IT was an afternoon to remember for the team at Derrinstown Stud on Saturday when two sons of their classic-winning son of Cape Cross (Green Desert), Awtaad, each enjoyed a Group 2 success at ParisLongchamp.

With such a plethora of top-class racing all last weekend, it would be easy to overlook the achievement. One of the wins, that of Anmaat in the Group 2 Prix Dollar, was well timed, and it was to the ultimate benefit of the gelding’s breeders, Derek and Gay Veitch from Ringfort Stud. Days after the race they sold a Kodiac (Danehill) yearling half-sister to Anmaat for 300,000gns to Manor House Farm at Newmarket.

Never out of the first three in 10 starts, Anmaat was runner-up on his only start at two to the subsequent Group 1 winner Rebel’s Romance.

Anmaat is now a six-time winner, including a Group 3 at Haydock, and no doubt Shadwell will try to win a Group 1 with him, which would also benefit his sire. Angus Gold paid 140,000gns for Anmaat as a foal, and with £300,000 in the bank the four-year-old has been a sound investment.

No hindrance

Incredibly, the dam of Anmaat, the Halling (Diesis) mare African Moonlight, only beat one other runner in two outings as a two-year-old. That lack of ability has been no hindrance as a broodmare, and she has produced seven winners with her first seven runners. Recently, her eighth offspring, the two-year-old Spain Moonlight (Invincible Spirit), made an eye-catching debut at Chantilly to finish third. She is a winner in waiting.

Those seven winners include Syntax (Haatef), a €12,000 yearling purchase by Johnny Murtagh. He was sold to the USA after finishing runner-up on his second start to Jack Naylor. Syntax won at Grade 3 level stateside and was placed in a couple of Grade 2 races.

African Moonlight is well on her way now to eventually equalling the record of her own dam, the stakes-placed African Peace (Roberto). The latter mare had 11 foals, all of which raced and nine won. She is the dam of two stakes winners, notably African Moonlight’s full-brother Mkuzi (Halling), successful in the Group 3 Curragh Cup twice.

Anmaat is the best of the five stakes winners in the first crop sired by Awtaad, while Al Qareem is the best of four stakes winners among the three-year-olds in the stallion’s second crop.

Got away

Al Qareem is one that got away.

Bred by Shadwell Estate, he was sold last year as part of the rationalisation programme following the death of Sheikh Hamdan.

Karl Burke gave 27,000gns for him, then unraced, on behalf of Nick Bradley Racing, and the bay has now won four times, including the weekend’s Group 2 Prix Chaudenay, and his four places include being beaten a head by Deauville Legend in the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket. That winner is a Melbourne Cup hopeful.

Not only was Al Qareem culled, but in December 2020 his dam Moqla, an unraced daughter of Teofilo (Galileo), was sold for 5,000gns in foal to Muhaarar (Oasis Dream).

Since then both her first two foals are winners, and her third, a yearling colt, sold last month for €52,000 at Tattersalls Ireland, a major pinhooking success as he was just a €3,000 foal buy.

Awtaad stood for €5,000 this year, is a really handsome individual, and his yearling average (€41,720) and median (€32,000) this year for 23 yearlings sold shows that agents and trainers appreciate his stock. Recent purchasers of his yearlings include Andrew Balding, Richard Hughes, Ross Doyle, SackvilleDonald, Alex Elliott, de Burgh Equine and Robson Aguiar.