Shamardal's outstanding year continues
SHAMARDAL (by Giant's Causeway) has had an outstanding season. His five European Group 1 winners consist of a classic heroine, an outstanding sprinter and three undefeated juvenile stars, namely Castle Lady, Blue Point and the exciting colts Earthlight, Pinatubo and Victor Ludorum.
He has also hit the Group 1 target this year as a broodmare sire thanks to last month's big Haydock win for Hello Youmzain (by Kodiac), his Lope De Vega-sired grandsons Phoenix Of Spain and Zabeel Prince have both struck at the highest level in 2019, and he took his overall career tally of stakes winners to 141 recently.
In addition to the notable success of the last-named of those two-year-olds in France, the Kildangan Stud stallion's good weekend also featured a blacktype double at Ascot.
The Ralph Beckett-trained four-year-old Di Fede notched up a repeat success in the seven-furlong listed race for fillies and mares just over half an hour after Roger Varian's representative Cape Byron justified favouritism in the Group 3 John Guest Racing Bengough Stakes over six, his first blacktype success.
Di Fede is owned and bred by Robert Ng and may be retiring to the paddocks in 2020. The four-year-old has won five of her 22 starts, has a trio of blacktype placings to go with her pair of listed race victories and a pedigree that will make her an exciting broodmare.
Dibayani, her star sibling, won an 11-furlong listed contest at Leopardstown when trained by Michael Halford for the Aga Khan, just over three years before he was short-headed in the Group 1 TAB Epsom Handicap at Randwick.
He was placed multiple times in pattern events from six to eight furlongs 'down under' including when chasing home the great Winx in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes, also over the mile at Randwick.
Dibiya (by Caerleon), their dam, is an Aga Khan homebred who won easily over 12 and 14 furlongs at Galway and came within a neck of listed success over the latter trip at Fairyhouse.
She is out of Dabtiya (by Shirley Heights), who won the Listed Ballyroan Stakes over 10 furlongs at Leopardstown and chased home Market Booster in the Group 3 Meld Stakes at the Curragh, and that mare, who died aged 14, was a granddaughter of Delsy (by Abdos).
This makes Di Fede a member of the famous Group 1-producing family of Darshaan (by Shirley Heights; influential sire), Darara (by Top Ville; dam of five Group 1 winners), Daliapour (by Sadler's Wells), Dar Re Mi (by Singspiel), Rewilding (by Tiger Hill), Too Darn Hot (by Dubawi) and others.
Saturday's sprint winner Cape Byron, on the other hand, is a gelding.
The Darley-bred has won six of his 16 starts, impressed in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot in June and finished a two-length third to Shine So Bright in the Group 2 Sky Bet City of York Stakes over seven furlongs in August.
He is the third pattern winner out of Reem Three (by Mark Of Esteem), a dual winner over York's extended 10 furlongs.
Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet heroine Ajman Princess (by Teofilo) is now six, Cape Byron is five, last year's Group 2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein winner Ostilio (by New Approach) is four and they have been followed by the talented Imperial Charm (by Dubawi).
That Simon Crisford-trained three-year-old has not yet won a stakes race but finished fourth in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) and third in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary earlier this year.
Reem Three's half-brother Afsare (by Dubawi) won the Group 2 Celebration Mile and Group 3 Sovereign Stakes by a combined margin of eight lengths, and they are out of a granddaughter of 1979's Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) heroine Dunette (by Hard To Beat).
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Mount Nelson's Fairy wins again
THIS has been an eye-catching year for Mount Nelson (by Rock Of Gibraltar), the dual Group 1 star who began his stallion career at Newsells Park Stud, shuttled to Argentina, and has now completed three seasons at Boardsmill Stud in Co Meath.
His Argentine son Pure Nelson was a Grade 1 winner over 12 furlongs at San Isidro in May, just over three weeks after Entropia got her Grade 1 win over a quarter-mile less on dirt at Palermo, and prior Group 1 ace Librisa Breeze pushed his earnings past the £700,000 mark when making a belated seasonal reappearance in the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes at Newbury in August.
That Dean Ivory-trained grey was a half-length runner-up to Glorious Journey that day and holds an entry in next week's Group 1 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot, the prize he won two years ago.
Mount Nelson's overall record also includes being the broodmare sire of last year's star juvenile Quorto (by Dubawi) and sire of 2018's Grade 1 Stayers' Hurdle hero Penhill, plus Group 2 success for young Kedrah House Stud stallion Berkshire among others of note.
Yulong Gold Fairy, who won the Group 3 Coolmore Stud Home of Champions Concorde Stakes when trained by Dermot Weld, made her debut for the Jim Bolger team at Tipperary on Sunday and became a dual winner of that seven-and-a-half-furlong contest.
Her prior record also includes listed success at Galway, Group 3 placings at Leopardstown and Naas, and a runaway victory in the valuable Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Race Final as a juvenile.
Lady Fairhaven bred the talented four-year-old, an €8,000 Goffs Sportsman's Sale graduate and second foal out of the triple sprint winner Quite A Thing (by Dutch Art).
The mare is a half-sister to the dual stakes-winning sprinter Dazed And Amazed (by Averti) and mile listed scorer Stunned (by Shamardal), and she is out of Amazed (by Clantime), a full-sister to the high-class sprinter Bishops Court and half-sister to the speedy multiple stakes winner Astonished (by Weldnaas).
A pedigree like this will make Yulong Gold Fairy a fascinating addition to the broodmare ranks.