RUNNER-UP in a pair of listed races at Longchamp and Toulouse, Penne comes from a solid, if undistinguished, female line. Under her own first three dams there are a total of just three blacktype winners, two of them listed scorers on the flat in France (one at the little-known Agen), and the third is a Grade 2 winner over fences at Cheltenham. Now, Penne has lifted the family to an unprecedented level, with six winners from eight runners. In addition to her two Group 1 winners, the others include the stakes-placed Dogma (Mount Nelson).

The latest Group 1 winner out of Penne is Mqse De Sevigne, and her win in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild gave her sire, the Aga Khan Studs’ Siyouni (Pivotal), his tenth winner at the highest level. It also came in a memorable week for the stallion, as his son Paddington landed his fourth Group 1 victory in succession, running away with the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

How apt it was that Mqse De Sevigne should win the Prix Rothschild, as the four-year-old filly, previously successful in the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux and supplemented for the big race at Deauville, is owned and was bred by Baron Édouard de Rothschild.

He and his family also raced Mqse De Sevigne’s half-brother, Meandre (Slickly), and he was a four-time Group 1 winner before ending his racing days in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

That was quite a comedown for a horse who, when owned by the Rothschild family, beat Seville to win the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris, before adding the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the Grosser Preis von Berlin. After leaving their ownership, he won the Preis von Europa, though it took some time for this to be approved.

Well-deserved

Originally first past the post, Meandre was disqualified and placed third after deeming to have caused interference to Earl Of Tinsdal.

Also demoted was the original second-placed Empoli, who was put down to fourth. On appeal, the stewards decided that Empoli was the major culprit and allowed his disqualification to stand, with Meandre being reinstated and earning a well-deserved victory.

This is proving to be a stellar year for Siyouni, and Mqse De Sevigne joins Paddington and fellow classic winner Tahiyra at the top of his list of winners in 2023. A feature of the majority of Siyouni’s Group 1 winners to date is that they win at this level more than once, and his tally of victories at the highest level now stands at 28.

Little wonder that he is one of Europe’s most sought-after sires, and that Coolmore will in the future be standing his best three sons at stud.

Memorable victory for Hukum at Ascot

THE Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes has produced some stirring finishes over the years, and last Saturday’s edition was among them.

Hukum (Sea The Stars) added the weekend centrepiece to his success in the Group 1 Coronation Cup, and took his tally of victories to 11, one more than the number chalked up by his full-brother Baaeed (Sea The Stars). The latter won six times at the highest level, and between the two colts they have amassed earnings that are not far off €5 million. It is worth noting that a dozen of the 19 Group 1 winners by Sea The Stars have won €1 million or more.

Now a six-year-old, this could well be the final racing season for Hukum, especially if connections are planning a stud career for the bay. This year Shadwell, who own and bred both Hukum and Baaeed, welcomed a full-brother to the pair. All are sons of the listed Longchamp winner Aghareed, a daughter of Kingmambo (Mr Prospector).

Aghareed

In addition to pair of Group 1 successes, Hukum has won the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold Stakes, four Group 3 races including the Geoffrey Freer Stakes twice, and a listed race. He and Baaeed, who has just completed his first season at Nunnery Stud, are two of the three winners from the 14-year-old Aghareed. She came agonisingly close to bringing her tally to four recently, when her three-year-old son Naqeeb (Nathaniel) was placed for the third time in three outings, going down by a nose. She also has a two-year-old son of Night Of Thunder (Shamardal) named Waleefy.

Just over four decades ago it was reported that Height Of Fashion (Bustino), owned and bred by the late Queen Elizabeth, was sold for £1.5 million to Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum who died two years ago. Height Of Fashion was undefeated at two, her three wins including what is now the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile, but was then a Group 3 contest.

She was rated the joint best of her sex and age in Europe with Circus Ring and, the following year, she won her first two starts in the royal colours, including the Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket.

Bad luck

Height Of Fashion never won again, suffering bad luck in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot when she banged her head exiting the stalls. Afterwards she finished last in the Yorkshire Oaks. While her sale was considered something of a surprise at the time, Sheikh Hamdan must have initially felt that he had squandered his money. However, Height Of Fashion’s career at stud proved that he had made a solid investment.

Height of Fashion went on to enjoy huge success as a producer, her eight winners all earning some blacktype, and six of them becoming stakes winners. Her influence for Shadwell has been enormous, and the recent achievements of Baaeed and Hukum have ensured that Sheikha Hissa is reaping the benefits of her beloved father’s legacy.

Hukum and Baaeed are recent examples of the success being enjoyed by Sea The Stars with daughters of Kingmambo (Mr Prospector). Two other Group 1 winners bred on that cross are young sires Zelzal and Cloth Of Stars, while two others among Sea The Stars’ best winners, Harzand and Vazira, are out of mares by sires from the Mr Prospector (Raise A Native) line.

Success

What did Height Of Fashion’s success look like at stud? She was responsible for Nayef (Gulch), a four-time Group 1 winner, a Group 1 sire and a successful broodmare sire. She also produced another four-time Group 1 winner and successful sire in Nashwan (Blushing Groom). He won the Derby, 2000 Guineas and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Height Of Fashion’s granddaughters included the Group 1 1000 Guineas and Group 1 Coronation stakes winner Ghanaati (Giant’s Causeway), and she is the third dam of Lahudood (Singspiel), now the grandam of Hukum. Lahudood was useful when she raced in France, winning the Listed Prix de Liancourt (as her daughter Aghareed did six year later), but she blossomed in the USA where she added the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont and capped her career with victory in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Lahudood has five winning offspring, the best of which is Aghareed, but she did not follow in her dam’s hoof prints to the USA, instead heading straight to stud.