Off Limits a sixth top-flight winner for Mastercraftsman

Off Limits added a sixth top-level winner to the stud record of the bang in-form Mastercraftsman when running away with the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes on the turf at Del Mar on Sunday.

The five-year-old mare, who was bred in Ireland by the Carlingford Breeding Syndicate, crept around the inside under Joel Rosario before making rapid headway on the final turn of the mile trip. Off Limits burst to the front inside the final furlong before comfortably leaving German 1,000 Guineas winner Hawksmoor, a daughter of Azamour formerly trained by Hugo Palmer, a length back in second.

The Chad Brown-trained mare, who is a half-sister to the Listed-placed Seinellanima, was recording a hat-trick of stakes wins, having landed a pair of Belmont Grade 3s on her most recent outings. She had landed a Killarney Listed race while in training with David Wachman in Ireland, having been bought by Tom King for just €24,000 at the 2012 Goffs November Foal Sale.

Sunday's result furthers the stakes race-winning spree of Mastercraftsman's progeny, with Master The World having landed the Listed Churchill Stakes at Lingfield and Mint Julep having run out a six-length winner of the Prix du Grand Camp at Lyon Parilly earlier in the month.

MASTERCRAFTSMAN'S TOP-LEVEL WINNERS

Name (Damsire) Group/Grade 1 races won

Amazing Maria (Tale Of The Cat) Falmouth Stakes, Prix Rothschild

Kingston Hill (Rainbow Quest) Racing Post Trophy, St Leger

Off Limits (Efisio) Matriarch Stakes

The Grey Gatsby (Entrepreneur) Prix du Jockey Club, Irish Champion Stakes

Thee Auld Floozie (Spinning World) Thorndon Mile

Valley Girl (Bianconi) Herbie Dyke Stakes

Moreover, it is not only Mastercraftsman's older runners that have been in good form, as the son of Danehill Dancer has also supplied a string of wide-margin two-year-old winners in November.

The sire's current hot streak began when My Lord And Master won a Nottingham maiden by no less than six lengths, while later that same day Lush Life made a taking winning debut in a well-contested Kempton fillies' novice stakes.

The Andre Fabre-trained filly Wind Chimes was next to get in on the act when advertising her Classic credentials with a three-and-a-half length success Listed Prix Herod.

That was followed by the Mark Johnston-trained Lucky Deal looking a good three-year-old prospect as he showed a chunk of improvement to get off the mark on his second start in a Chelmsford conditions stakes. While the German-bred and Mario Hofer-trained Emerald Master made the journey to Saint-Cloud worthwhile when running out a two-and-a-half length winner of the Prix Kantar on Friday.

To date, Mastercraftsman - who will stand 2018 at a fee of €25,000 - has had 21 two-year-old winners throughout Europe in 2017.

Mastercraftsman, whose five crops have yielded 75 stakes performers - including 28 Group winners and 16 Listed scorers, has also been on the mark in the southern hemisphere, most notably with three-year-old filly Luvaluva, who landed the Group 2 G.H.Mumm Wakeful Stakes at Flemington.