A SON of Artie Schiller (El Prado), Flying Artie is not a name that will be familiar to many in this part of the world, though he was a champion in Australia, and he has now sired a Group 1 winner, Asfoora, at the greatest race meeting in the world, Royal Ascot.

All three of Flying Artie’s victories were gained in pattern races. At three he was rated the best colt in Australia, and that season he captured the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Ascot Vale Stakes at Flemington. The highlights of his juvenile season were to finish runner-up in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes, third in the Group 1 Golden Slipper, and he also won the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude for colts and geldings.

At stud, Flying Artie is now responsible for two Group 1 winners. The other is Artorius, winner of both the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at two and the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes, He twice ran at Royal Ascot, finishing third and fourth in the Group 1 Platinum Jubilee Stakes in 2022 and 2023.

Artorius, who will stand at A$20,000 for the upcoming season, replaces Flying Artie at Newgate Farm. Flying Artie will stand for A$16,500 this season at Blue Gum Farm. The first foals by Artorius are due.

Impressive run

Run for the first time as the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes, the former King’s Stand Stakes produced an excellent winner in the shape of Asfoora, and the mare was enhancing an already impressive run of success in this sprint for challengers from down under. She is the sixth winner trained in Australia since Choisir set the ball rolling in 2003, and 21 years later she adds her name to a roll of honour that also includes Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007), Scenic Blast (2009) and the world’s leading sprinter in 2022, Nature Strip.

The enormity of this achievement by the Aussies can be measured against the record of the other overseas challengers who have been successful in the contest.

Ireland’s tally stands at eight, starting with Sound Track in 1950 and ending with Sole Power’s back-to-back wins in 2013 and 2014. French-trained winners number seven, and their span ranges from Palariva in 1956 to Chineur in 2005. Hong Kong, Spain and the USA have all supplied a single winner.

Trained by the affable Henry Dwyer, Asfoora is a five-year-old who was winning her first Group 1 with her success in the King Charles III Stakes. She is the only runner from Australia this week at Royal Ascot, and well done to Nick Smith and his team for encouraging connections to travel.

Fourth on her British debut in the Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock last month, Asfoora is a dual Group 2 winner in her home country, and there she has been placed on a couple of occasions in Group 1 races.

Lebanese

What an international win this was for the mare. Asfoora, which means female bird in Lebanese, races for Akram El-Fahkri, a Melbourne taxi firm boss, and he and his brother Daniel own Noor Elaine Farm. This win, the ninth for the mare, could see her eventually travel to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup after she gained a guaranteed fees-paid berth there in November.

Asfoora is the sole winner to date for her dam Golden Child, a daughter of the great I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit). Placed once at the age of four, Golden Child is one of eight foals and runners for Predestined (King’s Best), and one of just two who did not win. None of the six winners were even placed in a blacktype race, a contrast with the siblings of the four-time winner Predestined.

That daughter of the stakes-placed Hard Rider (Maroof) was one of a dozen winning offspring from the mare, and this was some achievement. The dozen included Group 3 winner Big Chill (Artie Schiller), and listed winners Hard Stride (Street Sense) and Utah Saints (God’s Own), while Leather’n’lace (Street Cry) was group-placed, and Rough Justice (Wanted) was stakes-placed. The dozen winners were from 14 foals, all but one of which raced.

Stud career guaranteed for Charyn

A 250,000gns purchase as a yearling, the Nurlan Bizakov-owned, Roger Varian-trained Charyn stamped his claim for an attempt at a first Group 1 success after he landed the Group 2 Sandown Mile in good style in April.

He opened his season with a ready success in the Listed Doncaster Mile in March, but Audience proved too good for him in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury. He turned that result on its head when he was a convincing winner of the opening Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.

These are the four-year-old colt’s first victories since his juvenile year, which he opened and closed with wins, on the second occasion taking the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte.

While he was winless last year at three, he followed up his fourth-place finish behind Paddington in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas with a placed effort to the same horse, and the Group 1 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean, at Royal Ascot in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, and later he was again third behind Paddington, this time with Facteur Cheval separating them, in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. A place at stud is now guaranteed for Charyn.

Bought for 100,000gns by Grangemore Stud, the stakes-placed Futoon has had three offspring by Dark Angel (Acclamation) sold at auction. Her first, a colt named Wings Of War, realised £140,000 and went on to win the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at two.

Charyn sold for nearly twice that amount and is now a Group 1 winner, while last year their yearling full-sister made a whopping 850,000gns. She was purchased by Sumbe and is named Shinara. What price for their yearling own-sister if she is offered for sale this autumn?

Bargain buy

A daughter of Kodiac (Danehill), Futoon once traded for just 3,000gns. Even at 100,000gns she has proven to be something of a bargain for Guy O’Callaghan at Grangemore Stud, and, keeping it in the family, she has mated well with Dark Angel who stands for Guy’s father and brother, Gay and David O’Callaghan, at Yeomanstown Stud. Brendan Holland’s Grove Stud sold Futoon when her racing days were over.

Futoon is the best of four winners out of Vermillion (Mujadil), a dual winner at two and a full-sister to Galeota (Mujadil). He rounded out his juvenile season with a win in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury, and though he ended up winning eight times in all, this was his biggest success. That said, his career-best performance came at three when he was runner-up, beaten just a head, in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes. That was in 2005 when the Royal Ascot meeting was staged at York.

While there is no shortage of stakes and pattern winners in the female line, Charyn is the outstanding runner in four generations. He is the 17th Group/Grade 1 winner for Dark Angel who stood this year for €60,000.

The 19-year-old is having a great year, his son Mad Cool also winning a Group 1 in Japan in March. Eight stakes winner already this year have taken his career total of individual stakes winners to 102.