Let’s hear it for the Lady with two Super Saturday runners

Aisling Crowe signs off at the helm of Good Morning Bloodstock, with Martin Stevens due to return on Monday, with a delve into the broodmare career of Fastnet Lady, the dam of two Super Saturday runners in Jebel Hatta-bound I Am Superman and Dubai City of Gold contender Fastnet Crown.

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It's Super Saturday at Meydan on Saturday, with the countdown to Dubai World Cup night on in earnest now.

Amid all the impeccably bred offspring of elite broodmares and leading sires, the achievements of one mare in particular stand out. Fastnet Lady, an unraced daughter of Fastnet Rock, is the dam of two Super Saturday runners, neither of whom cost the earth to breed nor are they the progeny of fashionable stallions.

Fastnet Lady's first two foals are I Am Superman, a seven-year-old gelding by Footstepsinthesand who runs in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta, while his year-younger half-brother Fastnet Crown, a son of Hallowed Crown, tackles both 12 furlongs and Group 2 company for the first time in the Dubai City of Gold.

Both geldings are trained by Michael O'Callaghan and were bred by Michael Smith, who is co-owner of Fastnet Crown, and have earned peak Racing Post Ratings of 115 and 109 respectively.

I Am Superman is the first foal out of Fastnet Lady, who herself was bred by Smith, and his career trajectory has been interesting to say the least.

As a foal he was consigned by Skara Stud at the 2016 Goffs November Sale, where he made €20,000 to Danesrath Stables. Their investment in the colt was more than doubled when he made €49,000 to O'Callaghan at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.

At two, he made his debut in a 7f maiden at the Curragh and was beaten just three-parts of a length into second. Behind him that day was Circus Maximus, who would go on to win the St James's Palace, Prix du Moulin and Queen Anne Stakes.

Meydan: where the action will unfold on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

He won three times in his second season, and was third in the Group 3 Desmond Stakes behind Madhmoon before being sent to Australia for the inaugural Golden Eagle at Rosehill. His ownership group, which includes his trainer, decided that I Am Superman should remain in Australia to be trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, and that choice was a wise one as the son of Footstepsinthesand became a classy performer down under.

In 20 starts for the father and son duo, he won the Group 2 Ajax Stakes and the Iron Jack Shannon Stakes, a Group 2 handicap. He was also second in the PB Lawrence Stakes, another Group 2 contest, and filled the same position in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes. 

His final race in Australia so very nearly yielded a breakthrough in top-class company, as he failed by just a head to reel in Callsign Mav in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield last September.

That race signalled it was the right time for a new challenge and I Am Superman returned to Ireland and O'Callaghan's yard, to be prepared for the Dubai Carnival. He has been joined on his jaunt to the desert by his half-brother Fastnet Crown.

I Am Superman was third in the Group 2 Zabeel Mile on his first start in Dubai and followed that with fourth in the Listed Business Bay Challenge.

Dundalk and Dubai don't have much in common, besides both places starting with the fourth letter of the alphabet, but the all-weather track at the Louth track was where Fastnet Crown made his final start of 2022 in December, sending him off to the desert with a win. 

He was also offered for sale by Skara Stud but was a vendor buyback at the Goffs Open (now Autumn) Yearling Sale for just €2,000. His breeder sent him into training with O'Callaghan and he has won four of his 25 starts, earning more than €80,000 in prize-money along the way. 

He was offered for sale at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale of 2021, where he was again bought back, this time for considerably more at 80,000gns.

While I Am Superman's sire Footstepsinthesand is a well-known source of winners, with seven of them successful in Group 1 contests, Fastnet Crown's sire Hallowed Crown is a less familiar and less successful sire in Europe at least.

Hallowed Crown: Twin Hills Stud resident had shuttled to Kildangan for two yearsCredit: Darley

By Street Sense, he won the Group 1 Golden Rose and Randwick Guineas at three, and having been bought into by Darley he shuttled to Kildangan Stud for two seasons. He stood at a fee of €7,000 and Fastnet Crown is from that initial crop.

He now resides at Twin Hills Stud, Olly Tait's farm in New South Wales, and has sired the Group 1 Australian Oaks and Empire Rose Stakes winner Collette, as well as Big Hearted, successful in the Singapore Gold Cup. 

Out of the Danehill mare Crowned Glory, who won the Group 3 Breeders' Stakes and was runner-up in the Golden Rose, his second dam Significant Moment is a Bletchingly half-sister to the outstanding sire Zabeel, as well as Australian Guineas winner Baryshnikov and the Group winners and sires Kingfisher Mill and Wellbeing.

Fastnet Lady, the mare who is responsible for these Super Saturday contenders, was bred by Smith out of Mooretown Lady, who carried his colours to victory. The daughter of Montjeu was trained in Louth by Harry Rogers and earned black type on three separate occasions. She was second in the Group 3 Ridgewood Pearl Stakes and third in the Knockaire and Trigo Stakes, both Listed events at Leopardstown.

Mooretown Lady is the dam of two winners from five runners - Rock On Aidan, a full-brother to Fastnet Lady, and Trish's Company, by Fast Company, who is her last recorded foal.

Her dam Chaturanga was bred by Darley and is a Night Shift half-sister to the Prix Eugene Adam winner Sobieski and to Strategic, who won the Trigo Stakes. They are out of Game Plan, a daughter of Darshaan who was bred by Someries Stud and trained by Clive Brittain to win the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh and chase home Salsabil in the Oaks.

Game Plan's younger half-sister by Alzao was Oaks winner Shahtoush. She was Aidan O'Brien's first ever runner at Epsom when she tackled the Classic, having been second in the 1,000 Guineas.

Fastnet Lady has a four-year-old daughter of Mastecraftsman named Sli Phadrigin (Patricia's Way), who has yet to show anything approximating her half-brothers' talents on the track in three starts for O'Callaghan and Smith. Her three-year-old, Mooretown Lad, is a full-brother to I Am Superman and is also in training with O'Callaghan, while she has a two-year-old daughter of Gleneagles. 

Sadly her mating with Lope De Vega didn't return a foal, but she is in foal to Australia - an apt covering.

The Good Morning Bloodstock baton is handed back now to Martin Stevens, who returns on Monday. Have a pleasant weekend everyone.

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Pedigree pick

Will it be a case of like mother, like daughter at Dundalk on Friday evening?

So Majestic, who starts her career as a three-year-old in the 6f maiden (5.30), is by Siyouni and out of Stars So Bright, the Sunderland Holdings homebred who won first time up at the track as a three-year-old just under nine years ago. 

That’s as good as it got for Stars So Bright on the racecourse, but she has produced Australian winner Moktaffy.

So Majestic was bought by now owner-trainer Katie McGivern as a yearling for €68,000 at the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale, but was then reoffered through her Derryconnor Stud and hammered down to Mandore International Agency for €160,000 at the Arqana breeze-up last year.

The filly went through the ring for a third time at Goffs last month, where Derryconnor bought her back for €29,000.

Extending the debut-winning family theme, the dam’s brother Fair Star won a bumper at the first time of asking, while her dual Group 3-winning half-sister Majestic Queen was also a winner on her debut at, where else, Dundalk.

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