FOUR years after Wonderful Moon (Sea The Moon) won the Group 3 Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen at Krefeld, his ‘nephew’ Wonderful Boy won the same race. This was the colt’s second win in three starts, and he must go into winter quarters as a classic aspirant.

What became of Wonderful Moon? The €55,000 yearling was rated the joint champion two-year-old colt in Germany in 2019, and the top-rated three-year-old there the following year. He amassed five victories, adding the Group 2 Union-Rennen and the Group 3 Cologne Classic. In fact, all but one of his wins were gained in pattern races.

Wonderful Moon and Wonderful Boy (Sea The Moon) were both bred by Gestüt Görlsdorf, owned by Heike Bischoff and her husband Niko Lafrentz. They bred and raced the Lanwades Stud-based Sea The Moon (Sea The Stars), the stunning Group 1 German Derby winner. Having enjoyed sustained success since he went to stud, Sea The Moon will cover in 2024 for a new high fee of £32,500.

The fee is a reflection on the success that Sea The Moon enjoyed this year, doubling his tally of Group 1 winners to four with a classic double in Germany, thanks to his Derby-winning son Fantastic Moon, and Oaks winner Muskoka. He previously sired the Caulfield Cup winner Durston and Alpine Star, the Coronation Stakes winner who comes up for sale next week at Goffs.

Winner of the Grosser Hansa Preis, Assistant makes it a quartet of Group 2 winners for Sea The Moon, and he was second in a Group 1 on his most recent start. Wonderful Boy is the fifth Group or Grade 3 winner in 2023 by Sea The Moon, again doubling that number to 10 overall. Sold for €64,000 as a yearling to his racing owner Thomas Jander, Wonderful Boy is the only produce to date for his dam.

Wonderful Gorl (Areion) was sold by Görlsdorf as a yearling for €16,000, and cleverly bought back by them when her racing career was over for €22,000. Meanwhile, she won twice, including at two, and was denied what would have been a great stakes win by an overseas challenger in the Listed Grosser Soldier Hollow Neue Bult Cup.

Truly exciting

Wonderful Gorl and Wonderful Moon are two of the four foals, all winners, from their Lomitas (Niniski) dam Wonderful Lilly who won as a three-year-old. What is to come is truly exciting though. There is a two-year-old filly, Wonderful Feeling, and a filly foal, both by Sea The Moon, while sandwiched between this is a yearling colt by Frankel (Galileo), and he is now owned by Shadwell after they paid 370,000gns for him in October.

Wonderful Lilly is one of eight winners from her dam Wonderful World (Dashing Blade), a three-time winning full-sister herself to a trio of stakes winners. Chief among those eight winning offspring are the Group 3 Prix Chloe winner Wunder (Adlerflug), who was also placed at Group 1 level in Germany, and the Ayr Gold Cup winner and group-placed Advanced (Night Shift). That trio of stakes-winning own-siblings to Wonderful World include the Gran Premio d’Italia winner Winning Dash (Dashing Blade).

Siyouni finishes with a flourish

BASED at the Aga Khan Studs in France, Haras de Bonneval, Siyouni has maintained his position all season as the second leading sire in Europe by earnings.

He started with a sensational Irish classic double, Paddington and Tahiyra winning the Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 and Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas respectively, and both three-year-olds continued to light up the season, collecting an additional five Group 1 victories between them. Tahiyra was also a recent Cartier Award recipient,

Meanwhile in France, Mqse De Sévigné won two Group 1 races during the summer in Deauville, while down in Australia, Amelia’s Jewel continued to blitz an extraordinary trail of pattern race success. Siyouni continues to be one of the most in-demand sires in the sales ring, with yearlings in 2023 fetching up to €2.2 million, and all of this has contributed to connections raising his fee by 33% to €200,000 for next season.

A ninth stakes winner in the 2023 for Siyouni was provided when the consistent Perama gained a well-deserved, and poignant, victory in the Group 3 Prix Fille de l’Air. This was her third and most important win in 10 starts, and she has been in the first three on eight occasions. Racing for Ecurie des Charmes, the filly was bred by them in partnership with the late Lady O’Reilly’s Skymarc Farm, and she failed to sell as a yearling, retained at €195,000.

Perama had shown above average ability in a couple of her earlier starts, being placed a few times in listed races. That had no doubt helped to boost the sale of her yearling half-brother by Pinatubo to Jean-Claude Rouget for €200,000, just hours before Chryss O’Reilly died so suddenly.

One of four winners from her placed dam, Paratonnerre (Montjeu), Perama is from the immediate family of Group 1 winners Chicquita (Montjeu) and Magic Wand (Galileo), and this year’s Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes runner-up Vespertilio (Night of Thunder).

Tote boss not gambling with this special mare

FIVE years ago the subsequent Grade 1 Champion Hurdle winner Epatante travelled to Kempton and won a two-mile novices’ hurdle. The latest edition of the same race fell to Queens Gamble (Getaway), and here is a five-year-old mare with aspirations to also make it to the top of the hurdling tree.

Owned by the Tote boss Alex Frost and his brother-in-law Edward Galvin, proprietor of Armulchan Stud in Navan and chairman of the Meath Hunt, Queens Gamble was bred at the Co Meath farm. Alex’s wife Olivia and her brother Edward are the children of the late Gina Galvin, a noted breeder and producer of young horses.

Trained until now by the recently retired Oliver Sherwood, Queens Gamble won her first two starts at Cheltenham, the latter being a listed bumper. Beaten into second by the still unbeaten Grade 2 winner Dysart Enos next time out in another listed bumper, Queens Gamble was given a start in the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham. As the season drew to a close, connections gave her a confidence booster, and a fitting farewell to Sherwood, when she regained her winning ways in a maiden hurdle at Warwick.

Transferred to the care of Harry Derham, Queens Gamble made a winning start for her new trainer this week, and all eyes will now be firmly focused on getting her to Cheltenham next March, a course she clearly has a liking for.

Queens Gamble is the first foal out of the Jessica Harrington-trained Gambling Girl (Hawk Wing), and she was a very useful are, winning seven times. Twice successful on the flat, she was close to blacktype when fourth in the Listed Challenge Stakes.

Those victories came in the aftermath of her win in a bumper at four, while the better of her two hurdle wins was gained in the Grade 3 Lough Construction Ltd EBF Novice Hurdle at Down Royal. Finally and to show her great versatility, Gambling Girl also was twice a winner over fences. This year a three-year-old Getaway (Monsun) own-sister to Queens Gamble sold at the Goffs Arkle Sale for €80,000.