THE bloodstock industry got quite a shock when Dubai Millennium (by Seeking The Gold) died during his first season at stud, and a widely-expressed hope at that time was that there would be at least one son in his sole crop who would carry on his name.

Dubawi was the best of those 56 foals, a juvenile star, classic and multiple Group 1-winning miler who has become one of the most important stallions in the world.

The Dalham Hall Stud flag bearer is now 13 years old, had 90 stakes winners to his name by Monday night, and the result of last week’s Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) represented another milestone for him.

His son New Bay produced an astonishing effort in the final furlong to go from being well behind to taking a clear second place, staying on strongly and looking like a major contender for all the best mile to 10-furlong contests still to come in 2015.

The winner made all to score impressively by three lengths and, in doing so, the Andre Fabre-trained Make Believe has advertised Dubawi’s potential to extend his influence by becoming a sire of sires.

One son with two Group 1 stars from his global first crop does not make a horse a sire of sires - it is much too early to apply that label to Dubawi - but it suggests the potential for such achievement, and will likely draw even more attention to all of the other young Dubawi stallions who are at various stages of their career.

Those horses include Universal (Yorton Farm; foals), Waldpark (Haras du Thenney; new 2015), Worthadd (Irish National Stud; foals), Poet’s Voice (Dalham Hall Stud), whom many regard as a leading candidate for first season sire honours in 2015, and Al Kazeem who has a small crop of foals and is back in winning action on the track.

The first of the Dubawi stallions to achieve prominence is Makfi. He stood his first four seasons at Tweenhills Farm & Stud and he is currently in his first one at the Aga Khan’s Haras de Bonneval.

His only outing as a juvenile was a winning one at Fontainebleau, and so one would not have expected him to have an especially exciting year as a first season sire.

Even so, he got a string of winners, including the blacktype scorer Cornwallville and the pattern placed Astrelle, and this made for a promising start.

The southern hemisphere half of his global first crop got 2015 off to a good start when Marky Mark won a Group 3 contest at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day, and that gelded juvenile added the Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes over seven furlong at Awapuni almost three months later.

Just days after that Make Believe, who won both his starts late last season, was pipped by Ride Like The Wind in the Group 3 Prix Djebel on very soft ground at Maisons-Laffitte. Sunday’s classic was on the best ground he has encountered so far.

FOALS SECTION

Make Believe was bred by Aston Mullins Stud and he is a 180,000gns graduate of the foals section of the Tattersalls December Sales in Newmarket.

His dam Rosie’s Posy (by Suave Dancer) won over six furlongs as a juvenile and at the time that her son went through the ring memories of her daughter’s exploits in the USA were still fresh in the mind.

Dubawi Heights (by Dubawi), who could be described as being a three-parts sister to Make Believe, was third in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes and runner-up in a pair of sales races as a juvenile, was a winner in California at three, and went on to take the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes, the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes and the Grade 3 Wilshire Handicap at four. She was also runner-up in the Grade 1 Beverley D Stakes. Their Oasis Dream (by Green Desert) half-brother made 400,000gns from Book 1 of last year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Rosie’s Posy is one of seven winners among nine foals out of My Branch (by Distant Relative), the Listed Firth of Clyde Stakes and Listed Sceptre Stakes winner who was runner-up in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and third behind Matiya in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas.

Three of the seven have earned blacktype, including the pattern-placed stakes winner Bay Tree (by Daylami), and the best of them is the Group 1 Sprint Cup heroine Tante Rose (by Barathea).

She also won the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes, the Group 3 Summer Stakes and the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes, she was third in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes, and her progeny include the pattern-placed juvenile scorer Rose Diamond (by Daylami).

My Branch was among the best representatives of her sire, she is among eight winners for Pay The Bank (by High Top) and although her unraced full-sister Banco Solo became the dam of the stakes and prolific Italian scorer Golden Danetime (by Danetime), two other siblings made their name under National Hunt rules.

High Prospect (by Lycius) won the Grade A Powers Gold Label Handicap Hurdle Series Final at Fairyhouse in 2003, five years before Celestial Halo (by Galileo), who was third in the Group 3 Chester Vase, won the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.

That Paul Nicholls-trained bay also has a string of Grade 2 wins to his name and he was only beaten a neck when runner-up to Punjabi in the 2009 Grade 1 Champion Hurdle.

Make Believe is now a classic winner, which all but guarantees he will get a top berth at stud when his racing days come to an end. He looked every inch a top-class miler last Sunday, and given that his sister’s second Grade 1 success came over 10 furlongs there is every reason to hope that he might stay that distance too.