Pedigree Insights: Prize Exhibit

The form book shows that any American owner considering importing a European turf filly could do much worse than choosing a daughter of the champion 2-year-old and sprinter Oasis Dream. The 2009 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf provided ample evidence of their suitability for America's firm turf tracks. One daughter, the diminutive Visit, hung onto fourth place after leading much of the way, with victory going to another daughter, Midday. Visit had earlier gone close to winning the Gamely S. and the Yellow Ribbon.

Then there was Tuscan Evening. Although she had been group-placed in Ireland, this daughter of Oasis Dream had failed to win in 11 attempts in Europe. It was a very different story after her transfer to California. Sixteen starts yielded 12 victories, with the GI Gamely S. heading her eight successes at graded level.

Among the others which have done well in the U.S. are Quiet Oasis (GII Royal Heroine S. and GIII Wilshire H.), Strathnaver (GIII Bewitch S.) and Button Down (GIII Cardinal H. last November). It is worth mentioning that Button Down's official rating in Britain stood no higher than 83 after she had failed to win in seven attempts, while Strathnaver's was 81.

In these circumstances, we shouldn't be too surprised that Prize Exhibit, a filly from the first crop by Oasis Dream's son Showcasing, is doing so well in the U.S. This 4-year-old was winning her third graded stakes when she triumphed in the GII Monrovia S.–a race once won by Tuscan Evening.

Prize Exhibit has proved she's tough, as the Monrovia was her 20th start–and she's also versatile in terms of distance, though she has yet to win at a mile and an eighth.

Kasseopia, a colt by Showcasing, was second in the GIII Grey S. at Woodbine last October and it should be interesting to follow the progress of Showcasing's ex-French son Projected, who is joining Juddmonte's American squad.

I have to admit that Prize Exhibit's sire, Showcasing, ultimately proved one of the biggest disappointments to me during my long association with Juddmonte Farms. His first few starts were good enough to suggest that he might be capable of following in Oasis Dream's footsteps by dominating his generation at two.

Having failed by only a head to wear down the future G1 Prix Morny winner Arcano on debut, Showcasing then easily won a maiden at Yarmouth before stepping into group company in the historic Gimcrack S. Showcasing won this G2 contest in style, lowering the 2-year-old six-furlong course record in the process. He then attempted to emulate Oasis Dream's victory in the G1 Middle Park S., but could finish only third.

Showcasing's next mission was to try to become as good a sprinter as his sire and his quest started very well. As the youngest in a 12-horse field for the G2 Duke of York S., Showcasing faced a difficult task on his return to action at three. However, he confirmed his potential in finishing a close second. Unfortunately, it all went horribly wrong after that, with Showcasing trailing home last of 24 next time and 13th of 14 on what proved to be his final appearance. He didn't look very enthusiastic towards the end of his career, but maybe something was hurting him.

Without the Group 1 win which Juddmonte usually demands of future stallions, Showcasing was sold to Whitsbury Manor Stud–an establishment which did so well with Young Generation and his son Cadeaux Genereux. Showcasing began his career at a fee of £5,000, which fell to £4,500 in each of the next three years. You can gauge how well he has started from the fact that his fee rose to £15,000 after his first 2-year-olds raced in 2014 and it has now climbed to £25,000. Showcasing owes this substantial rise to his achievement of siring three first-crop group/graded winners, while his second includes Quiet Reflection, a Group 3 winner who has been beaten only once in four starts, and the very useful Tasleet.

Another indication of his potential was the popularity of Showcasing's third-crop yearlings in 2015. At 42 foals, this third crop is roughly half the size of its two predecessors and it bears repeating that it was sired at a fee of only £4,500. Even so, Shadwell was prepared to pay six-figure sums to secure the top two, paying 330,000gns for Tawaafoq, a colt out of Gilt Linked, and £170,000 for Waqaas, a colt out of Red Mischief. Altogether these third-crop yearlings averaged nearly 48,000gns, which suggests that they have sufficient quality to compensate for their lack of quantity.

Incidentally, Shadwell's eagerness to acquire Showcasing yearlings reflects the success of Tasleet, a second-crop colt who earned nearly £220,000 for Sheikh Hamdan last year.

Showcasing's success surely bodes well for Muhaarar, Shadwell's champion son of Oasis Dream who starts his career at a fee of £30,000. However, it is unrealistic to expect every son of a high-class stallion to make the grade as a sire. For example, three young group-winning sons of Oasis Dream have recently moved location after failing to make a big enough impact with their early crops.

Arcano has moved from Ireland to Italy, as has Frozen Power, and Approve (sire of the smart Group 3 winner Waady) has gone from Ireland to Turkey.

I am expecting better things from Power, Oasis Dream's G1 National S. and G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner, when his first 2-year-olds race this year. This tough horse achieved such prices as 180,000gns, 160,000gns and €150,000 with his yearlings.

Coincidentally, Power and Prize Exhibit share the same broodmare sire in Inchinor. This son of the remarkable Ahonoora stood only 15.1 hands, but that didn't diminish his eagerness for a fight. His five victories included one gained by a short head, two by a neck and one by half a length, so he possessed admirable determination.

As a very small horse who won nothing more important than a trio of Group 3 races over seven furlongs, Inchinor can't have found it easy to establish himself as a stallion. He was also only 13 when he died, so his total output stood at only 527 foals. Among them, though, were nearly 4% group winners, headed by the Group 1 winners Notnowcato, Latice, Cape of Good Hope, Silca's Sister and Summoner.

His broodmare daughters have 16 group winners to their credit, including the Group 1 winners Power, Curvy, We Are and Dominant.

Prize Exhibit's dam Roodeye wasn't a stakes winner but wasn't far from that standard, with a Timeform rating of 100. She was also closely related to Inchinor's son Bannister, winner of the G2 Gimcrack S. in 2000. In addition to sharing the same sire as Roodeye, Bannister was a half-brother to Roodeye's dam, the speedy Roo. This family isn't short of speed and 2-year-old talent and has produced winners of both the G1 Cheveley Park S. (champion filly Dead Certain) and G1 Middle Park S. (Astaire).