The Weekly Wrap

If Galileo (Ire) continued to have something of a say in the Investec Oaks through his grand-daughter Enable (GB), it was his late stablemate Montjeu (Ire) who again cast a long shadow over Epsom come Derby day.

In 2011, Pour Moi became the third of four Derby winners for Montjeu, his last-gasp victory so similar to that of his son Wings Of Eagles (Fr) on Saturday. Both horses carried jockeys having their first ride in the Derby and while Mickael Barzalona's reckless celebrations before Pour Moi had even crossed the line will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons, the reaction of Padraig Beggy was more endearing in its humilty.

“I've ridden in Australia, Asia and India as well as Britain and Ireland but I was only ever a journeyman jockey,” he said, still dazed in the winner's circle as he faced the press. “But I'll go down in history now. I've won the Derby. At least I'll be remembered for something.”

Despite the fact that this is only Pour Moi's second crop of 3-year-olds, the often brutal commercial reality of the modern-day breeding business means that he has already been rendered surplus to requirements on the main Coolmore Flat roster and has been covering mostly National Hunt mares at Grange Stud this season.

Anyone who saw Wings Of Eagles in the parade ring on Saturday can't have failed to have been impressed by his powerful physique. As a first Classic winner for his sire, he may not be able to change opinion enough to propel Pour Moi to the height of fashion but he may at least have increased his appeal to owner-breeders.

Foriens The Toast Of Epsom And Chantilly…
Wings Of Eagles' 40-1 Derby victory may have come as a shock to some, perhaps even to his trainer, but for his breeders, Aliette and Gilles Forien it was the continuation of a strong black-type family which has stood their Haras de Montaigu in good stead over the years.

Absent from Epsom, Aliette Forien nevertheless received plenty of congratulations from members of the French breeding and racing community at Chantilly on Sunday, her passage from parade ring to grandstand taking twice as long as usual as she was stopped by wellwishers.

“We were foaling a mare the night before so we were a little tired and we didn't travel to Epsom but maybe it was better to be at home watching with all the family. When he hit the front we all went mad,” she said.

Wings Of Eagles is the sixth foal of the Classic-placed Ysoldina (Fr) (Kendor {FR}), herself a daughter of Rotina (Fr) (Crystal Glitters {GB}) whose offspring also include the G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Belle Et Celebre (Fr) (Peintre Celebre) as well as dual Group 2 winner Whortleberry (Fr), a daughter of Starborough (GB), who, like Kendor, was a resident of the Haras de Montaigu stallion ranks.

“As a yearling he was gorgeous horse,” recalled Aliette Forien of Wings Of Eagles.

“His mother Ysoldina is a big, strong mare and we chose Pour Moi for her because we were at the Derby when he won–we bred Native Khan (Fr) who also ran in the race–and Pour Moi was so impressive. We kept him in mind and decided he would be good for this mare as she raced over a mile and we thought she needed a little more stamina.”

The Foriens lost Rotina two years ago but several of her daughters remain at their Normandy base, not least Ysoldina, who has a Kingman (GB) yearling filly heading for the sales this summer and is currently in foal to Siyouni (Fr). The benefits of giving a young mare a chance to prove herself are outlined by a fortuitous last-minute decision made by the breeders after they had entered the non-winner Rotina for sale in foal to Nikos (GB).

Forien added, “We bought Rotina as a 4-year-old in training. Her first foal wasn't very good and the year after she went to a National Hunt stallion and we put her in the sales. Then at the last minute we decided it might be a mistake so we kept her and she ended up producing six Group horses in a row.”

 Nathaniel Shows He's More Than Able
It wasn't just Pour Moi who was able to boast a first Classic winner at the weekend. Newsells Park Stud's Nathaniel (Ire) continued the good run of first-crop sires in the Classic worldwide this year when his daughter Enable (GB) landed Friday's Investec Oaks to bring up a 200th Group 1 victory and 25th Classic success for her breeder, Juddmonte Farms.

As discussed above, a commercially-driven breeding base can lead to hasty judgements being made about stallions, particularly those likely to throw mostly middle-distance runners. Nathaniel still has plenty to do to become a proven stallion but with his first batch of 3-year-olds beginning to make an impression as the season reaches its peak, it would be folly to overlook the son of Galileo (Ire).

Newsells Park's manager Julian Dollar, who has an understandable soft spot for the well-bred Group 1 winner, has expressed his frustration at some of the snap judgements made at the end of last year. He said, “I've always been so fond of Nathaniel and it was hard over the winter with a number of agents saying he hadn't done well enough. What is it about when people are saying that when he hadn't even had a 3-year-old runner?”

He continued, “The wonderful thing about Nathaniel is that he has such a supportive syndicate of share-holders and to have the support of Juddmonte in there as well, we couldn't really have asked for more. Enable looks to be an above-average Oaks winner. She couldn't have been more impressive and it's always nice when a stallion has a real star, especially in his first crop.”

Enable's Oaks victory was just the start of a memorable weekend for Newsells Park, which is also the co-breeder of Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who came within a whisker of landing Sunday's G1 QIPCO Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

“We had an Oaks winner for Nathaniel and Waldgeist so nearly got the job done in France so it was a fantastic weekend,” Dollar reflected.

Newsells Park Stud bred Waldgeist's dam Waldlerche (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) and entered into partnership with leading German breeder Dietrich Von Boetticher of Gestut Ammerland, who now owns half of the mare. It is an arrangement which has already struck gold for both parties, with Waldgeist, Waldlerche's first foal, having won last season's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

“Waldgeist was a foal share with Coolmore so they own 50% and it was always the agreement that the colt would go into training with Andre Fabre,” Dollar explained. “Coolmore have been really easy partners and Ammerland are wonderful breeders–we're lucky to keep some mares here for them–so it has worked very well all round.”

In landing the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club, Waldgeist's conqueror Brametot (Fr) (Rajsaman {Fr}) was emulating the Ammerland homebred Lope De Vega (Ire), who completed the double in 2010, in turn following the example set by his sire Shamardal five years earlier.

Carr's Debt Of Gratitude
In his decade at stud, Dark Angel (Ire) has amassed an impressive battalion of Group winners but there can be none so likeable as Sovereign Debt (Ire), who recorded his 14th in seven seasons of racing at Epsom on Saturday.

Such is the modesty of his current trainer Ruth Carr that she considers herself lucky to have inherited the 8-year-old on the retirement of fellow Yorkshire trainer David Nicholls, who sadly died on Sunday.

It works both ways, however, and Sovereign Debt is equally fortunate to have found himself in a stable in which the wellbeing of the horse's mind comes first.

It is of course impossible to keep racehorses in anything like their natural herd situation but Carr, who admits that she's “obsessed” with turning her horses out, does her bit to ensure those under her care at least have some interaction with others once their work is done.

“We don't do too much differently with Sovereign Debt than we do with the rest of our horses,” she said. “We put him out in a field with a lowly-rated gelding, who looks after him, he does his work and he eats well. He does enough to keep himself fit and healthy–he's a happy horse.

“I don't care it they're a bit muddy or have a few wounds from where they bite each other as the physical and mental benefits far outweigh any risks. It just gives them a chance to be horses.”

It's an approach that clearly has played its part in keeping Sovereign Debt in tiptop form this season. The gelding arrived at Carr's yard fresh from his win in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup in Doha for Nicholls and, following his third place finish in the Listed Magnolia S., has strung together a hat-trick of wins, including the G2 Bet365 Mile and G3 Diomed S. Behind him in second in each of his last two victories has been a fellow member of Dark Angel's first crop, Gabrial (Ire).

Between them, the two 8-year-olds have run 117 times for 22 wins and just shy of £1.5 million in prize-money. Admirable indeed.