The Weekly Wrap

A round up of all the action for the Darley stallions over the past week
Son of Shamardal heads to Epsom

Hazapour entered the Derby picture on Sunday, 13 May when running out the authoritative winner of the G3 Derrinstown Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown. The son of Shamardal, who was making his seasonal debut, became Dermot Weld’s ninth winner of the race and will now head to Epsom to try to emulate his close relative Harzand, winner of the Derby in 2016.

His trainer was glowing in praise after the race, “He's a horse I really like. He won his maiden well at Galway from a good horse of Aidan's (Hunting Horn) and he's progressed and developed over the winter – he worked beautifully the other morning."

Declan McDonogh was equally in awe, saying, “He travelled so smoothly – like a dream – and I’m sure he’ll come on for that again. He’s a really nice horse.”

Bloomfield on the rise

Teofilo’s lightly raced four-year-old daughter Bloomfield continued her rise to the top when landing her second Stakes race in the Listed Vintage Tipple Stakes at Gowran Park on Wednesday. The easy winner of the Noblesse Stakes on her seasonal debut, she appreciated the step up to a mile and three quarters to beat New Approach’s consistent daughter Glamorous Approach by two lengths with a gaping five lengths back to the third.

She has improved in each and every one of her five career starts and recorded a Timeform race rating of 114 on her latest victory. She is now likely to head to Cork for the G3 Munster Oaks in June.

Hot start to May for Rio de la Plata

No stallion has been outperforming Rio de la Plata in France in May, who has sired three winners over the past seven days, taking his total to six for the month so far.

The first to score was Yanling at Saint-Cloud on Tuesday, who landed a valuable mile handicap by over a length. Unbeaten in two starts this season, the improving four-year-old has taken his career earnings to over €100,000.

Another runner with over €100,000 in career prize money is Sa Tuna and on Thursday she won her third race in a 2,200m handicap at Lyon Parilly, winning by three quarters of a length.

Rio de la Plata’s third crop are now juveniles, and he sired his first winner from this group on Saturday when Princesse Isabelle broke her maiden at Strasbourg. This was a day after his paternal half-sister Eleven O Two had run an excellent race to place at Chantilly over six furlongs.

With a strike rate of 38% winners to runners this month, he beats all other stallions that have had 10 or more starters.

Second Classic miler for New Approach

Masar ran an excellent race to finish third in the 2,000 Guineas and on Sunday, New Approach sired his second Classic miler when Hey Gaman was beaten only a neck in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at Longchamp.

Always prominent under James Doyle, he got to the lead at the top of the straight only to be caught close home by Olmedo. He has now won or been beaten less than a length in seven of his nine career starts and will likely head to Royal Ascot for the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes.

Another three-year-old colt with Classic aspirations is Dee Ex Bee, who ran an excellent race to be narrowly beaten into second in the G3 Chester Vase. Appreciating the step up to a mile and a half, Epsom now looks on the agenda for this long-striding son of Farhh.

Awesome Arqana for Poet’s Voice

The Breeze Up season moved to Deauville at the weekend with excellent results for Darley stallions.

The much-missed Poet’s Voice, who sadly died earlier this season, was the star of the show when his colt out of Poppet’s Passion sold to Godolphin for €380,000. The Mocklershill-consigned relative of Overdose represented an excellent pinhook after being bought for only 42,000gns at Tattersalls last Autumn.

Lot 161 is now destined for Hong Kong after their Jockey Club went to €220,000 to buy the son of Exceed And Excel. Consigned by Knockanglass Stables, he is a close relative of Exceed And Excel’s dual G2-winning juvenile filly Best Terms.

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