At certain points of this racing season, the Champion Sire titles have yo-yoed around big names. There was little between I Am Invincible and So You Think (NZ) through the autumn, while Maurice (Jpn) eased away from Capitalist in the race for second-season honours.

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However, one title that was less of a spectacle was that of Champion First Season Sire. It’s been wrapped up comfortably by Russian Revolution, who tops it by both earnings (ahead of Gold Standard) and winners (ahead of Hellbent).

With less than a week to go before season’s end, the Newgate stallion has delivered 14 winners to Hellbent’s 11. He’s ahead by overall wins too, boasting 17 to The Mission’s 13.

On earnings, Russian Revolution is over $250,000 clear of Gold Standard, and his stakes statistics are better than any other new stallion on the board this season.

He’s had two individual stakes winners (the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude {fillies} winner Revolutionary Miss and the G3 Pago Pago S. winner Rise Of The Masses) plus another two stakes performers. The only horse to challenge that was Gold Standard, who sired the Group 1-winning, dual stakes winner (and R. Listed stakes winner) Sheeza Belter, impressive from 39 foals.

Gallery: Russian Revolution's stakes winners this season, images courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

It’s been a roof-raising effort by Russian Revolution, who joined the Newgate roster in 2018 at a fee of $55,000 (inc GST). The horse’s debut crop featured 157 live foals and, with slick handling by Henry Field and his team at Newgate Farm, the result has been exceptional.

Russian Revolution will follow his barnmate, Extreme Choice, into Champion First Season Sire honours this week, and it will be the first time - possibly not the last - a son of Snitzel has won the title.

The sire-son dynasty

At Arrowfield Stud, 19-year-old Snitzel is heading into his vintage years at stud. He has 14 crops of racing age and he’s been Champion Australian Sire four times.

This season, he sits third behind I Am Invincible and So You Think on the General Sires’ table and, for the spring upcoming, he has returned to his career-best fee of $225,000 (inc GST).

A quick glance at the General Sires’ table right now reveals that Snitzel is the only stallion among the top 10 this season with a sire son also inside the top 10 (Shamus Award, who sits fifth). The last time this occurred was in 2018/19 when Redoute’s Choice was ninth on the overall sires’ title by earnings, Snitzel was first and Not A Single Doubt was sixth.

Russian Revolution represents the first time a son of Snitzel has won the title of Champion First Season Sire, and it’s interesting to note that Snitzel himself was denied this title by Stratum in 2009/10. The pair argued over the Second Season title the following year, with Stratum getting the upper hand again on the Arrowfield resident.

By the following year, Snitzel had climbed into the top 10 on the General Sires’ table, overtaking Stratum, and by 2013/14 he was behind only his own sire Redoute’s Choice overall. The rest, as they say, is history, and Snitzel has been nothing short of remarkable ever since.

It might have taken his sire sons a bit of time to get going, but now it appears they’re hitting their straps. Shamus Award is fifth on the overall table this year, and there are upcoming names like Trapeze Artist and Showtime.

In the case of Russian Revolution, he’s been a quick and resounding success at stud for his sire, with Snitzel’s best previous First Season effort being Spill The Beans. The latter was second on the First Season Sire table in 2019/20, and joint-first by winners (13) with Headwater.

“It’s very pleasing, but not too surprising, to see a Snitzel son head the First Season Sires’ premiership,” said John Messara, speaking to TDN AusNZ this week. “I’m also sure Russian Revolution won’t be the last one to do it. Snitzel has a good number of well-credentialled sons at stud in Australia now, including seven that have left stakes winners, and a dozen young stallions whose progeny are either yet to be born or yet to run.”

For the Arrowfield team, watching the evolution of Snitzel’s sire sons has been particularly interesting.

“It’s exciting to see his sire dynasty begin to take shape while he’s still at the top of his own game, both on the track and in the ring,” Messara said. “And the interesting thing is that, like Snitzel’s best son so far, Shamus Award, Russian Revolution found his best form after his 2-year-old season. That only increases my confidence in Arrowfield’s own Snitzel son, Showtime.”

For Henry Field, the studmaster at Newgate Farm, it’s arguable whether Snitzel has taken his time to blossom as a sire of sires.

“I remember having a discussion about this around two years ago, and there were a number of people that were negative on him being a sire of sires at that stage,” Field said. “But the reality is that it’s a little bit like Danehill. No horse had more bad sons at stud than Danehill because he had so many go to stud, but his good ones were incredible, and the same might be said for Redoute’s Choice.”

For Field, there’s no removing Snitzel as the best Australian sire right now. The horse is a multiple Champion stallion, as was Danehill (USA) and Redoute’s Choice.

“The really good sons of Danehill and Redoute’s Choice proved to be remarkable, and I have no doubt it will be the same with Snitzel,” he said.

Judge the best sons

Newgate’s faith in Snitzel’s sons goes right back to its early days, when Wandjina retired to the farm in 2015. Later on, the roster boasted Menari for a time, and these days it has Russian Revolution and a new gun, Wild Ruler.

“In my opinion, Snitzel is the best stallion in Australia and we’ve had a lot of success with him,” Field said. “We’ve raced sons of his, like Russian Revolution, Invader and Wild Ruler, so he’s been a good horse to us.

“His elite sons to go to stud are Russian Revolution, obviously, and Shamus Award and Trapeze Artist. These were standout horses, and you’ve got to judge a sire on his best sons to go to stud, not his average sons.”

According to the Stud Book, Snitzel has 25 sons at stud in Australia, and Field is measuring the horse's success not off those numbers, but off the records of his Cox Plate winner Shamus Award and now Russian Revolution. Both of these horses were at their best outside of their 2-year-old years, something Messara flagged and a fact that hasn’t escaped Field either.

“We’re seeing in those high-class sons of Snitzel that they weren’t early 2-year-olds, and that’s encouraging because it means they’ll only get better,” the Newgate studmaster said. “Shamus Award’s progeny have only got better and the same can be said for Russian Revolution.”

It’s worth revisiting how Russian Revolution evolved during his racing days.

As a 2-year-old, he won his only two starts late in the season before heading into a win in the G3 Roman Consul S. as a 3-year-old. In that race, he defeated Astern and Capitalist, so there were no flies on this colt early in his career.

Russian Revolution was then fourth in the G1 Coolmore Stud S. to Flying Artie, and he followed that up with a win in the G1 The Galaxy at Rosehill, defeating Redzel (Snitzel). As a 4-year-old he won the G2 McEwen S. before a career-defining, last-start victory in the G1 Oakleigh Plate.

“He was an outstanding colt of his generation,” Field said. “As was Wild Ruler. We have a lot of faith in these best sons of Snitzel retiring from the track, and Russian Revolution has justified that by taking out the First Season Sires’ premiership for us.”

A double for Newgate

For Newgate, it’s the second year in a row that one of its stallions has won the First Season Sire title. Last year, Extreme Choice led home Capitalist and Flying Artie for a vintage trifecta.

“You’ve got to start with a bloody good horse to win these things,” Field said. “Then you’ve got to manage that horse as best as you can, and we’ve been very lucky to have had horses of the calibre of these four stallions. They’re Oakleigh Plate winners, Blue Diamond winners, Golden Slipper winners and Coolmore Stud S. winners

“They’re serious horses that we’ve worked very hard to acquire, and we’ve supported them really well with good mares. We’ve raised the progeny to the best of our ability, and each has a very strong shareholder group.”

It’s a logical formula, and Newgate is one of the best in the business at launching Australian speed sires, but even Field admits that Champion Sire titles are hard fought.

“At the end of the day, with everything you do, if you’re not starting with the right product, there’s no point,” he said. “These four stallions were the best colts of their generation, and I think the best colts of a generation go on to be the best sires. That’s what you hope will happen and that’s what is happening.”

On the eve of Russian Revolution’s Champion title, Field is visibly excited about the horse’s prospects. Newgate is sending a lot of its own mares to the stallion this spring, with his fee understandably spiking from $44,000 (inc GST) to $71,500 (inc GST) this spring.

There’s also a lot of anticipation from Field about Newgate’s four new sires in Profiteer, Tiger Of Malay, Stay Inside and Wild Ruler. Could he be getting comfortable with his grip on the First-Season Sire table?

“We’re putting all of our weight behind our new sires this year, and with Stay Inside the best 2-year-old and Profiteer arguably the fastest, we’ll be upset if we don’t manage to win another First Season Sire title,” he said.

Gallery: Newgate Farm's new stallions to stud in 2022

Field says this with a degree of comedy, it’s hard not to take him seriously. In 2018, Russian Revolution was the only committed new sire on the Newgate roster (excluding Menari, who had fertility issues) and the horse is now a Champion stallion.

Promising Sebring 2-year-old Michelotti made it two wins on the bounce when taking out the opening race (1300 metres) at Ladbrokes Park Hillside. The Robbie Griffiths and Mathew De Kock-trained gelding scored a 0.75l victory from Distorted Mission (The Mission), with Attrition (Churchill {Ire}) a long neck away third.

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Michelotti improved his record to two wins and three placings from seven starts, and he has already banked $65,475 in earnings, which is $25,475 greater than his purchase price. He was bought by Griffiths de Kock Racing/Peter Ford Thoroughbreds (FBAA) for just $40,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

He is the second foal of Sandrelli (Street Cry {Ire}) and was bred by Basil Nolan and the team at Raheen Stud in the Gladfield Valley, adjacent to the Great Dividing Range, approximately 130 kilometres west of Brisbane.

Raheen Stud sold nine yearlings at Bundall in January 2021, Michelotti being the cheapest. Nolan told TDN AusNZ he was downcast when the gavel went down, but that’s the game; sometimes it goes your way, other times it doesn’t.

“We were disappointed he only made $40,000, but anyway, that’s what happens,” Nolan said post-race.

“I’m glad to see Robbie and the owners buy a good horse off us.

“We thought about hanging on to him, but we take them there to sell them. He was too cheap but you do take them there to sell them, and you hope somebody good buys them, which it has, and they go on and win for them.

“You never look back; you’ve always got to look forward in this business.”

A family full of quality

Michelotti s’ second dam, Gabbidon (Bel Esprit) is a dual group 3 winner, while third dam, Eliza Park (Scenic {Ire}) won four times (three in Melbourne). The latter is a half-sister to three-time stakes victress Speedy Kids (Snippets). Also on Michelotti’s page is Mythical Play (NZ) (Defensive Play {USA}, the Champion 3-Year-Old Classic Filly in South Africa in 1999-2000.

“He was a nice horse; he’s always been a nice colt,” said Nolan.

“Probably at that stage, Sebrings weren’t as fashionable as they should have been. We had a share in Sebring and it was a big loss to lose him. They weren’t selling as well as they were racing. that’s what happens; they go into fashion and out of fashion very quickly.”

Raheen Stud purchased Sandrelli for $45,000 from the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale (Book 1). From 17 starts, she notched two wins and seven placings, amassing prizemoney of $54,615.

"We bought her and raced her. Sebring was a great match for a Street Cry mare and it obviously turned out correct,” Nolan added.

Sandrelli’s first foal, a colt by Sooboog, made $20,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale. He has been named Never Sober and won two races for Gingin trainer Ashley Maley. Sandrelli has a filly by Heroic Valour, who stands at Raheen Stud, on the ground and was served again by that stallion last September.

“She’s a really good sort, that filly. I’d say she’s in the five-best foals we’ve got here,” said Nolan.

“Sandrelli is two from two so she’s going the right way.”

Stable to chase hat-trick

De Kock said the stable has always had a good opinion of Michelotti and the gelding is getting better with every race.

“He was only $40,000, but they don’t know how much they cost. We did our homework, did our research, liked the horse and made sure we secured him. It's always good when you're buying from a successful stud farm, a successful sale and a proven sire,” the trainer told TDN AusNZ.

“It’s just taken him a little bit of time to learn how to finish a race off. He’s been a bit immature and inexperienced. We’ve always thought he had ability and now that he’s put two wins together, he’s going to be full of confidence

“He still does a lot wrong; I think he’s got a lot of maturing to do. He runs around, even today, he was running around, Craig (Williams) thought he won today on pure raw ability. He’s still not quite there yet.

“We’re just going to work through the grades with him and let him blossom. Hopefully the confidence brings him on some more, and if he happens to win again, we can start dreaming a bit bigger.”

According to de Kock, Michelotti seems to appreciate soft ground – his two wins have been on Heavy ground – so while he is fit and firing, they will press on.

“He’s a fit and happy horse at the moment, so if he pulls up well, which we expect will be the case, we’re going to keep him going,” he said.

“He seems to handle the wet tracks extremely well, so, and this will sound a bit strange, ‘We’re going to make hay while the sun shines’.

“There’s a race for him over 1500 metres at Moonee Valley on August 20; we’ll target that next.”

Cover image courtesy of Goodwood

Race 2, G2 Richmond S. - 1200m, 11.25pm AEST (2.25pm local)

Prizemoney: £150,000 (AU$178,300)

The G2 Richmond S. is a 2-year-old race for colts and geldings and has been won in the past by some talented types including the now Arrowfield Stud-based sire Shalaa (Ire) in 2015 and there are some interesting bloodlines in this year’s renewal for bloodstock aficionado’s to sink their teeth into.

Darley would love their shuttler Harry Angel (Ire) to cement his place in his first year in the breeding barn and he will be given the chance to chalk up his first stakes winner when his son Marshman (GB) takes to the track for the second time on Thursday. The Karl Burke-trained colt made a winning debut at Ayr on July 3 and if he can build on that performance he could be right there in the mix.

Harry Angel, whose first Southern Hemisphere crop hit the track in the spring, has sired seven first-crop winners in Europe.

Overbury Stud’s Ardad (Ire) - who is available for the first time to cover Southern Hemisphere time - was crowned Britain’s Champion First Season Sire last season and despite having only two racing crops, he has already carved himself out a reputation of siring top-line 2-year-olds and it would be another feather in his cap if Crispy Cat (GB) can join his list of ever-growing stakes winners when he takes his chance in the Group 2.

Having broken his maiden on debut, the Michael O'Callaghan-trained juvenile has struggled for a bit of form since that victory. However, he was unlucky in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot, finishing third after being impeded by the eventual winner, The Ridler (GB) (Brazen Beau), but he finished last of six runners in his next appearance in the G2 Railway S. at the Curragh so clearly has to improve from that.

Darley’s ever-popular sire Exceed And Excel will also be represented by a runner in this year’s renewal in the shape of Bluelight Bay (Ire). The colt comes into the race off the back of breaking his maiden at Windsor and if he can take the next steps from that performance could be one to keep an eye on.

Race 3, G3 Gordon S. - 2400m, 12am AEST (3pm local)

Prizemoney: £200,000 (AU$237,800)

Plenty of interest from an Australian perspective in this year’s G3 Gordon S. Past graduates of the race include Swettenham Stud shuttler Highland Reel (Ire) (2015), while Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) landed the contest in 2018 before going on to win the G1 Melbourne Cup later that same year.

Like Cross Counter, there could be some future G1 Melbourne Cup contenders lurking in his year’s race. The G1 Epsom Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) set will have his first run for new trainer George Boughey, before he departs for Australia later in the year.

Formerly trained by Andrew Balding, he was bought by Gai Waterhouse, McKeever Bloodstock, Adrian Bott and Go Bloodstock at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of Royal Ascot for £1.2million (AU$1.8 million) last month and he could be set for a crack at the Melbourne showpiece down the line.

It will be a real win for all involved if the horse can secure a nice victory before he continues his life in Australia and if he can produce the sort of form that saw him finish second at Epsom he could be in with a good shot at the Group 2.

Trainer Charlie Fellowes celebrated the biggest win of his career when Marbaan (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) landed the G2 Vintage S. on the first day of the meeting and looks to have a good chance of landing a famous Group double when Grand Alliance (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), who was narrowly denied victory in the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot in June, seeks redemption in the Group 2.

Fellowes knows a thing or two about the G1 Melbourne Cup and he believes this colt could prove an ideal type for the 3200-metre contest at Flemington in the future.

Race 4, G1 Nassau S. - 2200m, 12.35pm AEST (3.35pm local)

Prizemoney: £600,000 (AU$713,400)

The G1 Nassau S. sees the return of star mare Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who hasn’t been seen since her successful overseas raid in France where she landed the G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks).

The daughter of Frankel (GB) is clearly very talented having finished third in the G1 Epsom Oaks in June and with two that finished in front of her that day, Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), sitting out proceedings on Thursday, the stage looks set for the 3-year-old to grab her second victory at elite-level.

Trainer William Haggas has trained some ultra-talented mares in the past, but astonishingly has never won this Group 1. However, he might just break that duck when he saddles last-start G2 Middleton Fillies' S. winner Lilac Road (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) this year. The daughter of Mastercraftsman (Ire) looked in exceptional form on her last start and could be coming into the race in the sort of form that could see her put in a good performance.

Another that is coming in to the Group 1 having run at Epsom is the Tom Clover-trained Rogue Millennium (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who put herself in the picture for the Oaks when she landed the Listed Oaks Trial Fillies' S. on May 7. She ran a sound race in the main event, finishing seventh and was last seen finishing second in the G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. at Newcastle. She could be one that could outrun her odds and hand her young trainer a day to remember at Goodwood.

What a great day one of Goodwood. The place has such a great feel to it from start to finish. And it’s so nice to be back, after living and working over here several years ago. Goodwood was always the festival I looked forward to the most.

While Royal Ascot is the pinnacle for a lot of people, for mine it feels like Goodwood is the industry’s week. It’s a lot more relaxed and the industry participants love it here. It seems like the real racing fans come to this festival and you can certainly feel that in the crowd, as the people here really know and follow the sport.

We kicked off the week with a lovely dinner with Gai and Rob Waterhouse, and Australian agent Chris Jory and his wife Sarah, on Monday evening, talking about the week ahead and how everyone came to be here at the festival following holidays and travel. We’ve also got some fun stuff lined up with Gai this week, so stayed tuned for that.

Myself and James Hetherington started the Tuesday off with a quick spin round the local golf course with Chris, who plays off a handicap of eight, so he made us both look more ordinary than usual. But despite the ordinary golf, it’s a quite a spectacular course and a great way to start the day and get amongst the festivities of the week.

What is hard not to like about Goodwood is it’s unique location in Chichester, up on the hill looking back down over the coastline, and the track itself which sits atop a working farm which seemed to blow James Hetherington’s mind being his first experience. The track is almost like a figure of nine, with uphill starts, the steep downhill decent, twist and turns; it’s so unique and so obviously different to the tight turning oval tracks we’re accustomed to in Australia.

Goodwood is such a different experience, not only for the horses but also for the spectators. Starting with the pre-race picnics in the car park thanks to great friend Martin Mitchell who hosted us and others such as trainer Charlie Fellowes, Chris Richardson of Cheveley Park, Jimmy George at Tattersalls, and James and Gai Eustace. No better way to start the day.

We settled into the day, thanks to Hermione FitzGerald (must get in touch with her if you ever want to attend this festival), between the QREC box and Owner’s and Trainers bar catching up with old mates and meeting a few new participants in the hope of getting them down to Australia.

The highlight of the day was the bumper crowd out and about to see Stradivarius aiming to win his fifth Goodwood Cup. He is obviously such a star for Goodwood and it was great to see how much the crowd got around him. When he loomed up on the inside in the straight, the roar of the crowd was something else. And despite going down by a short margin, they gave him a parade of honour in the ring after the race to celebrate the horse and what he’s done for the sport. He obviously means a lot to the people down here.

We finished the day watching the local charity cricket match between Lord Tavener's vs Goodwood Cricket at Goodwood Cricket Grounds just around the corner from the hotel where we’re staying, which rounded out the day ideally and sums up the week that is Goodwood.

Between the golf, the Goodwood Hotel, the motor circuit (later in the week), the cricket and of course the races, there is something for everyone here and it really feels like the whole community down here gets behind the festival and celebrations around it.

Bring on Day 2.

Cover image courtesy of Goodwood

Registering his fifth Group 1 win in succession, the son of Sea The Stars (Ire) perhaps lacked that touch of brilliance he served racing fans when taking out the G1 Lockinge S. or G1 Queen Anne earlier in the season.

Minimal fuss

However, brilliance wasn’t needed from the 4-year-old this time and he was able to register his ninth straight win with minimal fuss, effortlessly sweep past the field and come away with a facile 1.8l victory over Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Last-start G1 July Cup winner Alcohol Free (Ire) ran another game race to finish the same distance away in third.

A relieved Haggas said a step up in trip would be next on the agenda for Baaeed, with the Newmarket trainer setting his sights on the G1 Juddmonte International at York and a trip to Ascot on British Champions Day at the end of the season is likely to be last start of Baaeed's so far flawless career.

"He's got speed and he's got class and I'm really looking forward to it [stepping up in trip], and I think he'll enjoy it. We've got him for two more races so let's make the most of him and enjoy him, because he's very likely to go to stud at the end of this year. That will be it and then and I'll spend the rest of my training career trying to find the next one,” said Haggas.

Go the distance

Winning jockey Jim Crowley said the performance was easier than the winning margin suggests and was looking forward to seeing what the horse can do when he is stepped in trip.

"He just does what he has to like his sire [Sea The Stars] did," said Crowley. "Just before the winning line he flicked his ears and completely shut down with me. It's a pleasure to be part of the journey.

"He's never going to be exuberant and win by ten lengths but the feeling I got from him between the three and the two [furlongs], no horse can give you that sort of feel. He's got everything. Good horses like that tick all the boxes.

"It will be really interesting when he goes a mile and a quarter next time and I'm really looking forward to it."

Wearing a brooch bearing the image of her late father pinned to her robe, Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum greeted the horse who has become, for her, so much more than just the best racehorse in the world. “[He's in] every conversation, every conversation. He's part of my life now. My father bred him. It's a 40-year, even longer, process so it just feels very homey and it's nice to have a horse like him. I'm very lucky.”

Bred and raced by the Shadwell Estate company, Baaeed is out of the French Listed winner Aghareed (USA) (Kingmambo {USA}), making him a brother to fellow Shadwell Stud-bred and raced colt Hukum (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and he added further prowess to the pedigree when he took out the G1 Coronation S. at Epsom earlier in the season.

The Sea The Stars / Kingmambo (USA) cross is one of the very best in the book, with Baaeed one of four elite-level winners produced on the nick and with all 20 of the runners bred on his cross winners, including eight stakes scorers it means it fires at an extraordinary stakes winners to runners strike-rate of 40 per cent.

Sea The Stars (Ire) is the sire of 17 other Group 1 winners and they include G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runner-up Sea Of Class (Ire), who, like Baaeed, was also prepared by Haggas.

Oscula puts it all together in the Oak Tree

Oscula (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) added a second Group 3 to her record when she landed the G3 Oak Tree S. at Goodwood on Wednesday and in the process handed trainer George Boughey another high-profile race to his already glowing CV.

A winner of Listed Eternal S. in June, the daughter of Galileo Gold (GB) has been a model of consistency since that win placing on her three occasions, including most recently when she finished second in the G3 Valiant S. at Ascot on July 23.

However, that jaunt a mere four days ago seemed to leave no ill-effects on the filly as she showed tenacity in spades to clinch victory in the shadow of the winning post, beating Internationalangel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) by 0.1l.

“Oscula is a real flagbearer for Nick Bradley who is a big supporter of the yard,” said Boughey.

“She just keeps trying. My girlfriend Laura rides her out so it is a special success. She has run four times in July and I think she is peaking here. To have run four days ago, she is a remarkable horse.

“I sent a video to Nick and William Buick of Oscula charging round the paddock yesterday evening, she is a remarkable horse. She puts her weight on within 24 hours and she is a real star.

“It was a tough watch, but William is a huge part of the team so it was great. I’ve put her in a race in France in 10 days’ time so we might go there.”

Purchased by Michael Aguiar for 4000gns (AU$6954) at Book 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Oscula is by 2016 2000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold (GB), who stands at Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland for a fee of €7000 (AU$10,200).

Another exciting juvenile for No Nay Never

It was a case of deja vu in the G3 Molecomb S. on Wednesday, as talented filly Trillium (GB) handed her trainer Richard Hannon and her sire No Nay Never (USA) with back-to-back triumphs in the Goodwood Group 3.

A fourth length winner of her second start at Newbury on July 15, Trillium emerged out of the pack inside the final furlong and quickened away to post a 1.4l victory over the George Scott-trained Rocket Rodney (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and become the first filly to win the Group 3 since Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) in 2019.

Hannon, who sent out Armor (GB) (No Nay Never {USA}) to victory in the race 12 months ago, said the Breeders’ Cup or G1 Prix Morny in France could be on the agenda for the filly.

“Trillium has always been a lovely filly and I was amazed she did not win here first time. She probably did not know enough and was a bit keen,” said Hannon.

“She won her maiden very nicely at Newbury. We have come back from six furlongs to five and she is starting to look like a very nice two-year-old. She came in late and is a credit to Rockcliffe Stud [owner-breeder]. We have been extremely lucky with these colours, Sky Lantern and Snow Lantern, and it is lovely.

“We will look at the Prix Morny and Ed Sackville mentioned the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. I did not put her in the Lowther as she was not showing this much speed then. She does not have to sprint, and six furlongs won't be a problem.

“She looks like a very tall, strong two-year-old, kind of in the Happy Romance mould, although she is not as 'long' as Happy Romance. I would love to think she is a filly for next year, but she is a Group winner now and that would be a bonus.

“I did want to run her in the Alice Keppel, and that is worth nearly as much money… but if we had won that and then thought we might have won the Molecomb with a homebred, we would have slipped up there slightly!”

Bred and raced by Rockcliffe Stud, Trillium is out of the Group 1-placed mare Marsh Hawk (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who was also bred and raced by Rockcliffe Stud and she is also the dam of stakes-placed Mohawk King (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}).

In winning the race, Trillium joins Group 2 winner Blackbeard (Ire) and Group 3-winning pair Meditate (Ire) and Little Big Bear (Ire) as the stallion’s other stakes-winning juveniles this season. No Nay Never (USA) shuttled to Coolmore’s Australian base for four seasons but did not return in 2020 and his total global stakes haul stands at 40.