luke went straight to Royal Ascot after landing a debut success in a six-furlong maiden at Chelmsford, and was just three-parts of a length behind the winner, Rashabar, when fourth in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes. The winner was the same distance behind Whistlejacket on his only run since in the Group 1 Prix Morny, finishing second. Cool Hoof Luke raced freely on his next start, over seven furlongs, finishing third in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.
Back to his favoured six furlongs, Cool Hoof Luke looked comfortable when winning at York, and what a race the Gimcrack Stakes has historically been for producing high-class winners and sires. Since the turn of the century, some of its better winners have been Rock Of Gibraltar, Showcasing, Muhaarar, Blue Point, Sands Of Mali and Minzaal, and let us not forget that Andrew Balding’s father Ian won it in 1970 with Mill Reef.
Moyfinn Stud
The Gimcrack win for Cool Hoof Luke could not have been better timed for Paul Giles’ Moyfinn Stud. He purchased the dam of the colt, the once-raced Dutch Monument (Dutch Art), for only 15,000gns in foal to Tasleet (Showcasing). Bred on similar lines therefore to the Group 2 winner, on Wednesday he sold the resulting colt for £350,000 to Amanda Skiffington. Also helping him was the fact that Tasleet’s best runner, Bradsell, won the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.
Dutch Monument was acquired as a yearling by Cheveley Park Stud, and after she showed little on her only start, she was quickly resold at the age of two to Nerses, and he paid 2,000gns for her. The mare’s first foal, Jaunty Dancer (Decorated Knight), showed promise on her debut when fourth, but in nine subsequent runs she has shown little and was sold for just £1,000 online a week before the Gimcrack.
While she herself showed little ability on the track, Dutch Monument’s four winning siblings all earned blacktype, three of them stakes winners. Her full-brother Lohit (Dutch Art) won nine times, headed by his victory in the Group 3 Premio Omenoni at Milan. He won just over £100,000, as did his half-sister Lokaloka (Pursuit Of Love), though she could claim to be a classic winner, successful in the 2007 Group 3 Premio Regina Elena-Italian 1000 Guineas. The third stakes-winning sibling was the Italian listed winner Lasika (Pursuit Of Love).
Kudos to Advertise as his second pattern winner last week, Al Shabab Storm, is from a solid but unspectacular female line. The three-year-old gelding’s form in England has seen him win three times, and he followed up his win in the seven-furlong Listed City Plate at Chester with a runner-up finish there in the Listed Queensferry Stakes over six furlongs. His German Group 3 success was over six also.
Princess Salamah
Al Shaqab Storm is the first foal out of Princess Salamah (Australia), and the mare’s second is the juvenile Spirit Of Summer (Mohaather), and he was runner-up on his debut at the start of the month, but disappointed at York in the Convivial Stakes. Princess Salamah won at two for Ahmad Al Shaikh and placed on her debut, her only starts. She was bred by her owner from the stakes-placed Dubai Media (Songandaprayer), purchased by him through Blandford Bloodstock for $250,000 as a yearling in 2008. She is the dam of three winners to date.
Dubai Media was one of 10 winners from the stakes-placed Forty Gran (El Gran Senor), and she sold for $500,000 in 2008 after the emergence of her son Square Eddie (Smart Strike). He started his career with John Best in England, and was sent to the USA to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland (Pioneerof The Nile was third), and on his first start for Doug O’Neill he was second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. He eventually won a third race at the age of five.
Advertise stood his first three seasons at the National Stud in Newmarket at a fee of £25,000, and this fell by £5,000 for his first season at Manton Park. This year they halved it to £10,000.