THIS is always an exciting time of the year, when serious updates start appearing for yearlings catalogued at the many upcoming sales.

Victory for Cilla Harrington’s Super Sox (Showcasing) in the Listed Platinum Stakes at Cork is a case in point. The three-year-old’s Havana Grey (Havana Gold) half-brother is Lot 288 in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale from Carmel Stud, and they purchased him last year for 90,000gns at the same venue. Trained by Paddy Twomey, Super Sox is improving, and has now won twice and placed twice this year, all her starts.

Twomey bought Super Sox for €50,000 at the 2022 Tattersalls Ireland September Sale, from Clenagh Castle Stud, after she had been purchased as a foal by Midland Equine for 25,000gns.

Though she has yet to win back her yearling purchase price in racecourse earnings, Super Fox is now worth a considerable amount as both a racing and breeding prospect. She is the second offspring of her dam, and a full-sister to the stakes-placed It’s Showtime Baby (Showcasing).

A winner on her debut, It’s Showtime Baby was third next time out to Meditate in the Listed Naas Juvenile Sprint Stakes. Though she failed to add further lustre to those two runs, she sold last December to Sumbe for 130,000gns and joined their broodmare band.

First offspring

It’s Showtime Baby and Super Sox are the first two offspring of Minoria (Harbour Watch), and the third is Sexy Rascal (Havana Grey). In training with George Scott, but as yet unraced, she sold to Stoud Coleman Bloodstock for 155,000gns last year, topping the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale.

In light of all these happenings, it was somewhat surprising perhaps that Whitsbury Manor Stud sold their dam Minoria last December for 115,000gns to Hamish Macauley.

The agent was acting for James Cloney of Clara Stud, the breeder of Golden Horde, and this spring Minoria foaled a full-sister to Super Sox by Showcasing (Oasis Dream), and is reported to be safely in foal to Blue Point (Shamardal).

Minoria only raced three times. Last of eight on her only start at three, she won over six furlongs in the second week of January 2019 at the age of four, was second on her only other outing three weeks later, and was quickly dispatched to the Tattersalls February Sale, selling to 16,000gns to Howson and Houldsworth, and immediately joining the broodmare band at Whitsbury Manor. Now, having done all the groundwork to make the mare a success, they have none of the immediate family.

Minalisa

Minoria is a daughter of Mina (Selkirk), who also took until the age of four to record her only win, and a half-sister to five winners.

The best of Mina’s offspring was Minalisa (Oasis Dream), and she gained the most important of her five victories in a listed race at Naas a decade ago. Mina was a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Miss Anabaa (Anabaa), and an own-sister to the dam of Group 2 Prix Robert Papin winner Ventura Tormenta (Acclamation).

Super Sox’s fourth dam was Old Domesday Book (High Top). Outstanding among her nine winning progeny was Owington (Green Desert). He was the best sprinter in Europe at three when he won the Group 1 July Cup and Group 3 Cork and Orrery Stakes.

His unraced half-sister Sahara Sky (Danehill) also produced a Group 1 winner in the shape of Dick Whittington (Rip Van Winkle), the 2014 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes winner.

Super Sox is stakes winner number 71 for Showcasing, and from the stallions tenth crop. That tally includes four Group 1 winners, Belbek, Mohaather, Advertise and Quiet Reflection.

O’Brien captures French stakes win with Orby buy

APPLES and Bananas has shown great improvement from his debut fifth in a maiden at the Curragh at the end of June. Three weeks later he opened his account at Killarney, and last weekend travelled to Deauville to win a listed contest.

The winner of last year’s Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l’Elevage went on to win at group level, and trainer Joseph O’Brien will be hoping that this is the next step for his son of Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj). The two-year-old Apples And Bananas, bred by Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited, was sold to M.V. Magnier in Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Sale last year for €130,000 through Baroda Stud.

The career to date for Apples And Bananas is in stark contrast to that of his only older sibling, the four-year-old filly A Little Respect (Sea The Stars). Trained by Charlie Johnston, she was beaten 18 lengths when third in a 12-furlong handicap on the all-weather at Kempton last year, and then she sold for only 2,000gns at Tattersalls. She has since been placed twice in Greece. They are the first two offspring of the stakes-placed Simannka (Mastercraftsman), and her third is a yearling full-brother to Apples And Bananas.

Simannka is a homebred by His Highness the Aga Khan, and after winning three times and placing in the Listed Lenabane Stakes at Roscommon she was sold to Makin Stallions for €200,000 at Goffs in 2016. This was a good price, given that she is the only winner among nine progeny of the lightly-raced winner Simkana (Kalanisi). One more remove back in the family and the picture changes dramatically.

Sinntara

Simkana was one of nine winners from 11 runners produced by Sinntara (Lashkari). The latter won four of her six starts, including the Listed Giolla Mear Stakes at the Curragh, and her outstanding offspring was Sinndar (Grand Lodge), the Aga Khan’s dual Derby winner who won the Group 1 National Stakes at two and capped his three-year-old season with victory in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. He sired Group 1 winners Shareta, Youmzain, Rosanara and Shawanda.

Through her daughters, Sinntara has also made an impact. The stakes-placed Sequence (Selkirk) is dam of the dual Australian stakes winner Naval College (Dartmouth), while the listed-placed Simawa (Anabaa) is dam of Irish and Australian Group 3 winner Sinawann (Kingman), French Grade 1-winning hurdler Jigme (Motivator) who has just completed his first season at stud, listed winner Silwana (Peintre Celebre), and the group-placed dam of the recent Group 3 winner Sumiha (Sea The Stars).

This is a family that has given as many high-class National Hunt performers as flat winners, and under the third dam of Apples And Bananas you will find the Group 3 winner and Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes-placed Marie’s Diamond (Footstepsinthesand), another who stood his first year at stud in 2024, Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Sonaiyla (Dark Angel), and the Australian listed winner and Group 1-placed Sikandarabad (Dr Fong).

Mistinguett

Sinntara is a half-sister to Mistinguett (Doyoun), and she won as a two-year-old for Stradivarius’ owner Bjorn Nielsen when trained by Richard Hannon, was placed from two starts when in the care of David Loder, and then the Curragh Bloodstock Agency bought her for 16,000gns for John Duggan, and he sent her to be trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies.

Mistinguett won five hurdle races, including a 15-length victory in the Grade 1 Cleeve Hurdle, and the highlight of her placed efforts was when second, following the disqualification of Magical Lady, to Paddy’s Return in the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. She went on to breed six winners, and in addition to Grade 2 hurdle winner Rimsky (Silver Patriarch), they include stakes winner and Group 2-placed Misternando (Hernando), and Grade 2-placed hurdler Mistanoora (Topanoora).