Seeing Stars

By Bill Oppenheim
 The fireworks from second-crop European sires are continuing. Leading second-crop sires by 2014 progeny earnings at this moment (click here) is the Coolmore sire Thewayyouare (Kingmambo) by virtue of Toast of New York's $1.2-million payday in the G2 UAE Derby at the end of March. Thewayyouare was bought as a yearling by agent Herve Barjot for Irish owner Sean Mulryan from a Coolmore partnership. Trained by Andre Fabre, Coolmore bought back into him before he won the G1 Criterium International as a 2-year-old. He didn't win again and Toast of New York was from his first and only American crop at Ashford before Coolmore transferred him back to Ireland. Toast of New York was last reported to be heading for the June 7 G1 Epsom Derby after being supplemented and, though he won on Tapeta (all-weather) in Dubai and nobody can see past Australia (GB) (Galileo {Ire}–Ouija Board {GB}) in the Derby betting, Toast of New York ran an RPR (Racing Post Speed Rating) of 115 in Dubai and has an Official Rating (OR) of 116. Australia's OR is 119. Toast of New York was 50-1 yesterday on Betfair for the Epsom Derby and Australia was 7-5. 
    Number two second-crop sire in Europe this year, is Haras de la Cauviniere's Le Havre (Ire) (Noverre), bought as a yearling for €100,000 at Arqana by ace trainer Jean-Claude Rouget for owner Gerard Augustin-Normand. In six starts he won the 2009 G1 Prix du Jockey-Club (RPR 121) and was second to Silver Frost (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}) in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains. The triumvirate of Rouget, Normand, and Cauviniere manager Sylvain Vidal went about managing Le Havre's stud career with serious intent–Vidal alone signed for 27 fillies or mares at the 2009 European mixed sales– and it has paid off. Avenir Certain, owned in partnership by Normand and trained by Rouget, ran her unbeaten string to four with an impressive win in last Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches–French 1000 Guineas–(RPR 119), and will likely be favored over her compatriot Miss France (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), winner of the G1 English 1000 Guineas (RPR 113), should they meet in next month's G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot. Le Havre has two other black-type winners in France this year, owned by Normand alone or in partnership, one trained by Rouget, the other by Ellie Lellouche. It's hard to know with these French stallions, who are often Classic winners and almost always start off under €10,000, which ones will turn out to be the real deal. Kendargent couldn't seriously have been predicted outside his own camp, but Le Havre was well managed and given a real shot from day one, and he is delivering. Avenir Certain might be the bet of the week at Royal Ascot next month. 
    Which brings us to the number three European second-crop sire of 2014, Gilltown Stud's Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}). We already mentioned him two weeks ago and the hits just keep on coming. He's now the sire of 17 winners this year and eight black-type horses, of which three are Group 3 winners–two of those last weekend–with another two listed stakes winners. He has eleven 3-year-olds which have run Racing Post Ratings (RPR) of 96+, including four which have run RPR 107-108, as well as nine other 3-year-olds, most of them promising maiden winners, which have run RPR's this year of 84-95. The filly My Titania (Ire), owned and trained by the Sea The Stars combination of Christopher Tsui and John Oxx, was a Group 3 winner last year and was fancied for the G1 English 1000 Guineas, but was sidelined the week before the race. Connections are hoping to have her ready for the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas on May 25. 
    Sea The Stars' first of three 2014 Group 3 winners was the filly Vazira (Fr), who won the G3 Prix Vanteaux over nine furlongs on Apr. 27 and is one of the favorites for the G1 Prix de Diane –French Oaks. Last weekend the filly Afternoon Sunlight (Ire) won the G3 Derrinstown Irish 1000 Guineas Trial at a mile and indeed goes for the Irish 1000. In Germany, the colt Sea The Moon won a 10-furlong Group 3 at Frankfurt and would just about be favorite for the G1 German Derby. Earlier this month, Sheikh Hamdan's filly Taghrooda won the Pretty Polly S. over 10 furlongs at Newmarket impressively and she is now hot favorite for the G1 Epsom Oaks. Last week another filly, Alida, was an upset winner of the Cheshire Oaks at 11 1/2 furlongs. 
    Some of the Sea The Stars are group-class all right at a mile, and he's even had a couple of five-furlong 2-year-old winners, but most of them look like 10 furlongs and up is going to be their game. His maiden winners this month include the Aga Khan's Shamkiyr, an eight-length winner over 10 furlongs at Saint-Cloud–he also owns Vazira and Sea The Stars stands at his Gilltown Stud in Ireland–and Prince of Stars, who overcame greenness and the tight Chester circuit to also win a 10-furlong maiden. He looked like one who could have a date at Royal Ascot next month. As the accompanying table illustrates, it isn't like he just has a couple of good horses. We've probably now seen 20 from his first crop that can run. 
    Coolmore's Mastercraftsman (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), last season's leading European freshman sire, sits in fourth now among European second-crop sires by 2014 progeny earnings. He has five black-type horses (three group-placed) so far this year, plus last year's G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Kingston Hill (GB), who finished eighth in the G1 English 2000 Guineas and skips tomorrow's G2 Dante S. to go straight to the June 7 G1 Epsom Derby. Mastercraftsman hasn't had a headline act so far this year, but he himself is out of a mare by Black Tie Affair (Ire), who won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic as a 5-year-old, so there is every reason to think he will be at least as good a sire of 3-year-olds as he was last year with his first 2-year-olds. 
    Leading second-crop North American sire is WinStar's Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker), who now has five black-type horses this year and 2014 earners of over $1.1-million. He had a GI Kentucky Derby runner in longshot Vinceremos, who won the GIII Sam F. Davis at Tampa this winter and ran second in the GII Tampa Bay Derby, but he was down the field in both the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and the Derby itself. Pioneerof the Nile's two best 3-year-old colts are Cairo Prince, who won the GII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream, but was sidelined after running a disappointing fourth as the hot favorite in the GI Florida Derby; and Social Inclusion, who blew Honor Code (A.P. Indy) away with a Beyer Speed Figure of 111 in a Gulfstream Park allowance, before running a good third to Wicked Strong (Hard Spun) in the 
GI TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial. He comes into Saturday's GI Preakness S. as a relatively fresh horse, with connections having decided to pass the Derby, and many rate him the biggest danger to Derby winner California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) at Pimlico. Though most of his form was over synthetic tracks, Pioneerof The Nile has sired a Grade II winner, a Grade III winner and a Grade I-placed horse on the dirt, in his first crop of 3-year-olds, which puts him at the top of the pile among North American second-crop sires. Taylor Made's Old Fashioned (Unbridled's Song), sire this year of the dual Grade I-winning filly Fashion Plate and Grade III winner Sweet Whiskey, is just a hair under $1-million in 2014 progeny earnings in second, while Florida's annual stallion find for 2014 is Get Away Farm's Two Step Salsa (Petionville), sire of GI Blue Grass S. winner Dance With Fate, in third place among North American second-crop sires. 
Bill Oppenheim may be contacted at bopp@erb.com (please cc TDN management at suefinley@thoroughbreddailynews.com). Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/billoppenheim.