The winners keep flowing for Danehill Dancer, the sire of Alfred Nobel.
At the British Championship Day at Ascot last weekend, Dancing Rain continued on her winning way taking the 1 1/2 mile Group 2 Fillies &Mares Stakes.
Dancing Rain (3f Danehill Dancer-Rain Flower, by Indian Ridge) had won the Group 1 English Oaks in June and the Group 1 German Oaks in August.
Before the Classics she had taken the Robert Sangster Memorial in England and was a close second in the Swettenham Stud Fillies’ Trial Stakes. This was most appropriate because Dancing Rain was bred by Swettenham Stud.
Trainer William Haggas now plans to run Dancing Rain in the Japan Cup.
Dancing Rain’s dam is a three-quarter sister to Dr Devious, winner of the Group 1 English Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes.
Not to be outdone, Look At Me then led throughout to win the 8 1/2 furlong Listed Navigation Stakes at York, England.
Look At Me is by Danehill Dancer from Queen Cleopatra, by Kingmambo, winner of the Group 3 One Thousand Guineas Trial in Ireland and third in the Group 1 Irish One Thousand Guineas and French Oaks.
Danehill Dancer now has 1,968 named foals for 1,719 starters (87.3 per cent), 1,116 winners (65 per cent) and 132 stakes winners (7.7 per cent).
Coolmore Stud, the world’s leading racing and breeding operation who own Alfred Nobel in partnership with Lynward Park Stud, rate Danehill Dancer the best sire son of the legendary Danehill, who has changed the face of Australian racing.
Alfred Nobel won the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, six furlongs, and Group 2 Railway Stakes, six furlongs, as a 2Y0 in Ireland, joining Mastercraftsman, Holy Roman Emperor and George Washington to complete the double.
Alfred Nobel comes from one of Europe’s best maternal lines. His second dam, Dazzling Park, was champion European 3Y0 filly in 1999 and his third dam, Park Express, was joint champion 2Y0 filly in Ireland in 1985 and top filly on the 1986 English 3Y0 Free Handicap and champion 3Y0 filly in Ireland.
Remember, when you inspect Alfred Nobel he is a young horse who is just starting to let down into a stallion.
He was a cracking yearling. Coolmore did not breed him but selected him on type.
Alfred Nobel has the natural ability to produce juvenile winners and the pedigree to get Classic contenders.
And for those who knock Irish race form: Get real.
You may not have noticed it but in recent years Aidan O’Brien and his contempories, and well before that Vincent O’Brien and others, have regularly plundering the world’s greatest races with Irish runners.
They are clearly the trendsetters.
Knock Irish form! It’s equal to, or better than, any in the world.