Caulfield Pedigree Insights: Signs of Blessing

Wonderful though it is to have a stallion of Galileo's extraordinary achievements, his near-total dominance has prevented several other worthy stallions from adding those magic words “champion sire” to their CVs. Galileo currently seems assured of recording his eighth Anglo-Irish championship in the last nine years, the only blip coming in 2009, when Danehill Dancer earned a well-deserved title. Among the other stallions which have had to play second fiddle to this virtuoso are such gifted individuals as Dansili, Montjeu (twice), Dubawi (twice) and Invincible Spirit, while Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars is his nearest challenger this year.

Invincible Spirit did particularly well to finish runner-up to Galileo in 2014, as his progeny rarely stay well enough to shine in the 10- and 12-furlong events which often carry the most prize-money. However, he is perfectly capable of siring first-rate milers and in 2014 he was represented by two of them, with Kingman's sequence of Group 1 victories earning him Horse of the Year honours, while Charm Spirit won the very valuable G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. after two other Group 1 triumphs in France.

I thought Invincible Spirit was well placed to enjoy another stand-out year in 2016–especially at sprint distances–as he had been responsible for two of 2015's fastest juvenile colts. Shalaa ranked second on the European 2-YearOld Racehorse rankings following a campaign which featured wins in four six-furlong group contests. Then there was Ajaya, conqueror of Ribchester in the G2 Gimcrack S.

Unfortunately, Shalaa has been on the sidelines this year and Ajaya has failed to shine in two starts. Even so, Invincible Spirit has still made a major impact on Europe's top sprints, thanks to his older progeny. The 4-year-old Profitable, who is destined to join the Darley stallion team, has scaled the group-race ladder, stepping up from the G3 Palace House S. to the G2 Temple S. and then to the G1 King's Stand S. And now a second Group 1 winner–his 13th in the Northern Hemisphere–has emerged in the shape of the French-trained Signs of Blessing, who took Sunday's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. There have also been listed sprint successes for Spirit Raiser, the durable Spirit Quartz and Rivellino.

Signs of Blessing's Deauville win means that Invincible Spirit has now sired the winners of four editions of the Maurice de Gheest, with the first three coming by courtesy of that top-class sprinter-miler Moonlight Cloud. The 19-year-old's collection of top European sprints also features two editions of the G1 July Cup (via Fleeting Spirit and Mayson), a G2 King George S. (Muthmir) and two G2 Prix du Gros-Chene (Spirit Quartz and Muthmir). He has also gone close to winning Europe's three Group 1 five-furlong races–the King's Stand, the Nunthorpe S. and the Prix de l'Abbaye.

His other accomplishments include the title of leading first-crop sire in 2006 and two second places on the sires of two year olds table (on one occasion beaten by Galileo). His effectiveness is this role has brought him three victories in the G2 Flying Childers S., two each in the G1 Cheveley Park S., G2 Gimcrack S., G2 Lowther S., G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and G3 Molecomb S., plus single victories in the G1 Prix Morny, G1 Middle Park S., G2 July S. and G2 Richmond S. All these wins were gained over sprint distances, but he also showed a degree of versatility by siring Vale of York, who defeated Lookin At Lucky to land the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile over 1 1/16 miles on all-weather.

Although Invincible Spirit did all his winning over six furlongs, he very occasionally comes up with colts which stay a mile and a quarter or more, the prime example being his G1 Prix du Jockey-Club winner Lawman. Others include Allied Powers (G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly), Speaking of Which (G3 Gallinule S.), Grendisar (G3 Winter Derby), Born To Sea (second in the G1 Irish Derby) and the smart Ektihaam.

It wouldn't have been a great surprise had Signs of Blessing developed into one of Invincible Spirit's better stayers, as his first four dams were sired by Seeking the Gold, Nashwan, Nijinsky and Round Table, all of whom won over at least a mile and a quarter. This, coupled with the fact that Invincible Spirit's dam Rafha won the G1 Prix de Diane, should surely have allowed Signs of Blessing to stay at least a mile but his trainer Francois Rohaut has evidently never entertained any thoughts that the free-running Signs of Blessing was anything but a sprinter. Only one of his 19 starts–his first–has been over a distance as long as seven furlongs and his speed has brought him eight wins.

Bearing in mind that there is a ready market for Invincible Spirit's stallion sons, the connections of Signs of Blessing must now be wondering whether they made the right decision when they had him gelded in September last year. I'm sure they did. The facts are that the then-4-year-old had failed to shine in his four starts of 2015. And, although he had previously won a couple of listed races and the G3 Goldene-Peitsche, that wasn't a strong enough basis for a stallion career. The gelding operation has certainly paid off, helping Signs of Blessing reach new levels as a 5-year-old. His Maurice de Gheest win was his third in five 2016 starts and follows a fine third in the G1 Diamond Jubilee, in which he led until the final 50 yards.

Had Signs of Blessing still been an entire when he won the Maurice de Gheest, he would certainly have attracted plenty of attention as a potential stallion. He could hardly have a better female line as his fourth dam, La Dame du Lac, was a daughter of the celebrated Cosmah. Not only did Cosmah produce Halo, but she was also a half-sister to Natalma, dam of Northern Dancer and third dam of Danehill, and to Bubbling Beauty, dam of Arctic Tern. Needless to say, Halo, Northern Dancer, Danehill and Arctic Tern all developed into champion stallions.

The links between La Dame du Lac and Signs of Blessing are Nazoo, winner of all four of her juvenile starts in 1990; Sunray Superstar, a listed-placed sister to Nadia, winner of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary; and Signs of Blessing's unraced dam Sun Bittern. Sun Bittern's owners have been convinced that the Green Desert male line was ideal for their mare, and she produced consecutive foals by three sons of Green Desert–Oasis Dream, Invincible Spirit and Cape Cross. She also has a yearling sister to Signs of Blessing which is scheduled to sell as lot 129 at Arqana next Monday and she was covered this year by Oasis Dream's champion son Muhaarar.

One incentive for following this route is the marked success that Green Desert's sons have enjoyed with mares by a variety of Mr Prospector stallions. Cape Cross, of course, sired the superb Sea The Stars from a Miswaki mare, while Oasis Dream sired that top-notch racemare Midday from a Kingmambo mare, plus two Group 1 winners, Naaqoos and the top five-furlong horse Goldream, from Machiavellian mares. Invincible Spirit, for his part, owed his classic-winning son Lawman to a daughter of Gulch and his Group 1 winners Hooray and Territories to mares by Machiavellian.