The Cheveley Park: A Breed-Shaping Race
2yo hype is generally reserved for future stallion prospects but the 2026 renewal of the Cheveley Park Stakes will mark something of an exception. This year’s edition will see G1 Phoenix Stakes, G1 Moyglare, G2 Airlie Stud Stakes, and Harry’s Half Million winner and G3 Albany Stakes runner-up Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation) go up against both G1 Prix Morny and G2 Duchess of Cambridge winner and G2 Queen Mary runner-up Senorita Bonita (Starspangledbanner) plus G2 Lowther Stakes victor Libertango (No Nay Never) who got the better of Sun Goddess in the Albany before coming 2nd to Senorita Bonita on the July Course.
Top-class 2yo form is generally a prerequisite if one is to harbour realistic ambitions of standing a commercially viable flat stallion; this in turn makes it easier for stud farms to market 2yo championship races like the Middle Park and Dewhurst as those of a stallion-making nature. On the other hand, while the vast majority of fillies to ever set foot on the track generally end up becoming broodmares, their scope to shape the breed is limited in comparison to their male counterparts. Of course, some mares have left an indelible impact on the breed such as Urban Sea (Miswaki) but even the great mare herself “only” had 11 foals; in comparison, those colts who make their way to stud would cover multiples of that across the entirety of their careers as stallions.
Just because their ability to impact the breed is reduced vis-à-vis colts does not necessarily mean though that top-class juvenile fillies have not left their mark on modern-day pedigrees. As noted above, 2yo form is essential when it comes to developing commercially viable stallion prospects and on this count, precocity on the distaff side of the pedigree could potentially serve as recompense for backwardness on the pedigree’s top half. Indeed, such is the attractiveness of high-class 2yo form that 2023 Cheveley Park heroine Porta Fortuna (Caravaggio) sold for 4.5 million guineas to Coolmore at the 2025 Tattersalls December Mares Sale.
While such a price might initially seem exorbitantly expensive, a deeper investigation into the breeding legacies of Cheveley Park winners uncovers a treasure trove of top-class racehorses. Without further ado, let’s get digging…
Perhaps the most recent example of Cheveley Park success staying in the family, Clemmie (Galileo) won the 2017 renewal, thereby matching the exploits of her second dam Airwave (Air Express) some fifteen years before. Also known for coming 3rd to Oasis Dream (Green Desert) and Choisir (Danehill Dancer) in the 2003 July Cup, Airwave’s connection to Clemmie runs through Meow (Storm Cat) who won the Listed Grangecon Stakes over 5f at 2 in 2010 whilst also coming 2nd in the same year’s Queen Mary. What’s more, Meow happens to be the dam of Clemmie’s full-brother Churchill who completed two Newmarket-Curragh doubles in back-to-back years, winning the National Stakes and the Dewhurst in 2016 as a juvenile before winning the 2,000 Guineas and the Irish 2,000 Guineas in his Classic season.
Three years after Airwave’s success, Donna Blini (Bertolini) added her name to the Cheveley Park roll of honour, beating out Wake Up Maggie (Xaar) by a neck. Donna Blini was unfortunately unable to add further G1 wins to her CV but that hasn’t stopped her from making her mark as a broodmare. More interestingly perhaps, her legacy has been felt in Japan rather than in Europe. This is because she was ultimately exported to the Land of the Rising Sun where she would go on to produce Gentildonna (Deep Impact), herself a two-time Japan Cup winner as well as a Dubai Sheema Classic, Arima Kinen, Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas), Shuka Sho, and Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) champion.
In the very same year that Donna Blini was victorious in the premier race for 6f fillies on the Rowley Mile, a future Irish Derby, King George, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Prix Ganay, and two-time Irish Champion Stakes winner was also making his first forays onto the racecourse in the form of Dylan Thomas (Danehill). For as outstanding as he was at 3 and 4, his juvenile campaign was something of a let-down in comparison, with a 2nd-placed effort in the G3 Autum Stakes at Salisbury his only blacktype at 2. In contrast, his half-sister Queens Logic (Grand Lodge) was a superstar in her debut campaign, breaking her maiden at Newbury before going on to win the G3 Queen Mary, the G2 Lowther, and of course the G1 Cheveley Park.
Unfortunately, Queens Logic only ever raced once again; her seasonal bow at 3 in the G3 Fred Darling would double up as her untimely swansong. While her premature retirement was disappointing in the extreme from a racing perspective, she still went on to become a broodmare and a quite good one at that, producing both G2 Princess Margaret, G2 Lowther, and G2 Diadem winner Lady Of The Desert (Rahy) and Listed-placed King’s Advice (Frankel). Lady Of The Desert wasn’t quite able to match her dam’s achievements in the Cheveley Park though, having to make do with 3rd in the 2009 renewal.
There is however a quite notable historical feat that should not go unmentioned — as stated above, Lady Of The Desert replicated her dam’s win in the Lowther but the Knavesmire dynasty didn’t end there as Lady Of The Desert’s daughter Queen Kindly (Frankel) also won the race in 2016 before coming 4th in the Cheveley Park. The family’s history of Lowther glory almost extended to a fourth generation but Queen Kindly’s daughter Queen Me (Dubawi) was beaten a neck into 2nd by Swingalong (Showcasing) in 2022. York sprinting success is not just confined to Lady Of The Desert’s side of the family though; her Oasis Dream half-sister Hana Lina is the dam of 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Big Evs (Blue Point).
It would be remiss of me to not mention the other stand-out members of Queens Logic’s quite exquisite extended family. Her dam Lagrion (Diesis) was also a mother to 2012 1,000 Guineas winner Homecoming Queen (Holy Roman Emperor) who was herself the dam of 2020 Moyglare winner Shale (Galileo). Lagrion’s other stakes performers included G3-placed Love To Dance (Sadler’s Wells) and 2010 Oaks 2nd Remember When (Danehill Dancer) — the former was the third dam of 2025 Prix Moulin winner Sahlan (Wootton Bassett) while the latter was the dam of 2020 Derby winner Serpentine (Galileo).
1993 Cheveley Park winner Prophecy (Warning) was something of a unique case in the sense that she was John Gosden’s only winner of the race. Prophecy had no blacktype prior to the race and her only blacktype thereafter came in the 1994 G3 Nell Gwynn when she finished 5l behind subsequent Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Mehthaaf (Nureyev) in 2nd.
For all that Prophecy might not have progressed on the track in the wake of her Cheveley Park win, her efforts in the shed ensure that her impact is still being felt in the modern day. She bred three stakes horses in all for Juddmonte, with Arabesque (Zafonic) taking out the Listed Flying Fillies’ Stakes in 2000, Modern Look (Zamindar) claiming the spoils in the 2007 G3 Prix Miesque and the 2008 G2 Prix de Sandringham (While finishing 4th in perhaps the most important fillies’ Classic ever run in between), and Foreteller (Dansili) triumphant in the 2010 Listed Prix De Suresnes before heading Down Under to win the 2013 G1 Ranvet Stakes and the 2014 G1 Underwood Stakes.
Arabesque was herself the dam of both G2 Gimcrack winner Showcasing (Oasis Dream) and Listed Sandy Lane winner Camacho (Danehill) while Modern Look was the second dam of 2026 G3 Prix Cleopatre winner Gilded Prize (Frankel) via American G3 winner Grand Jete (Dansili). Other distant members of their extended family include 2021 Kentucky Derby and Haskell Stakes winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief) as well as 2011 Matron winner Emulous (Dansili) and her Arc-winning daughter Bluestocking (Camelot) and Sussex-winning son Qirat (Showcasing).
Airwave and Clemmie may have won the Cheveley Park 15 years apart but perhaps an even better example of familial success in the Cheveley Park was half-sisters Desirable (Lord Gayle) and Park Appeal (Ahonoora) winning the race in consecutive years, with Barry Hills training the former to success in 1983 and Jim Bolger then the latter’s winning trainer in 1984.
Park Appeal had won the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes on her previous start (The race was run over 6f back then) before downing G2 Lowther winner and future Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Al Bahathri (Blushing Groom) at Newmarket, the Shadwell filly herself the dam of 2004 2,000 Guineas and Champion Stakes winner Haafhd (Alhaarth) and a forebear of the likes of 2012 Hong Kong Vase champ Red Cadeaux (Cadeaux Genereux) and 2017 Gold Cup winner Big Orange (Duke Of Marmalade). After her Cheveley Park win, Park Appeal was sold to Sheikh Mohammed although she would only ever race once as a 3yo, finishing 7th out of 10 runners in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches.
After an unsuccessful sojourn Stateside, Park Appeal made her way to the breeding sheds and it was ultimately her work there that would garner widespread acclaim and cement her status as a broodmare of unquestionable consequence. In total, she was the dam of six individual stakes horses: Listed-placed Lord Of Appeal (Sadler’s Wells), Listed-placed Mansfield Park (Green Desert), Listed winner Phoenix Park (Sadler’s Wells), G3 winner Vincennes (King’s Best), 2007 Listed Al Quoz winner Great Britain (Green Desert), and most famously of all, 1998 Lockinge and 1999 Queen Anne winner Cape Cross (Green Desert). As the sire of Sea The Stars, Golden Horn, Ouija Board, and Awtaad, the story of 21st Century horse racing cannot be told without Cape Cross; that said, as much of an achievement as it was to produce six stakes horses, one of whom would go on to become a breed-shaping sire, reducing Park Appeal’s legacy to a Cheveley Park winner who happened to produce Cape Cross would do a major disservice to her greater body of work.
Neither Arvola (Sadler’s Wells) nor Pastorale (Nureyev) were stakes horses on the racecourse but these two daughters of Park Appeal both went on to become star broodmares. Arvola was the dam of 1999 Prix Maurice de Gheest and Sprint Cup champion Diktat (Warning) amongst others while Pastorale was the dam of Lennox and two-time Park stakes winner (And July Cup 2nd) Iffraaj (Zafonic), himself the sire of Wootton Bassett.
Similarly to Park Appeal, Desirable would win no more G1s although she did at least place in both the 1,000 Guineas and the Nassau Stakes. She was also a very good producer in her time as a broodmare, with Prix Marcel Boussac and 1,000 Guineas winner Shadayid (Shadeed), multiple Group scorer Dumaani (Danzig), and Lennox winner & Middle Park 2nd Fath (Danzig) her three progeny to gain some form of blacktype on the track.
Park Appeal and Desirable’s dam Balidaress (Balidar) was something of a novelty in the sense that her family’s history is in its own way a story of the personal lives and pastimes of famous heads of government from both sides of the Irish Sea; Balidaress was bred by Charlie Haughey and was a daughter of Innocence (Sea Hawk) who was herself out of the one-time Winston Churchill-owned Novitiate (Fair Trial). As for her exploits as a broodmare, Balidaress was also the dam of 1989 Irish Oaks heroine Alydaress (Alydar) and Balistroika (Nijinsky) who was herself responsible for producing 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Nassau Stakes, and Lockinge winner Russian Rhythm (Kingmambo); coincidentally, Russian Rhythm finished 2nd to Airwave in the 2002 renewal of the Cheveley Park. As a broodmare, Russian Rhythm has also contributed to the family’s legacy, with 2023 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess (Kodiac) and 2024 Prix de l’Abbaye winner Makarova (Acclamation) for a grandson and great-granddaughter respectively.
Three years before Desirable made history as Balidaress’s first of two consecutive Cheveley Park winners, Marwell (Habitat) etched her name on the race’s roll of honour. She would supplement her Rowley Mile victory with July Course success in the July Cup the following year either side of wins in the King’s Stand and the Prix de l’Abbaye.
Marwell had quite a lot to live up to if her exploits on the racetrack were anything to go by but her record as a broodmare was nothing short of stellar. Marling (Lomond) was a fellow winner of the Cheveley Park in 1991, having won the G3 Queen Mary earlier in the season, and would go on to win the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, and Sussex Stakes the following year. Caerwent (Caerleon) was similarly precocious; he won the 1987 National Stakes at the Curragh although he had to make to do with placed efforts in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St. James’s Palace, Sprint Cup, and Prix de l’Abbaye as a 3yo. Marwell’s third stakes horse was Littlefeather (Indian Ridge) who came 3rd in the 1999 Moyglare Stud Stakes over 7f as a juvenile.
Of course, top-class racehorses were not exclusively confined to Marwell’s side of the family; her distant relations include the likes of 1987 dual Oaks winner Unite (Kris), 1989 Racing Post Trophy winner Be My Chief (Chief’s Crown), 1987 Gold Cup champion Paean (Bustino), and 1990 St. James’s Palace Stakes winner Shavian (Kris).
Mother and daughter success in the Cheveley Park is not restricted to Marwell and Marling however. Winner of the 1988 Cheveley Park, Pass The Peace (Alzao) would subsequently win the G3 Fred Darling before coming 2nd in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. As a broodmare, she was the dam of 1997 Cheveley Park winner Embassy (Cadeaux Genereux) who reversed the form with Cape Verdi (Caerleon) from the Lowther; however, Embassy would unfortunately never race again whereas Cape Verdi won the 1998 1,000 Guineas before finishing 9th in the Derby having gone off 11/4F.
Furthermore, Embassy was herself the second dam of 2008 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner King’s Apostle (King’s Best) through Politesse (Barathea) while Pass The Peace was also the fourth dam of two-time Hong Kong G1 winner Russian Emperor (Galileo).
There are of course examples of blue hens tracing their origins back to Cheveley Park-winning matriarchs. Case in point: Sookera.
Sookera (Roberto) won the 1977 renewal of the Cheveley Park Stakes for trainer Dermot Weld and owner Robert Sangster although she never ran again thereafter and was ultimately sold by Sangster to Juddmonte.
As a producer, one of her sons So Factual (Known Fact) was 2nd in the 1992 G3 Coventry before going on to win the Nunthorpe and the G3 Cork & Orrery Stakes at Royal Ascot some three years later. Two years after his Berkshire-Yorkshire sprint double, So Factual’s full-brother Bold Fact won the G3 July Stakes as well as the then Listed City of York Stakes, having placed in both the Coventry and the Gimcrack as a 2yo. Switching from colts to fillies, Sookera’s daughter Kerali (High Line) was the second dam of both 2008 Pretty Polly victor Promising Lead (Danehill) via Listed Bahrain Trophy winner Arrive (Kahyasi) and multiple US G1 winner Leroidesanimaux (Candy Stripes) through Dissemble (Ahonoora).
It is through Hasili (Kahyasi) though that Kerali is best known; Hasili won the Listed Prix des Sablonnets as a 2yo before placing in a couple of Listed races as a 3yo, one of which was a 2nd-placed effort against Prix Morny and Prix de la Salamandre winner Coup de Genie (Mr Prospector) who was herself a full-sister to fellow Prix Morny and Prix de la Salamandre winner Machiavellian and a half-sister to 1992 Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Exit To Nowhere (Irish River). Coup de Genie was of course also the dam of 2003 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Denebola (Storm Cat) and an ancestress of the likes of 2017 Prix de Diane winner Senga (Blame), 2024 Dubai World Cup champion Laurel River (Into Mischief), four-time American G1 winner Emollient (Empire Maker), 2004 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Bago (Nashwan), and 2013 Prix du Moulin and Prix d’Ispahan winner Maxios (Monsun). Who knew that the 1994 Listed Prix Imprudence would have such an impact on the breed?
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Anyway, back to Hasili. She had a total of ten foals, eight of whom were runners, seven of whom were stakes horses. She combined with one-time Juddmonte track representative Danehill to produce Dansili, Champs Elysees, Banks Hill, Cacique, and Intercontinental while matings with Green Desert and Storm Cat produced Heat Haze and Deluxe respectively. Raise The Flag (Sadler’s Wells) was her sole runner to fail to achieve blacktype while neither Responsible (Oasis Dream) nor Very Good News (Empire Maker) ever set foot on the track.
Such was the quality of her progeny that any attempt to accurately convey the full extent of their achievements would require an exceptionally long article! So in the interest of brevity, I shall merely list out her seven stakes horses (As well as the one daughter to whom a relatively recent G1 winner can trace back their origins), their form in G1 races, and their breeding exploits ….
Dansili: 1999 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, 2000 Sussex Stakes, and 2000 Prix de la Forêt 2nd (Was also second to Kalanisi in the then G2 2000 Queen Anne), and 1999 Prix Jacques Le Marois, 1999 Prix du Moulin, and the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Mile 3rd
Sire of 2010 King George runaway winner Harbinger, 2006 Arc hero Rail Link, 2012 Nassau, 2013 Yorkshire Oaks, 2013 Irish Champion Stakes, and 2014 Prince of Wales’s winner The Fugue, 2013 Grand Prix de Paris, 2014 Hong Kong Vase, 2015 & 2016 Sword Dancer, and 2016 Manhattan Stakes Flintshire, 2007 Grand Prix de Paris winner Zambezi Sun, July Cup 2nd and Juddmonte sire Bated Breath, 2011 Matron winner Emulous, 2010 Phoenix winner Zoffany, 2014 1,000 Guineas winner Miss France, 2013 Nassau winner Winsili, and 2016 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Queen’s Trust
Damsire of Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder), Minnie Hauk (Frankel), Kalpana (Study Of Man), Time Test (Dubawi), Los Angeles (Camelot), Bluestocking (Camelot), Diamond Necklace (St. Mark’s Basilica), Naval Crown (Dubawi), Expert Eye (Acclamation), and Galileo Chrome (Australia) amongst others
Champs Elysees: 2008 Northern Dancer Stakes, 2008 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes, and 2009 Canadian International Stakes winner, 2007 Gran Premio del Jockey Club Italiano, 2007 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes, and 2009 Santa Anita Handicap 2nd, and 2008 Santa Anita Handicap and 2008 Canadian International Stakes 3rd
Sire of 2020 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Way To Paris, 2018 1,000 Guineas and 2019 Sun Chariot winner Billesdon Brook, and 2015 Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris
Banks Hill: 2001 Coronation Stakes, 2001 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and 2002 Prix Jacques Le Marois winner, 2001 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, 2001 Prix Jacques Le Marois, 2001 & 2002 Prix du Moulin, and 2002 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf 2nd, and 2002 Prix d’Ispahan, Prince of Wales’s, and Yellow Ribbon Stakes 3rd
Dam of 2013 Prix Jean Romanet winner Romantica (Galileo) and third dam of 2022 Prix Jean-Luc-Lagardère winner Belbek (Showcasing)
Cacique: 2006 Manhattan Handicap and Man O’War Stakes winner, 2004 Prix Jean Prat, 2004 Grand Prix de Paris (The last two of which were both coincidentally behind Bago), 2006 Turf Classic Stakes, 2006 United Nations Handicap, and 2006 Arlington Million 2nd, and 2005 Prix d’Ispahan 3rd
Deluxe: 2010 Prix Saint-Alary 2nd
Heat Haze: 2003 Matriarch Stakes and 2003 Beverly D. Stakes winner, 2003 Diana Handicap 2nd, and 2003 Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap 3rd
Dam of Australian G1 winner Mirage Dancer (Frankel)
Intercontinental: 2004 Matriarch Stakes and 2005 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner and 2002 Grand Critérium, 2003 1,000 Guineas, and 2005 John C. Mabee Handicap 3rd
Responsible: Unraced but her daughter Obligate (Frankel) is the dam of 2025 Lockinge winner Lead Artist (Dubawi)
NH sire Jet Away (Cape Cross) is another member of Sookera’s family as his dam Kalima was a full-sister to Hasili; Kalima’s daughter Onshore (Sea The Stars) ended up producing 2022 Grand Prix de Paris winner Onesto (Frankel). 1997 Christmas Hurdle winner Kerawi was the Warning half-brother to Hasili, Kalima, Arrive, and Dissemble while another daughter of Kerali’s in Skiable (Niniski) was the second dam of 2020 Fillies’ Mile winner Quadrilateral (Frankel) via Nimble Thimble (Mizzen Mast). Branching even further out, Sookera was also the fourth dam of 2007 Prix de l’Abbaye scorer Benbaun (Stravinsky) as his dam Escape To Victory (Salse) had Sookera’s daughter Resooka (Godswalk) for a second dam, with Gaijin (Caerleon) as the link in between.
By Lyphard and out of Derna (Sunny Boy), Durtal was the winner of the 1976 Cheveley Park Stakes, thereby making amends for her 2nd-place effort in the G2 Champagne Stakes behind J.O. Tobin (Never Bend) on her previous start. She was unable to win another G1 after her Cheveley Park success although she did win the G3 Fred Darling before coming 2nd in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. Durtal was supposed to run in the 1977 Oaks but on her way to the start at Epsom, she bolted and the saddle slipped, unseating Lester Piggott in the process. Piggott ended up uninjured but unfortunately, Durtal did not emerge unscathed; she crashed into a rail and sustained injuries which necessitated her withdrawal from the race that was won by subsequent Leger winner Dunfermline (Royal Palace), herself the only horse to ever beat two-time Arc winner Alleged (Hoist The Flag).
Durtal was never quite the same as a racehorse after that incident but that didn’t stop her in the slightest from being a highly successful broodmare. Her very first foal was her best one; Gildoran (Rheingold) won back-to-back renewals of the Gold Cup in 1984 and 1985 as well as the 1984 Goodwood Cup and Sagaro Stakes in a somewhat ironic twist given his trip preference existed at one extreme and his dam’s at the other. Durtal’s daughter Chalamont (Kris) is the dam of Lady Aquitaine (El Prado) who is herself the dam of 2024 Golden Eagle and 2023 Gimcrack winner Lake Forest (No Nay Never) while another daughter of Durtal’s in Secret Garden (Danehill) is the dam of 2011 Irish 2,000 Guineas victor Roderic O’Connor (Galileo); Chalamont is also the fourth dam of 2026 G3 Thoroughbred Stakes winner Shayem (King Of Change).
Derna’s achievements as a broodmare were not limited to Durtal however; the latter’s Riverman half-sister Detroit won the 1980 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe before embarking upon a broodmare career which saw her produce a fellow Arc winner in the form of Carnegie (Sadler’s Wells) who took home the Longchamp spoils as a 3yo in 1994. Detroit was also the third dam of multiple Group scorer Banimpire (Holy Roman Emperor) and the fourth dam of 2020 Melbourne Cup winner Twilight Payment (Teofilo). Down in the Southern Hemisphere, 1998 and 1999 Leading Sire in Australia Zabeel (Sir Tristram) had Derna for a third dam although his female family ran through Derna’s daughter Valderna (Val De Loir) and her own daughter Lady Giselle (Nureyev).
Other more recent winners of the Cheveley Park have yet to produce much which is understandable given their age. However, when you look at their racing backgrounds and pedigrees, it’s not difficult to see how they could shape the future over the next ten to twenty years. For instance, Brave Anna (War Front) is a full-sister to 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf champion Hit It A Bomb and a half-sister to 2023 Prix Marcel Boussac and 2024 Nassau winner Opera Singer (Justify), Millisle (Starspangledbanner) is the dam of Coolmore’s Group-placed Confucius (No Nay Never), while Tenebrism (Caravaggio), whose dam Immortal Verse (Pivotal) was herself a Coronation Stakes and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner back in 2011, is a 3/4s sister to 2022 Airlie Stud Stakes winner Statuette (Justify) and a half-sister to 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf & 2025 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Henri Matisse (Wootton Bassett).
2020 Cheveley Park winner Alcohol Free (No Nay Never) went on to win the 2021 Coronation & Sussex and then the 2022 July Cup; her Frankel filly will go under that hammer at Tattersalls in mid-October. 2018 winner Fairyland (Kodiac) has been represented at Ballydoyle this year by her No Nay Never juvenile New Yorker; her family has had a rather good time of it this year as Fairyland’s Muhaarar half-sister Manaajim is the dam of 2026 QE II Jubilee & Sprint Cup champion Almeraq (Dark Angel). Remember, this is all before we even mention the fillies to have placed in the Cheveley Park!
The aforementioned Al Bahathri and Russian Rhythm made their way on to the podium albeit not in the gold medal position. There was also the likes of Chimes Of Freedom (Private Account) who came 3rd in the 1989 edition having previously won the Moyglare over 6f; she would go on to win the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot as a 3yo.
As a broodmare, Chimes Of Freedom was the dam of multiple US G1 winner Aldebaran (Mr Prospector) and 2002 Woodbine Mile winner Good Journey (Nureyev); her dam Aviance (Northfields) won the 1984 Phoenix for trainer Vincent O’Brien and was also the dam of multiple American G1 winner Denon (Pleasant Colony), the second dam of Irish 2,000 Guineas, Breeders’ Cup Mile, and two-time Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Spinning World (Nureyev) plus multiple European G1 winner Saddex (Sadler’s Wells), and the third dam of 2019 Preakness winner War Of Will (War Front) and 2010 National Stakes winner Pathfork (Distorted Humor).
Chimes Of Freedom’s lineage can be traced back to Best In Show which makes her a cousin of El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer), Try My Best (Northern Dancer), Compliance (Northern Dancer), Peeping Fawn (Danehill), Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom), Jazil (Seeking The Gold), Rags To Riches (A.P. Indy), Arcangelo (Arrogate), Bated Breath (Dansili), Cityscape (Selkirk), Logician (Frankel), Prosperous Voyage (Zoffany), Mission Central (No Nay Never), Siskin (First Defence), Scylla (Tapit), Idiomatic (Curlin), Domedriver (Indian Ridge), and Xaar (Zafonic) amongst others.
Then there’s also 2011 Cheveley Park runner-up Sunday Times (Holy Roman Emperor) who is the dam of 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Newspaperofrecord (Lope de Vega), herself the dam of 2026 Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel). 2018 Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Camelot), 2019 Oaks 2nd Pink Dogwood (Camelot), and 2026 G2 Futurity winner Giant Sequoia (Frankel) are all close relations of theirs.
One must also account for races like the Queen Mary and Albany and the influence Royal Ascot juvenile stakes races have had in terms of shaping the breed. One of the most recent examples is Gossamer Wings (Scat Daddy), 2nd in the 2018 Queen Mary, who is the dam of dual Derby winner Lambourn (Australia) and William Hill Futurity 2nd Action (Frankel). Going further back, Rumplestiltskin (Danehill) was 3rd in the 2005 Albany before subsequently winning the 2005 Moyglare and Prix Marcel Boussac; this granddaughter of Miesque (Nureyev) is also a G1 producer as her own daughter Tapestry (Galileo) won the 2014 Yorkshire Oaks.
Some renewals of the Royal Ascot 2yo races have showcased great depth as far as future top-class broodmares go. In the 2007 Albany, You’resothrilling (Storm Cat) and Baffled (Distorted Humor) came 2nd and 3rd respectively; the former combined with Galileo to produce Gleneagles, Marvellous, Happily, Joan of Arc, Coolmore, Toy, Vatican City, and Taj Mahal and then with Dubawi to yield Drop Dead Gorgeous while the latter is the dam of 2014 Florida Derby winner Constitution (Tapit) who currently stands at WinStar Farm in Kentucky for $110,000 a cover.
You’resothrilling is widely regarded as one of Coolmore’s great modern broodmares and so is Lillie Langtry (Danehill Dancer) who came 2nd in the 2009 Albany. Lillie Langtry would go on to win both the 2010 Coronation and Matron although it is as a broodmare that she is perhaps most well-known. On this count, Lillie Langtry is the dam of 2015 Moyglare, Fillies’ Mile, 2016 1,000 Guineas, Oaks, Pretty Polly, Nassau, and QE II winner Minding (Galileo), 2022 Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Tuesday (Galileo), and 2021 Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Empress Josephine (Galileo) and the second dam of 2023 National Stakes winner Henry Longfellow (Dubawi) and 2026 Queen Mary winner Victorious (Wootton Bassett).
Coolmore have expanded their broodmare band over time, with the 2023 Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale the venue for the €6,000,000 purchase of Alpha Centauri (Mastercraftsman). Alpha Centauri had come 2nd in the 2017 Albany but she established herself as an oustanding miler in her Classic season, winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Coronation, the Falmouth, and the Prix Jacques Le Marois. Just like Rumplestiltskin, Alpha Centauri hails from the family of Miesque and just like Rumplestiltskin, she has had some success as a producer, with her daughter Alpha (Sea The Stars) winning the 2026 G3 Silver Flash.
There are also those who may not have been great broodmares but were very closely related to other horses who have left a lasting mark on the breed. Lyric Fantasy (Tate Gallery) won the Queen Mary before winning the Nunthorpe as a 2yo but she could only finish 2nd in the 1992 Cheveley Park, with the newly crowned Moyglare champion and future 1,000 Guineas, Sussex, and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Sayyedati (Shadeed) getting the better of her.
Lyric Fantasy did not produce much in the way of quality progeny but her dam Flying Melody (Auction Ring) still features in pedigrees through Lyric Fantasy’s half-brother Royal Applause (Waajib). A crack 2yo, Royal Applause won the Coventry, Gimcrack, and Middle Park as a juvenile, with success in the Cork & Orrery and the Sprint Cup coming his way as a 4yo. As a stallion, he is generally known for having sired Acclamation. Lyric Fantasy and Royal Applause were not Flying Melody’s only precocious G1 performers though – In Command (Sadler’s Wells) won the 1996 Dewhurst, having come 2nd in the same year’s Middle Park.
All told, for all that it is a race exclusive to 2yo fillies, the above still offers strong evidence in favour of the argument that the Cheveley Park Stakes is indeed a breed-shaping race. One could of course contend that other races such as the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks, Irish 1,000 Guineas, Irish Oaks, Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, and Prix de Diane have also played a major role in forming modern day pedigrees but a comparison of how these fare vis-à-vis the Cheveley Park is beyond the scope of this piece. That said, given how the importance of high-class juvenile form was outlined earlier in the article when it comes to identifying future elite sires, it is hardly unreasonable to suggest that the Cheveley Park may out-rank all other fillies’ races in terms of impact on the breed simply because it is one of very few fillies-only 2yo G1s.
Now whether any of Sun Goddess, Senorita Bonita, or Libertango (Or indeed a surprise winner of the race) will leave lasting legacies as broodmares remains to be seen and truth be told, other Cheveley Park winners-cum-superstar producers have set the highest of benchmarks for recent winners of the race. That said, last year’s winner True Love (No Nay Never) is as well placed as any filly to surpass such a threshold given her pedigree — Urban Sea hardly needs any introduction!
Nevertheless, even if this year’s contestants fail to become breed-shaping broodmares in the years to come, their connections may still be able to look back on them as once-in-a-generation racemares.
And after all, there’s no breeding without racing….
