Alexander Goldrun's daughter Goldrush joins China Horse Club broodmare band

Goldrush, the €1,700,000 daughter of Frankel and Alexander Goldrun, has been retired from racing by the China Horse Club and is confirmed in foal to Yeomanstown Stud's flagbearer Dark Angel.

The mare was bought by the China Horse Club from the 2015 Goffs Orby Sale, and went into training with Jim Bolger, for whom she won three races at three, including the Carlingford Stakes and the Cooley Fillies Stakes. Her fourth and final outing came when fourth behind Opal Tiara in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes.

"Goldrush has been confirmed in foal to Dark Angel, which is great," said Mick Flanagan, the China Horse Club's European racing and bloodstock manager. "She's been chilling out in Kildare at David Cox's Baroda Stud ever since she retired and she looks fabulous.

"She's a beautifully balanced mare and has really filled out and strengthened up while she was with Jim Bolger. She obviously had a lot of ability to get those two stakes wins so we're very excited about the future with her. She's an important member of our European broodmare band."

Mick Flanagan: 'We're very excited about the future with Goldrush'Credit: Patrick McCann

Goldrush is the third foal out of Noel O'Callaghan's globe-trotting superstar Alexander Goldrun, a daughter of Gold Away whose five top-flight successes came in back-to-back runnings of the Pretty Polly Stakes, the Nassau Stakes, the Hong Kong Cup and the Prix de l'Opera.

Her other progeny include the 950,000gns Galileo horse Juniper Tree, who is now at stud in Denmark, and the 400,000gns Pietrangelo, who did not race.

Since delivering Goldrush, Alexander Goldrun has produced Une Alliance, a daughter of Shamardal exported to Japan having been bought by Koji Maeda for €600,000, while her two-year-old Muhaarar colt, Khaalis, was bought by Shadwell for 500,000gns at last year's Book 1 yearling sale.

Flanagan also had news of other China Horse Club mares, including Beatrix Potter, dam of champion sprinter Harry Angel, who has been sent for a transatlantic tryst with Triple Crown hero Justify.

"Beatrix Potter has been sent over to Kentucky and has been covered by Justify, she's already been confirmed in foal," said Flanagan. "Physically they're going to suit each other so we're excited about that mating.

Triple Crown hero Justify poses outside of his barn at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in KentuckyCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We've a full-sister to Harry Angel who's a yearling now and looks absolutely exceptional, she's a beautiful filly. She's in Ireland and we're very happy with her. We're sending a handful to Justify, but Beatrix Potter is the only one we've sent over from Europe. She's a very good mare and we know she gets a good type so we thought we'd give it a shot."

Justify brought the curtain on his racing career when carrying the China Horse Club's red and yellow-starred silks to victory in the Belmont Stakes. The son of Scat Daddy now stands at Coolmore's Ashford Stud at a fee of $150,000.

Another headline act among the club's European broodmare band is Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Jet Setting, a £1.3 million purchase at the 2016 Goffs London Sale. The daughter of Fast Company is scheduled to visit Whitsbury Manor Stud's Showcasing.

"Jet Setting has a good Dark Angel colt on the ground and goes to Showcasing this year," said Flanagan. "She was obviously a very good racemare and Showcasing is really coming up through the ranks.

Jet Setting (8) holds off Minding to land the Irish 1,000 GuineasCredit: Caroline Norris

"I think it would be fair to say he's done it the hard way, so I've been really impressed with his results to date. We managed to secure a breeding right in the stallion at the Goffs UK Goodwood Sale last August."

Jet Setting produced her first foal, a colt by Le Havre, on January 22 last year.

As well as its blue-blooded broodmare band, the China Horse Club also has equity in a number of blue-chip stallions, including Dark Angel, Le Havre and Showcasing, as well as Australia, New Bay, Siyouni and Zoustar, with four mares destined for Tweenhills' exciting shuttler.

"We have mares going to Siyouni and Le Havre in France." said Flanagan. "And there's a big chunk going to Australia. From a physical point of view I think his progeny are pretty exceptional and he had plenty of nice two-year-olds last year, anything that ran showed a bit of class.

"He's definitely a stallion we have a high opinion of and we're backing that opinion up by sending him 15 mares.

Australia: set to receive strong support from the China Horse ClubCredit: Coolmore

"New Bay is another young stallion at Ballylinch Stud, he's going into his third season now so has his first crop of foals on the ground.

"We're very happy with the foals we have by him, we sold a couple by him last year, including the colt who topped the sale at Fairyhouse [out of Soteria, bought by Powerstown Stud for €60,000]. We're sending ten or 12 nice ones to him again this year so we're giving him every chance."