The Weekly Wrap

Bungle Inthejungle (GB) continues to increase his lead at the head of the freshman sires' table with four winners from his 12 runners to date, the latest being the John Quinn-trained Carey Street (Ire) at Pontefract on Monday. Far more intriguing at this time of year, however, is a peek at how the second-crop sires are faring with their first 3-year-old runners.

Four of this set in Europe have had a brace of stakes winners apiece this season. We'll hear plenty more of Cityscape (GB), the sire of last weekend's black-type winners Dan's Dream (GB) and The Broghie Man (GB) in accompanying features in today's edition.

Havana Gold (GB) had a terrific flagbearer last season in Havana Grey (GB) and that colt may be seen next in the G3 Prix Texanita on May 9. In the meantime, G2 Coventry S. runner-up Headway (GB) returned in great style to win the listed Spring Cup for William Haggas and heads to the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas with Raid (GB), who was fourth in the G3 Greenham S. on Saturday.

Finishing just behind Raid on Saturday was Fighting Irish (Ire), the winner last season of the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte to give Camelot (GB) a first Group success. He may also head to the Texanita before contesting the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot, while his sire has a German Classic contender in Alounak (Fr), who backed up his juvenile listed success with victory in Dusseldorf's Derby Trial on Apr. 8. Wait Forever (Ire) became Camelot's third black-type winner with his victory in the listed Premio Pisa on Mar. 25.

Dawn Approach (Ire) was mentioned in dispatches in last week's Wrap following a Group 3 victory for the unbeaten Musis Amica (GB) and he enjoyed more success in the Godolphin blue on Sunday, this time for Willie McCreery, who trains Guineas entrant Mary Tudor (Ire), the decisive winner of the Listed Salsabil S. at Navan.

It was also a banner day on Thursday for Dawn Approach's oft-overlooked sire New Approach (Ire) when two colts, both out of Cape Cross (Ire) mares, posted memorable victories at Newmarket. Masar (Ire) had only arrived in town from Dubai the previous weekend but he was the hottest performer in a sustained hot streak for his trainer Charlie Appleby when blasting home in the G3 Craven S. by nine lengths. Earlier on the card, the ultra-competitive Wood Ditton Maiden went the way of Shadwell colt Sawwaah (GB), trained by Owen Burrows.

No Bungling For Channon…

No trainer can rival Appleby's strike rate at present, which is sitting at 47% for the last fortnight, with eight winners from his 17 runners. Also weighing in with eight during that period is Mick Channon, whose stable's five winners on Friday rolled over into a third victory in the G3 Fred Darling S. with Dan's Dream.

Similarly satisfying for the trainer will have been the victory at Bath for Kinks (GB), a 2-year-old son of Sixties Icon (GB), who stands at Channon's Norman Court Stud and was bred by him out of the equally rock-and-roll-themed mare Crazee Diamond (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}).

It's six years since Samitar (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) became Channon's most recent Classic winner in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, and the trainer will be hoping that Dan's Dream can deliver him another Guineas next month, but in the meantime he has already contributed to the great start made at stud by another of his former trainees, Bungle Inthejungle. Channon saddled the second of his winners, Jungle Inthebungle (Ire), a homebred for Rathasker Stud, where his sire stands, and who could return to action at Ripon on Saturday.

Millionaire Colts Step Up…

Of the nine yearlings who sold for more than a million guineas at Book 1 of the 2016 Tattersalls October Sale, four were seen in action last week, including the joint 2.6 million gns sale-toppers, both of whom ran on Thursday.

The Meon Valley Stud-bred Emaraaty (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) won for the second time at Newcastle several hours after Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) finished fourth in the G3 Craven S. The latter, a son of Philippa Cooper's Group 1 winner Fallen For You (GB) (Dansili {GB}), won the G3 Prix la Rochette last year.

Another Group 3 winner, Shadwell's unbeaten Elarqam (GB), didn't line up for a Classic trial but came to Newmarket for a racecourse gallop. The son of Guineas winners Frankel (GB) and Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) will return to the Rowley Mile on May 5 for the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas in which the two Dubawi colts are also entered.

Ghostwatch (Ire), also by Dubawi and bred by the Niarchos family from the French listed winner Nature Spirits (Fr) (Beat Hollow {GB}), sold for 2.1 million gns to Godolphin and he came out top in a hot maiden at Wolverhampton on Saturday night. Intriguingly, the race also featured Elgin (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), who was last seen running fifth in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and finished third on his first start on the Flat for Alan King.

The previous weekend Rostropovich (Ire), a 1.1 million gns Frankel half-brother to Zoffany (Ire), had made his seasonal reappearance when fourth of five in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau, having won the G2 Futurity S. at the Curragh last season.

Keep an eye out for another expensive Dubawi colt, Ispolini (GB), who was sold by Newsells Park Stud for 1.2 million gns. From the family of Nathaniel (Ire), he is entered in Friday's G3 Bet 365 Classic Trial at Sandown.

Screen Star Still Dazzles…

Mark Johnston couldn't have known how good Lumiere (GB) would turn out to be when he bought her dam Screen Star (Ire) (Tobougg {Ire}) just nine months after she foaled the daughter of Shamardal. But he knew all about Screen Star, having trained her to win her sole start by 11 lengths. Transferred to Saeed Bin Suroor after that eyecatching juvenile victory, the filly was never seen on the racecourse again, but Johnston was quick to swoop when Screen Star appeared in the Tattersalls December Sale some six years after she'd left his yard, and he bought her from Darley for 52,000gns.

A year later Lumiere had followed both her mother and father to Johnston's Yorkshire stable and she too showed plenty of juvenile talent, winning on debut at Newmarket before going on to finish second in the G2 Lowther S. and triumphing in the G1 Cheveley Park S. She finished last in the 1000 Guineas won by Minding (Ire) but bounced back to add another two stakes wins to her tally before retiring at the end of 2016, the year Screen Star returned to the sales, selling in foal to Golden Horn (GB) for 675,000gns to Ballylinch Stud.

In the meantime, however, Johnston had bred three foals from her, including Sheikha Reika (Fr), Lumiere's full-sister who was sold to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid for 550,000gns in the same year that her mother changed hands. Now three, and the runner-up in three starts last year, the filly named after her trainer Roger Varian's baby daughter Reika, was highly impressive when winning the Rossdales Maiden at Newmarket on Thursday. She looks more than capable of further embellishing the family with black-type of her own.

Screen Star's current 2-year-old by Authorized (Ire) has been exported to Japan and she has a yearling colt by Golden Horn at Ballylinch, where she was covered last year by Shamardal's son Lope De Vega (Ire). Lumiere, meanwhile, was covered in 2017 by Dubawi (Ire).

On The Rise…

There's a range of factors to be considered when our team bestows the title of 'TDN Rising Star'' on a runner of note, but of course performance and pedigree are of utmost importance. In that respect, the latest three European recipients of a star in the past week–through Apr. 20–all pass with flying colours.

The filly that's had me humming Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl all weekend is the resounding winner of the fillies' maiden at Newbury on Saturday, Lah Ti Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Given that she runs for her breeder Lord Lloyd Webber, show tunes would perhaps be a more appropriate accompaniment and it just so happens that I'm word-perfect when it comes to Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, the musical in which my stage career began and swiftly came to an ignominious end back in the early '80s.

The traumatic connection of that crushing disappointment aside, it's been terrific to the follow the progress of Watership Down Stud's great matriarch Darara (Ire) (Top Ville {Ire}), whose treble Group 1-winning daughter Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) is responsible for Lah Ti Dar. The Lloyd Webbers would have been entitled to feel a tad robbed when So Mi Dar (GB) was denied her place in the Oaks line-up through injury after winning the G3 Musidora S. It would be wonderful to see her full-sister gain compensation for the family at Epsom this year.

The pedigree of the Aga Khan homebred Zarkamiya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), is no less illustrious as the 3-year-old is the latest runner for her Arc-winning dam Zarkava (Fr) (Zamindar).

This filly was first spied by breeders alongside her mother during a party given by the Aga Khan in 2015 to mark his 50 years in the breeding industry. Her long-awaited first public appearance at Longchamp last week proved to be no disappointment as she asserted her authority in the Prix de la Lancette. Alain de Royer Dupre, who also trained Zarkava and Zarkamiya's half-brother Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), was cautious in his post-race comments but his charge has entries in both French fillies' Classics as well as the G1 Prix Saint-Alary.

The listed victrix First (GB) (Highest Honor {Fr}) was bought by Nurlan Bizkov for 1.1 million gns from the Bloomsbury Stud dispersal at Tattersalls in 2010, having already produced the stakes-winning duo of Perfect Stride (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Law Lord (GB) (Diktat {GB}).

Her current 3-year-old Qazyna (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a great grand-daughter of Henrietta, Duchess of Bedford's foundation mare Mrs Moss (GB) (Reform {GB}), was another impressive maiden winner for Roger Varian last week. Bred by Bizakov's Hesmonds Stud, she too has a date at Epsom in June pencilled in to her engagements.