John Ingles looks at the pedigrees of some of last week's promising three-year-old winners, including new Oaks favourite I'm The One.
Talk of New York (Timeform rating 108p)
Charlie Appleby had a double on the opening day of the Craven Meeting at Newmarket thanks to a pair of Godolphin home-bred colts who were both by Wootton Bassett. The big, imposing Cerro Blanco, who’s out of the smart Ascot listed mile winner Duneflower (Timeform 110), landed the odds on his debut in the Alex Scott Maiden over seven furlongs, earning a Timeform rating of 83p, while 2000 Guineas entry Talk of New York, another with size and scope about him, followed suit in the conditions race over the same trip (replay below). His useful Dubawi half-sister Star Guest ended up best as a sprinter but Talk of New York is already proven at a mile, impressing over that trip on his debut at Kempton last year and then third in a listed race at Meydan in February. His dam Usherette (123) was a very smart mare up to nine furlongs for Andre Fabre, her wins including the Dahlia Stakes and Duke of Cambridge Stakes at four.
Portcullis (94P)
John & Thady Gosden had a particularly successful week with their three-year-olds which included winning the Craven Stakes with the Frankel colt Oxagon. Earlier on Newmarket’s Thursday card, stablemate Portcullis, another son of Frankel, overcame considerable greenness to run out a clear-cut winner of the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes for newcomers over the same mile (replay below). While Portcullis races in the royal colours and was bred by King Charles, his dam Castle Lady (113) ran for Godolphin and was trained in France by Alex Pantall though was later gifted by Sheikh Mohammed to the late Queen. Raced just six times, all at three, Castle Lady won her first three starts, notably the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, and was later runner-up in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland over nine furlongs. John Gosden knows one member of the family very well, as Castle Lady’s dam was an unraced sister to his Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass.
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Maho Bay (109P)
Newmarket’s Thursday card also included a novice over a mile and a quarter for horses that had not run more than once and featured three once-raced winners with Derby entries. They included Maho Bay who continued Charlie Appleby’s domination of this contest with an impressive win, following up his six-length winning debut at Kempton late last year over a further furlong. He’s by Dubawi, who normally needs help from the dam’s side when it comes to getting horses who stay middle distances, but Maho Bay’s dam La Pelosa (103) was a daughter of sprinter Dandy Man. An expensive breeze-up purchase who raced only at two, La Pelosa was a six-furlong winner on her debut but did stretch out successfully to a mile, albeit in a weak Grade 1, the Natalma Stakes in Canada. Maho Bay’s year-older stablemate Cavallo Bay (by Pinatubo) is a useful performer up to a mile but Maho Bay himself gives the impression he’ll get a mile and a half.
Synchronicity (83p)
Newbury’s Bridget Maiden Fillies’ Stakes is effectively the fillies’ Wood Ditton, albeit over seven furlongs, restricted to newcomers. Two daughters of Night of Thunder dominated the market, and they came home first and second with Synchronicity getting the better of Song of The Clouds by two lengths. The Ed Walker-trained winner made obvious appeal on pedigree as she’s a full sister to Ombudsman, recent winner of the Dubai Turf after a top-class four-year-old campaign that brought him wins in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Juddmonte International. Ombudsman had fetched 340,000 guineas as a yearling but not surprisingly his sister sold for a lot more thanks to his exploits, with TBT Racing having to go to 900,000 guineas to secure her. Their dam Syndicate (81) was a Juddmonte cast-off who won a maiden at Southwell at two and a handicap at Ffos Las at four, and you have to go back to Syndicate’s great grandam All At Sea for a Group 1 win in the Prix du Moulin.
I’m The One (98P)
Another very promising filly to make a winning debut on Newbury’s Friday card was I’m The One, an impressive six-length winner of the fillies’ maiden over a mile and a quarter. Her reputation preceded her too, judging from her SP of even money, and she became just the latest of several fillies from the Gosden yard to win this, the others including Star Catcher in 2019 who went on to win the Ribblesdale, Irish Oaks, Prix Vermeille and Fillies’ & Mares Stakes. I’m The One shares her sire Sea The Stars with Star Catcher. She’s the first foal out of the smart German filly Sunny Queen (119), a daughter of Camelot, whose biggest win came in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Bayern at Munich on her final start at three when she got the better of Torquator Tasso, winner of the following season’s Arc. I’m The One is sure to stay a mile and a half, therefore, and is one to look out for in an Oaks trial having already been installed as the new favourite for Epsom.
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The same breeding formula – Sea The Stars and a German-bred daughter of Camelot – came up trumps again in the very next race on Newbury’s card, the valuable novice over a mile and a quarter, which went to William Haggas with Dante and Derby entry Maltese Cross. While he only won by a neck after staying on late in a blanket finish, the others involved were also well-bred colts from top yards. Haggas has had considerable success with both sons and daughters of Sea The Stars, chief among them Baaeed, but also including the likes of Sea of Class, Storm The Stars and Al Aasy whose brother Joulany was a close third in this race. A tall sort who cost 350,000 guineas as a yearling, Maltese Cross is out of Nabatea who gained her win over a mile and three quarters in Belgium but was a half-sister to German Derby winner Nutan and another Group 1 winner, Nymphea, who won the Grosser Preis von Berlin. He’s sure to stay a mile and a half too.
Water To Wine (101P)
No miracles will have been needed if Water To Wine turns out to be a very good colt, just the mating between two good horses. Owner George Strawbridge was presumably aiming to introduce some speed into the pedigree by using Kingman, but the fact that Water To Wine was making a successful debut in a maiden over 11 furlongs at Newbury on Saturday – another impressive short-priced winning newcomer for the Gosden stable – suggests he’ll take more after his dam distance-wise. Water To Wine is a half-brother to a couple of winners over shorter trips by Dubawi out of Strawbridge’s smart filly Listen In (113), a daughter of Sea The Stars. Her career-best effort came when winning the Prix du Conseil de Paris, a Group 2 event at Chantilly over a mile and a half as a four-year-old. Her siblings include the Hong Kong Vase winner Dominant. The French-bred Water To Wine doesn’t hold any big entries at present, but this was a very promising start.
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