Dream Ahead and Elusive Kate to the fore in Classifications
THE International Classifications were released on Tuesday (Jan 10) and confirmed a glittering success story for Blandford Bloodstock.
Dream Ahead, knocked down to Blandford at the 2010 Doncaster breeze-ups, was revealed as champion European sprinter for his generation.
Also emerging at the top of her class was Elusive Kate – purchased as a yearling at Keeneland – assessed as joint leading two-year-old filly for last season.
The pair, among no less than five Blandford-bought individual winners of seven Group 1 races in 2011, proved to be outstanding value with Dream Ahead secured for £36,000 and Elusive Kate going under the hammer for $70,000.
Dream Ahead, a son of Diktat, last season added three Group 1 victories to the two he landed as a top-class juvenile.
Trained by David Simcock in Newmarket, the colt won the July Cup, the Sprint Cup and the Prix de la Foret in which he toppled the magnificent mare Goldikova.
He achieved a rating of 126, only surpassed in the world by one other-three-year-old, the unbeaten Frankel who topped the overall classifications.
Elusive Kate took joint top spot among the two-year-old fillies after a superb first season in training. She notched four wins, the highlight of which was her brilliant success in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac.
Trainer John Gosden’s charge, given an assessment figure of 116 along with Maybe, is on course for a Guineas tilt in May.
Elusive Kate wasn’t the only Blandford buy to claim the spoils at the top level in France. The Andre Fabre-trained Be Fabulous took the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in October.
The daughter of Samum, a full-sister to Group 1 winner Baila Me was purchased as a yearling at the BBAG September Yearling sale in 2008 for €250,000.
Blandford Bloodstock’s international success wasn’t limited to just France, either, as their acquisition Nereid triumphed in the Grace 1 American Oaks for trainer John Shirreffs at Hollywood last July.
Excelebration was the other horse bought by the leading Newmarket-based agency to feature prominently in the International Classifications.
Acquired privately in August for the Coolmore partners of John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, the Marco Botti-trained colt was assessed at 126, alongside Dream Ahead, making that pair the joint second best three-year-olds in the world for 2011.
Excelebration, winner of the Group 1 Prix du Moulin in September, remains in training for 2012 and will be under the care of trainer Aidan O’Brien.
Blandford chairman Tom Goff said: “Obviously we are delighted that these Blandford purchases have achieved so much in the last 12 months.
“It is absolutely fantastic for all their connections and also a testament to the skills of their trainers namely David Simcock, John Gosden, Andre Fabre, John Shirreffs and Marco Botti.
“It is also tremendous that there are two champions among them in what was such a memorable season. We must now concentrate on the task of unearthing some more champions of the future.”