WHEN the yearling filly by Gemologist out of Adoradancer enters the sale ring as Lot 13 at Goffs UK next Tuesday she is, by my reckoning, going to be the first offspring by her WinStar sire to come under the hammer in Europe. She is certainly a most interesting offering.

Her sire was unbeaten at two years when his three-race season culminated with victory in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. He added two more victories at three and, significantly, the best of these was the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes in which he defeated fellow Grade 1 winners Alpha and The Lumber Guy. In winning that $1 million race he extended his unbeaten run to five.

A son of Horse of the Year, champion three-year-old and dual Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow, Gemologist is the best of three stakes winning offspring of the Mr Prospector mare Crystal Shard and she comes from a female line that was developed by and was successful for Ned Evans over many years. Evans bred well in excess of 100 stakes winners at his Spring Hill Farm in Virginia, including top-class American runners Quality Road and Saint Liam, and the 1986 Cheveley Park Stakes winner Minstrella.

Gemologist’s first yearlings last year sold for up to $280,000 and with 79 selling at auction they averaged nearly four times his stud fee, which has remained unchanged since he retired to stud at $15,000. In fact, the only way his fee is likely to go is up as he is making a splash with his first runners. They include Theory who won at Saratoga at the end of July in the colours of China Horse Club, having been purchased at the breeze-up sale in Ocala for $335,000.

Two week earlier his daughter Morganite became his first winner when she was successful at Del Mar and she was a $360,000 two-year-old purchase. She is trained by John Sadler, while Theory is with Todd Pletcher who trained Gemologist himself. A third winner for the sire emerged earlier this month and Spirituality is her name.

Then last Sunday Gemacho, making just his second start, scored a wire-to-wire victory over a mile. He is Gemologist’s fourth winner from his first crop, all coming in maiden special weight contests. Gemologist’s breeze-up horses sold for up to $550,000 this year.

The Tinnakill House consigned yearling has no less impressive credentials on her dam side of the family. Her seven winning siblings include Saint Anddan, a $1,850,000 yearling and Grade 2 winning son of A P Indy, and the Silver Deputy filly Jumeirah Beach who won four times in Japan and is dam of a stakes winner there.

Her dam Adoradancer was stakes-placed, had three stakes-winning siblings and is a granddaughter of Sabin, the Lyphard mare who won 18 of her 25 starts in the USA including the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes and the Gamely Handicap.

To rehash a well-worn phrase, much used by auctioneers, even if this filly never had a saddle on her back she is worth investing in. With Gemologist making such a bright start as a stallion, there is every chance she could also be a smart race filly.