Sunday Silence the Predominant Japan Link

The inclusion of Tagaloa (Lord Kanaloa) at Yulong in 2021 adds another intriguing strand to the Japanese sireline mix that’s already circulating in Australia. Whilst, understandably, the biggest focus has been on securing some of the elite Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) pedigrees for both outcross and commercial purposes – Real Impact, Mikki Isle, Saxon Warrior, Real Steel and 2021 debutant Fierce Impact are examples – there are also several other highly influential stallions available from Japan that offer plenty of thought for breeders, albeit that Sunday Silence (Halo) is invariably somewhere in the equation. They include returning Arrowfield shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero) plus the Hunter stud's new Sunday Silence line shuttler Admire Mars (Daiwa Major). Aquis Farm’s Brave Smash is by Tosen Stardom (Neo Universe), a Sunday Silence grandson, while Oaklands Stud’s Neo Realism is by Neo Universe. If there’s a central sire-line thread, it’s definitely US Horse of the Year Sunday Silence, and even though Maurice is an exception, his sire’s dam is still by Sunday Silence, whereas Yulong’s debutant Tagaloa is out of a mare by Heart’s Cry, a son of Sunday Silence. What’s different for the Blue Diamond winner is that his sireline is totally Sunday Silence-free. Lord Kanaloa (2013’s Japanese Horse of the Year and Champion Sprinter) is by King Kamehameha (Champion 3YO colt of Japan and twice Champion Sire of Japan). He, in turn, is by multiple Group 1 winner Kingmambo, a product of a Mr. Prospector mating with Nureyev’s dazzling daughter Miesque, a Hall of Fame inductee who was a European Champion 2YO, 3YO and 4YO. Remarkably, half of Kingmambo’s 48 Group/Graded stakes-winners won at Gr1 level. What’s certain is that the Japanese influence on Australian racing and our own bloodlines is just beginning.

Maurice returns at a fee of $44,000 (pic: hkjc.com)