Royal Ascot day five pedigree wrap: welcome to the Shamardal show

Father and son Shamardal and Lope De Vega both notched the Poule d'Essai des Poulains-Prix du Jockey Club double before becoming top sires and they supplied the first two home in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday.

It was the older generation who claimed bragging rights as Shamardal's son Pinatubo, a Godolphin homebred who was a convincing winner of the Woodcote Stakes last time out, outpaced the Lope De Vega colt Lope Y Fernandez, a highly touted half-brother to Dark Vision who had scored impressively at the Curragh for Aidan O'Brien on his debut, to score by more than three lengths.

It has been some week for Shamardal, a 17-year-old son of Giant's Causeway who has stood the last four seasons at Kildangan Stud on a private basis.

Most notably, his speedy son Blue Point completed a rare double in the King's Stand and Diamond Jubilee Stakes; and Cape Byron made it a treble for the sire on Saturday when he struck in the Wokingham Handicap. Moreover, Shamardal's daughter Jubiloso was a fine third in the Coronation Stakes, while stallion son Mukhadram supplied the Sandringham Handicap winner Thanks Be and daughter Spasha is the dam of Commonwealth Cup third Hello Youmzain.

Pinatubo: Godolphin homebred was an easy winner of the Chesham StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Pinatubo is the third foal out of 11-furlong Longchamp Listed winner Lava Flow, a daughter of Dalakhani – whose son Defoe landed the Hardwicke Stakes later on the card. The dam's previous runners, both by Dubawi, are Al Mureib, a non-winner but placed in seven of his nine starts, and Antisana, a filly who won a 12-furlong conditions race at Strasbourg last month for Henri-Alex Pantall.

Lava Flow is a three-parts sister to Group 1-placed Strobilus out of the Barathea mare Mount Elbrus, a Listed winner over ten and a half furlongs on heavy at Saint-Cloud and a half-sister to Rod Millman's classy performer Master Carpenter.

The performances of those relations suggest Pinatubo should relish at least ten furlongs in his three-year-old season and beyond.

Further back it is the family of Prix de Diane heroine Rafha, who made a big impact on the Irish stallion ranks by producing Invincible Spirit and Kodiac.

Lave Flow has a yearling filly by Sea The Stars and filly foal by Teofilo.

Pinatubo and Cape Byron are bred on a similar cross, for while the former is out of a mare by Dalakhani, the latter is out of a mare by another son of Darshaan in Mark Of Esteem.

Blue Point a superb stallion prospect

Shamardal's success this season, both as a sire in his own right and as a paternal grandsire chiefly through Lope De Vega supplying the likes of Phoenix Of Spain and Zabeel Prince, will only pour more fuel on demand for his son Blue Point when he joins the Darley stallion ranks next year.

If Blue Point – whose pedigree is outlined in Tuesday's Royal Ascot wrap – does half as well as the last horse to win the King's Stand and Diamond Jubilee in the same week, he'll do all right.

Shamardal: enjoying an excellent year as sire and grandsireCredit: Darley

His predecessor Choisir has supplied 171 stakes performers, including 51 Group winners and 11 who struck at the highest level. Choisir's progeny have often been highly effective at Royal Ascot, with his offspring such as Laddies Poker Too, Rajasinghe and Starspangledbanner having scored at the meeting.

Laddies Poker Too became the dam of Coronation Stakes heroine Winter and Starspangledbanner supplied Royal Ascot winners Anthem Alexander and The Wow Signal with his first juveniles. Furthermore, Choisir's son Olympic Glory – who didn't win at the meeting but ran second to Dawn Approach in a vintage Coventry Stakes – was on the mark as a sire with Friday's Coronation Stakes winner Watch Me.

Pedigree and performance aside, Blue Point's major claim to fame as a stallion will be his extraordinary durability, so rare in stud recruits these days it could be argued. He has shown high-class form over four consecutive seasons and finished out of the first three on only three of his 20 starts.

Reem a broodmare dream

Shamardal's third winner of the day, Cape Byron, is a homebred for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum and he is out of a dam who has quietly become one of the jewels in the Dubai royal family's broodmare band.

The Roger Varian-trained five-year-old Cape Byron is one of six winners and four black-type performers out of the Listed-placed Mark Of Esteem mare Reem Three, a half-sister to Celebration Mile winner and Arlington Million runner-up Afsare.

Cape Byron: his dam Reem Three is a rising star of the broodmare ranksCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Reem Three is also the dam of Ostilio (by New Approach), who won the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot last year and went on to claim Group 2 honours in France; Ajman Princess (by Teofilo), who finished second in the Ribblesdale Stakes in 2016 and later won the Prix Jean Romanet; Imperial Charm (by Dubawi), who was fourth in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and third in the Prix Saint-Alary last month; and Naqshabban (by Street Cry), a classy handicapper with a Racing Post Rating of 111.

All eyes will be on Reem Three's future progeny. She has no two-year-old produce but has a yearling colt by Sea The Stars and a Frankel colt foal.

A breath of fresh air in the sire standings

Four sires delivered three or more winners at Royal Ascot this week. Three are the big-earning blue-chip names of Galileo, who stands at Coolmore at an undisclosed price believed to be well into six figures; his brother Sea The Stars, who commands a fee of €135,000 at Gilltown Stud; and Shamardal, who covers at Kildangan Stud on a private basis and was advertised at €70,000 in his last public season.

But the other – giving succour to breeders on smaller budgets – is Bated Breath, who covered at Banstead Manor Stud at just £10,000 this year.

The son of Dansili supplied Thursday's Britannia Stakes winner Biometric and Friday's Albany Stakes scorer Daahyeh, and he completed a treble when son Space Traveller finished with a flourish to deny the better fancied Space Blues in the Jersey Stakes on Saturday.

Space Traveller (near side) gets the better of Space Blues in the Jersey StakesCredit: Mark Cranham

Bated Breath's roll of honour as a sire from four crops of racing age now stands at eight stakes winners, with Daahyeh and Space Traveller joined by the likes of Group 2 victors Beckford and Worth Waiting and US stakes scorers Feel Glorious and Simply Breathless.

The Richard Fahey-trained Space Traveller was bred by the El Catorce Partnership and is the fourth foal out of the winning Galileo mare Sky Crystal, making him a half-brother to Dick Poole Fillies' Stakes third Pellucid (by Excelebration).

Sky Crystal, bought as a five-year-old by Global Equine Group for 66,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, was bred and raced by Lord Lloyd-Webber and is out of Snow Crystal, a winning Kingmambo half-sister to Fillies' Mile heroine Crystal Music and further Pattern winners Dubai Success, Solar Crystal and State Crystal as well as Irish Derby third Tchaikovsky.

Sky Crystal also has a two-year-old Bated Breath filly named Rubia Bella, along with a yearling filly by Exceed And Excel and a filly foal by Postponed.

Space Traveller was bought by Joe Foley on behalf of owner Steve Parkin's Clipper Logistics for 85,000gns from the Castlebridge Consignment draft at Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Nagano Gold comes out swinging for Sixties

With no disrespect to the race winner Defoe – whose pedigree we put in the spotlight when he won the Coronation Cup last month – one of the most eye-catching runs on the final day of Royal Ascot was put up by Hardwicke Stakes runner-up Nagano Gold.

The Czech-trained challenger was hampered at the start, stuck behind horses when full of running under Christophe Soumillon throughout the race and was carried right a furlong from home, but finished with a full head of steam to finish a half-length second.

The five-year-old Nagano Gold, owned and trained by Vaclav Luka jnr, is another feather in the cap for his underrated sire Sixties Icon, the first-crop son of Galileo who led home a one-two-three for the stallion in the St Leger at York in 2006.

Nagano Gold (right) goes off in hot pursuit of winner Defoe in the Hardwicke StakesCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Sixties Icon – who is also out of an Oaks winner in Love Divine – has stood all his 11 seasons at fees of £8,500 or less at Norman Court Stud, and not received the highest calibre of mare despite his pedigree and Classic victory, but he has often outperformed the chances he has been granted. He has delivered the Group/Grade 2 winners Nancy From Nairobi and Sixties Groove, Group 3 scorers Chilworth Icon, Czabo and Epsom Icon and Listed winners Audacia, Cruck Realta, Iconic Choice and Nagano Gold.

He has done even better in his shuttle trips to South America, where he has left the Argentinean-bred Grade 1 winners Crazy Icon and Sixties Song and Grade 2 scorer Mr Baroni, and he has already made his mark at Royal Ascot this week with Ascot Stakes runner-up Buildmeupbuttercup.

Sixties Icon is also the source of Ebor winner and Melbourne Cup fifth Nakeeta and the Mick Channon-trained smart middle-distance performer Harrison, now a useful sort for Liam Howley in Australia.

Nagano Gold was bred by Messrs Cantillon and Knight out the unraced Monsun mare Never Enough, a half-sister to stakes winners Nevermore and Night Sun who has already produced a Group 3 winner in Jamr.

In a demonstration of how underestimated Sixties Icon so often is, it took Luka a bid of just 3,500gns to purchase Nagano Gold at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale of 2014 and spirit him away to the Czech Republic.

Power to Srivaddhanaprabha racing venture

All participants in the bloodstock industry would surely have welcomed a first Royal Ascot win of the week in the final race of the meeting for the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's King Power Racing, as Cleonte ground out victory in the Queen Alexandra Stakes.

Srivaddhanaprabha, who tragically died in a helicopter crash at the Leicester City stadium last October, had been an enthusiastic investor in high-class horses, with success at the royal meeting his main objective. It is believed, and sincerely hoped, that Vichai's son Aiyawatt, known as Top, will nurture and help extend his father's legacy in the sport.

Cleonte: a Royal Ascot winner for King Power Racing no one would begrudgeCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Cleonte, who was bred by his former owner Edouard de Rothschild's Haras de Meautry, is by Lanwades Stud-based Derby victor Sir Percy out of an unraced Beat Hollow half-sister to Grand Prix de Paris winner Zambezi Sun.

King Power Racing had no fewer than 22 runners at Royal Ascot this week and were unlucky to hit the cross bar on a number of occasions, not least with Beat The Bank a neck runner-up in the Queen Anne Stakes and Fox Chairman an unlucky in running second in the Hampton Court Stakes.

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