One year on, Juliet Capulet shows wherefore she was such a good buy

There is always an extra edge to the big two-year-old races at the Cambridgeshire meeting, sandwiched as it is between the Orby Sale and Tattersalls Book 1. For there is nothing like a spot of black type, for horses picked out this time last year, to vindicate and reinforce the judgement you are putting to a renewed test now.

Take a bow, then, Chris Richardson of Cheveley Park Stud – whose investment of €235,000 in a Dark Angel filly at the 2016 Orby paid off in style on Friday when she won the Group 2 Shadwell Rockfel Stakes.

Now named Juliet Capulet, she was homebred by Dark Angel’s owners at Yeomanstown Stud from a mare by another of their stallions, Camacho, out of Family At War. The latter's other progeny include King's Stand runner-up Flanders, herself dam not only of a Group 1 winner G Force but also of the Grade 3 winner Louvain, in turn dam of a Classic and Breeders' Cup winner in Flotilla. Family At War is additionally granddam of both Prix Robert Papin winner Family One and the top-class sprinter Lethal Force – himself, of course, now standing at Cheveley Park and prior evidence of a successful nick as a son of Dark Angel.

Rockfel Stakes result

Richardson was not alone, incidentally, in his gratification: at Goffs last week Form Bloodstock of South Africa spent €350,000 on a full brother to Juliet Capulet.

Friday's card also yielded handy updates for forthcoming attractions down the road at Tattersalls. Beat The Bank, whose impressive success will doubtless hearten Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha after his liberal spending at Goffs, has an Exceed And Excel half-brother selling in Book 2 as Lot 927. Muffri'Ha's success in the opener, meanwhile, boosted Lot 396 in Book 1: a filly, likewise by Iffraaj, out of her dam’s half-sister.

Muffri'Ha added to her black-type record to boost a close relative in Book 1Credit: Alan Crowhurst

La Figlia, the daughter of Frankel and Finsceal Beo who set an Irish record as a €1.8 million foal, missed the frame only by a neck here after being fast-tracked to Listed company from a promising debut second earlier in the month.

Another product of two champions is Frontiersman, by Dubawi out of Ouija Board and therefore a half-brother to Australia. He profited from a drop to listed company, while the day’s other Group winner, Apphia, proved a walking, running advertisement for Book 1 as a 100,000gns graduate of the 2015 edition.

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