Anapurna set for star date with Kingman as Meon Valley reveals mating plans

In a Meon Valley broodmare band packed full of quality, 2019 Oaks heroine Anapurna is set for one of the most eagerly awaited dates, with a visit to Kingman booked in.

There is also an extra note of anticipation surrounding her, with the daughter of Frankel bidding to take over the illustrious mantle from her recently retired dam Dash To The Top.

While some breeders have reported difficulties relating to Brexit, the Hampshire stud's managing partner Mark Weinfeld said his team had enjoyed a smooth run when it came to sending mares to Ireland in 2021.

Among the Irish-based stallions set to be visited by Meon Valley Stud mares this time around are Camelot, Earthlight, Kodiac, New Bay and St Mark's Basilica.

Weinfeld said: "We sent mares to Ireland last year and didn't have any problems. I think we might have more trouble sending them to France, so we're sending a barren mare to Telecaster; we didn't last year as we thought it might be difficult."

Anapurna provided her newly crowned British and Irish champion sire with his first British Classic winner when victorious at Epsom in May 2019, and the six-year-old has taken well to motherhood having produced a "cracking" filly by Lope De Vega last year.

Weinfeld said: "Anapurna's filly foal by Lope De Vega is a beautiful yearling now, while she's in foal to Dubawi."

On the decision to send Anapurna to Frankel's Banstead Manor studmate Kingman, he said: "She's quite inbred to the Sadler's Wells line so we've got to look for something else and we noticed that Kingman and Invincible Spirit have both worked well with Montjeu and Galileo mares. It's a different direction to try. I think the stallion will suit her."

Anapurna is the sixth foal out of the Listed-winning Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Dash To The Top, a daughter of Montjeu who produced a full sibling to Anapurna last term. However, Dash To The Top will now enjoy retirement after plans went awry this year.

Weinfeld said: "She's absolutely fine but was in foal to Territories and sadly aborted to him the other day. The mare has been tricky to get in foal but we've got a full-sister to Anapurna so I think that's it with her. Retirement beckons."

Frankel, meanwhile, is set to receive a stakes-winning and Group-placed daughter of Kingman in Twist 'N' Shake, who is currently carrying to Too Darn Hot.

Twist 'N' Shake, who won two of her seven starts for John Gosden, with her biggest success coming in the Listed Prix de Bagatelle, is out of Hippy Hippy Shake, who is in foal to Nathaniel and is pencilled in to visit Sea The Moon.

On the decision to send Twist 'N' Shake to Frankel, Weinfeld said: "It makes use of the Galileo-Danehill Dancer cross. The dam, although very talented, is quite small so we thought we'd try to add some size and substance to the offspring."

Prix Jean Romanet and Prix de l'Opera heroine Speedy Boarding is already responsible for the winning Dubawi colt Legend Of Dubai, and the daughter of Shamardal is set to return to Dalham Hall Stud for a mating with first-season sire Palace Pier.

"We're lucky enough to have got a breeding right in Palace Pier, who is a smashing looking horse and an exciting prospect," said Weinfeld. "It will be a similar sort of cross that produced Cable Bay, Domestic Spending, Territories and Pretty Pollyanna."

Another high-class mare, Shirocco Star, a Classic-placed daughter of Shirocco and the dam of two Group winners in Telecaster and Al Suhail, also heads to Darley, in her case for a date with Dubawi.

The 13-year-old has already produced last season's Challenge Stakes winner Al Suhail to the record-breaking sire, and has the distinction of getting three black-type winners from as many foals to race, with Starcaster taking the Listed Torney Night Cup at Moonee Valley last year.

Shirocco Star (black silks): set to return to DubawiCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We're repeating the mating that produced Al Suhail," said Weinfeld. "Remarkably, her three foals of racing age are all black-type winners now."

Shirocco Star's other Group 2-winning son, Telecaster - whose career-best effort came when landing the Dante Stakes from Too Darn Hot - has his first foals on the ground at Haras du Mesnil and Weinfeld revealed that the son of New Approach would receive the winning Pivotal mare Wilbury Twist.

He said: "I've seen a lovely photo of one of Telecaster's first foals, and we thought it would be nice to send something and give him some support. I was hoping to go and see him last year but never got there due to Covid; I'm hoping to go later this year."

Prix de la Nonette winner Jazzi Top is already the dam of a winner in Main Target, a son of Pivotal, and she is set to be among the first book of Coolmore's champion St Mark's Basilica.

"We're sending Jazzi Top over to him, that will give us a mating that is similar to the one that produced Izzi Top," explained Weinfeld. "Pivotal and Galileo have worked with Danehill Dancer, so fingers crossed it works again for us."

Jazzi Top's Pivotal half-sister, the aforementioned Izzi Top - whose career highlights came with victories in the Pretty Polly Stakes and Prix Jean Romanet - is one of two mares set to visit European champion two-year-old and exciting Darley sire Too Darn Hot.

Weinfeld said: "The cross has produced Zarak and New Bay, while Izzi Top's best offspring to date is Prince Eiji, who's by Dubawi, whose sons are doing very well.

"Last Tango Inparis will also visit Too Darn Hot; hopefully we're making good use of the Dubawi on a Green Desert line cross."

Dash To The Front, responsible for Speedy Boarding, has also been booked into a Darley stallion, this time record-breaking champion juvenile Pinatubo, while Tropicana Bay, a half-sister to dual Group 3 winner Ballet Concerto and Poule d'Essai des Poulains second Havane Smoker, will be covered by Derby hero Masar.

A daughter of Diktat, Dash To The Front has produced seven winners from eight runners, including Speedy Boarding, the American Grade 3 winner Value Proposition and Miss Dashwood, a winning daughter of Dylan Thomas and herself the dam of Queen's Vase winner Dashing Willoughby.

Miss Dashwood will be covered by Showcasing after giving birth to a foal by Blue Point.

Pinatubo: Darley sire set to be visited by Dash To The FrontCredit: Mark Cranham

Weinfeld said: "Pinatubo is by Shamardal and Dash To The Front produced Speedy Boarding by going to Shamardal, so I definitely thought that was worth trying again.

"Tropicana Bay will go to Masar. I saw him recently and I was taken by how well he'd let down, he's another smashing looking horse."

Weinfeld reported that Lady Mascara and Elmetto are set to visit Ulysses, the Meon Valley boss having been impressed by Cheveley Park Stud's son of Galileo and Light Shift as a physical specimen and also by his first runners in 2021.

"I like Ulysses, he's a very good looking horse and we've supported him from the start, we like the stock he's producing," he explained. "He looks like he could make up into a good stallion, he made a very good start last term."

Monzza, an unraced daughter of Meon Valley's great broodmare Zee Zee Top, is another notable name heading over to Ireland, this time for a tryst with a Tally-Ho Stud stalwart.

Weinfeld said: "We're sending a Montjeu mare called Monzza to Kodiac, which is a similar mating that gave us Jazzi Top and also produced the likes of Peeping Fawn and Horatio Nelson."

A new recruit to the Meon Valley broodmare ranks is Cosmic Princess, a dual stakes-placed daughter of Galaxy Highflyer - an unraced Galileo three-parts sister to Kayf Tara and Opera House, as well as a half-sister to Zee Zee Top.

The Kingman five-year-old will visit Camelot for her first covering, with Weinfeld saying: "Camelot's a great sire and his Russian Camelot is out of a mare [Lady Babooshka] from a family we bred; this will be on a similar cross."

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