Over the years, the mighty Ballydoyle outfit has enjoyed spectacular success with certain female lines, one of which being that of the Gr2 winning Pivotal mare Beauty Is Truth.
She is ancestress of some fabulous Ballydoyle Gr1 winners and as recently as this week, her Wootton Bassett grandaughter Whirl became the family’s latest black type winner with a game win in the Gr3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes at the Curragh.
A homebred owned by the Coolmore partners, Whirl is the first foal out of Beauty Is Truth’s winning Galileo daughter Salsa.
Aidan O’Brien-trained Whirl (IRE) keeps on well under Wayne Lordan to see off her rivals in Gr3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes at The Curragh Racecourse (Pic – Supplied)
The news of Whirl’s success was music to the ears of Dr Bennie van der Merwe of Moutonshoek, as he stands The United States, who is an own brother to Salsa.
That the family is firing on all cylinders would be an understatement.
Hydrangea, a dual Gr1 winning own sister to The United States, is dam of Wingspan, a Listed stakes winner this season who picked up valuable Gr1 black type when runner-up in last weekend’s Gr1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot, a race her dam had won before her.
Yet another full sister, the English/Irish 1000 Guineas victress Hermosa is represented this season by the Gr3-placed juvenile colt Trinity College.
Whirl hails from the first Coolmore-bred crop of Wootton Bassett, who initially stood in France before the Irish stud came calling and prised him away to exchange Normandy for the Emerald Isle.
That was a bold move, as the farm was on the lookout for a stallion as an outcross for the plethora of blue-blooded Galileo mares amongst its broodmare band.
The gamble has certainly paid off, with Whirl being her sire’s tenth individual Group-winning two-year-old this season, amongst which the Gr1 winners Camille Pissaro, Tennessee Stud and Twain. As the season progressed, the march of his juveniles has quickened to the extent that he finds himself vying for the British juvenile sires crown.
In contrast, The United States arrived at Moutonshoek as an Australian Gr1 winner, but had covered no more than a dozen mares in his maiden season when a foot injury sent him to the sidelines, resulting in a small first crop which numbered just 11 foals.
Be that as it may, he enjoyed a dream start with his very first runner, the Drakenstein-bred Sheela.
The United Stakes pioneering daughter Sheela (Pic – JC Photos)
She made a spectacular winning debut in the Listed Storm Bird Stakes, where she ran her male rivals off their feet to score by the best part of four lengths and immediately followed up with another splendid win in the Gr2 SA Nursery over subsequent Senor Santa winner Smorgasbord.
She matured into a formidable sprinter and again blitzed male rivals in the Listed Golden Loom Handicap at Turffontein.
Gr3 winners Without Question and Billy Bowlegs proved by far the best runners from their sire’s second crop, both placing at Gr1 level, the former running third in all of the Met, Daily News 2000 and Cape Derby, whilst the latter finished second in the Gr1 SA Derby and third in the Gr1 SA Classic.
That second crop also yielded the Listed stakes winner Khaya’s Hope, Gr2 Dingaans third East Coast and the stakes-placed Texas Red, United Council and Smith And Wesson.
Moutonshoek sire The United States – poised for a good season
(Pic – Hamish Niven Photography)
Last season, The United States was denied a landmark first Gr1 winner when juvenile daughter Rodeo Drive went down by a neck to subsequent champion Quid Pro Quo in the Allan Robertson Championship.
The United States may not be in the same league as either his own sire or Wootton Basset, yet he is quietly going about his business.
Recently, he has sired a number of eyecatching winners: Barend Botes-trained three-year-old Care Forgot scored for the third time in her last four starts when claiming the Beach Beauty Mile at Hollywoodbets Greyville; Coral Blaze scorched over the Durban track to lose her maiden tag by over six lengths, whilst Fetching Flyer cracked her maiden at Turffontein by almost five lengths when stretched out to 2000m for the first time.
