A NUMBER of two-year-olds have been catching the eye of this columnist in the past week or so, and here is a quick look at eight of them who may well be worth noting for the future. They include lively Royal Ascot fancies, bargain buys, and the group are sired by a variety of stallions. The list represents winners in France, Ireland, and Britain.

KERAN (colt by Blue Point (Shamardal))

With his sire making such an explosive start with his first runners, it was pleasing to see the Aga Khan-bred Keran run out a comfortable winner at Tarbes over five and a half furlongs. Just as happy will have been Joseph Burke who bought the winner’s Oasis Dream (Green Desert) dam Kerasona at Arqana in December for €30,000 in a private transaction. She was sold in foal to Wooded (Wootton Bassett). Keran is now the fourth winner out of Kerasona, and that five-time winner won the Listed Prix Hampton at Maisons-Laffitte. Kerasona’s siblings include the Group 3 winning two-year-old Keratiya (Iron Mask), while their half-sister Kerila (Makfi) is dam of Darkness (Siyouni), a listed winner at two.

BILLY WEBSTER (gelding by Profitable (Invincible Spirit))

Within weeks of his purchase as a yearling at the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale for 30,000gns it was notified that Billy Webster had been gelded. The bay made a winning debut at Pontefract, but it was the manner of his victory that caught the eye and suggested that much more is to come. Bred at Herbertstown House Stud, he is the first winner from his dam Some Site (Nayef), also bred at the farm, and she carried the colours of Dr Marcella Burns to victory. This is a female line very much in the news, as it contains last year’s Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Chaldean (Frankel) on the page. Further success for Billy Webster will boost the sale prospects of his yearling half-brother by Kodi Bear (Kodiac).

RELIEF RALLY (filly by Kodiac (Danehill))

This comfortable debut winner, bred by Canice Farrell, was another graduate of the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale, and her price tag of 58,000gns looks like a bargain. She was bought by Highflyer Bloodstock and races for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, more readily associated with big race National Hunt winners. Relief Rally is the fifth winner for the unraced Fayruz (Song) mare Kathoe, and she is a full-sister to the Group 3 winner Koropick (Kodiac). Relief Rally’s grandam bred five winners, her third dam had nine, while the fourth dam produced six. This is the family of the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Jaazeiro (Sham) and his Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winning half-sister Woodstream (Northern Dancer).

RIBCHESTINA (filly by Ribchester (Iffraaj))

Even after meeting some difficulty in running, Ribchestina ran out an impressive winner over six furlongs at Naas on her debut, trained by the in-form Sheila Lavery. Bred by Thomas Hassett, she is from the third crop of her sire, a leading miler who won four times in Group 1 company. Ribchestina was something of a bargain, sold for €3,000 at the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale last year. She is the second winner for her unraced Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) dam. Ribchestina’s grandam Fantasize (Groom Dancer) won a listed race and was one of four stakes winners for her dam Belle Et Deluree (The Minstrel). That quartet included Dazzle (Gone West) who won the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes and was placed in the Group 1 1000 Guineas.

REVENUE (colt by Profitable (Invincible Spirit))

Profitable does exceptionally well with his two-year-olds, having sired more than 50 to date, and his third crop of juveniles has already given up a pair of winners. Eve Johnson Houghton also does well with juveniles, and she trains the debut five and a half furlong Brighton winner Revenue. Bought as a foal in a private transaction for €3,000, Revenue was resold as a yearling by Torard House Stud for €22,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale. She is the third foal and winner for Exceed My Budget (Exceed And Excel) who was placed in Belgium and Germany. That mare is a half-sister to the Group 3 Dee Stakes winner Azmeel (Azamour) and to the stakes-winning dam of Best Of Days (Azamour). This Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner went one better in Australia and triumphed in a Group 1 at Flemington.

GOT TO LOVE A GREY (filly by Dark Angel (Acclamation))

One for everyone’s Royal Ascot notebook must be this six-length debut winner at Nottingham over five furlongs. Bought as a yearling by Aguiar Bloodstock for 52,000gns, the grey is winner number four for her stakes-winning Layman (Sunday Silence) dam Regatta, and both of her successes were in listed races. Regatta’s grandam Robertet (Roberto) won the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville and was many times placed at group level, on one occasion finishing third in the Group 1 Prix Royal Oak. She later bred Punctilious (Danehill), winner of the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks and Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, and runner-up in the Group 1 Irish Oaks having placed third at Epsom in the Oaks.

RIVER TIBER (colt by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj))

Bred at the Morrin’s Pier House Stud, River Tiber is favourite for the Group 2 Coventry Stakes on the basis of winning a five and a half furlong maiden at Navan by a staggering 10 lengths. He was sold to MV Magnier and Peter Brant’s White Birch as a yearling for 480,000gns, and comes from a family well known for producing quality juvenile winners. River Tiber is the first winner for the unraced Arcano (Oasis Dream) mare Transcendence, a half-sister to the stakes winning juvenile Mister Manannan (Desert Style) and his US stakes-winning full-sister Shermeen (Desert Style). The latter mare bred Sudirman (Henrythenavigator), and he won the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at two a decade ago. River Tiber’s grandam Cover Girl (Common Grounds) was highly successful in Scandinavia and won a listed race in Norway.

DAPPER VALLEY (colt by Dandy Man (Mozart))

The Motherway’s GCE Farm Ltd is based at their Yellowford Farm, where they bred this Newbury debut winner who carries the colours and hopes of the Thurloe Royal Marsden Cancer Charity II. Sold as a foal for 55,000gns, Dapper Valley was resold by Lodge Park Stud as a yearling for 72,000gns to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock. He is the second juvenile winner from the unraced Canford Cliffs (Tagula) mare Colgin, while Dapper Valley’s own-brother Northcliff (Dandy Man) was placed three times at two last year. Colgin’s dam Full Mandate (Acclamation) was placed in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at two and she had a rather special half-brother in Profitable (Invincible Spirit), victorious in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes and a successful young sire. Ballyhane’s Dandy Man’s current batch of juveniles are from his 11th crop, and he continues to supply breeders with a wonderful opportunity to get a sales horse and a racehorse.