Darley shuttler Shamardal sired more black-type last weekend and he can parlay that into a Group 1 double starting this Friday in England.
Shamardal is a Group 1 winning son of Giant’s Causeway and he has already sired 19 stakes winners among 143 winners world-wide. His resilient mare Marquardt was outstanding when claiming her second Listed victory in The Nivison (1200m) at Randwick last Saturday. The following day his juvenile colt Casamento won the G2 Beresford Stakes at the Curragh.
Marquardt (4m Shamardal – Centrefold Angel by Centaine) was positioned towards the rear of the field in the early stages before storming home to defeat Dorf Command by half a length at Randwick.
The Patinack Farm filly had gained her first Listed win in the MRC Twilight Glow Stakes (1400m) at Sandown last November. “She is a war-horse,” trainer John Thompson said. “She’s got three steel pins in a front leg and she broke her pelvis. You can’t give this mare enough credit.”
Nathan Tinkler purchased Marquardt from Little Avondale Stud for $100,000 at the 2008 NZB Premier yearling sale. She has now earned over $305,000 from 3 wins in 11 starts.
Casamento was just as impressive in Ireland winning the Beresford by four lengths. The race has some great names on its honour-roll including Sadler’s Wells (1983), El Prado (1991), Alamshar (2002) and Sea The Stars (2008).
Casamento (2c Shamardal – Wedding Gift by Always Fair) made an instant impact with a debut win at Tipperary in August. He buttered up in the G1 National Stakes at the Curragh on September 11 and did well when beaten a head by Pathfork (Distorted Humor).
He is one of a handful of Irish-based runners to carry Sheikh Mohammed’s silks this term and trainer Mick Halford already rates him the best horse he’s prepared by a long way.
“He settled well and idled a little bit when he got to the front,” Halford said. “Some wonderful horses have won this in the past and, if he’s anything like them, we will be very happy. There are no fixed plans at the moment – we’ll see how he comes out of it and talk to the team.”
Casamento was a 54,000 euros buy (AUD 101,030) as a foal at Goffs in November 2008. His dam Wedding Gift was a Listed winner at Evry and she has close Australian links through her half-sister Black Tokk (Blakeney) who is the dam of French Clock (G1 Goodwood Hcp) and Dream About It (LR Ballarat Cup).
Ragsah is another Shamardal raced by Sheikh Mohammed and she has been supplemented for Friday’s G1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
Ragsah (2f Shamardal — Colorado Dancer by Shareef Dancer) won her maiden at Kempton in August and was runner-up to Majestic Dubawi in the G3 Firth of Clyde Stakes at Ayr on September 18. She is a priceless Darley asset being a half-sister to Dubai Millennium.
Faint Perfume arrived in the same southern hemisphere crop as Marquardt and she is primed to add another Group 1 to her record in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington this Sunday.
Faint Perfume (4m Shamardal – Zona by Zabeel) is trained by Bart Cummings and she made up ground behind Avienus in the W H Stocks Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley when racing second up on September 11. She is expected to go much better over the 2000 metres of the Turnbull but the opposition will be much stronger at weight-for-age.
The Bart Cummings trained mare is unbeaten in three outings at headquarters having won the G1 VRC Oaks, G2 Wakeful Stakes and G2 Kewney Stakes.
Faint Perfume is raced by Dato Tan Chin Nam. He catalogued her for the 2008 Inglis Easter yearling sale but took her back home to Think Big Stud when she failed to make a $44,000 reserve. Her dam Zona retired a maiden, however, second dam Danendri was trained by Bart to win the 1997 AJC Oaks for Dato Tan Chin Nam and Wynyarra Stud’s Ananda Krishnan.