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Calcutta Cup breaks through at Chester

Darley shuttler Territories (Invincible Spirit) sired his ninth first-crop winner as Calcutta Cup (2 c ex Lorient by Champs Elysees) finally got his head in front at the fourth time of asking when he landed the nursery race over seven and a half furlongs at Chester on Friday. 

Last seen running sixth at Goodwood on July 30, the Andrew Balding-trained colt travelled at the back for much of the journey, but as the field entered the straight the two-year-old found a gap up the rail and galloped away to beat Chase The Dollar (Frankel) by two lengths, with Spirit Of Sisra (Zoffany) the same distance away in third. 

The colt was purchased for €68,000 by Scea Des Prairies at the 2018 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale from the La Motteraye Consignment and was then purchased by Alexander Cole for €100,000 at the Arqana October Yearling Sale the following year. 

Calcutta Cup herself is out of unraced Champs Elysees (Danehill) mare Lorient, who is a blood-sister to stake-placed duo World Ruler (Dansili) and Disclose (Dansili) - the dam of Listed winner Encrypted (Showcasing). 

The colt’s fourth dam is Grade 1 winner Arewehavingfunyet (Sham), the dam of Listed winner Have Fun (Topsider), while this is also the family of Pretty Polly Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) winner Urban Fox (Foxwedge), Grade 2 winner Mons (Deploy) and Pronto Pronto (Snitzel), who won the Poseidon Stakes (Listed, 1100m). 

Calcutta Cup joins Rhoscolyn, Regional, Royal Scimitar, Teresa Mendoza, William Bligh, Rougir, Terrible Land and Uncle Jumbo as the stallion’s other first crop winners, while he is also the sire of Listed-placed Fulgentia. The son of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) is set to stand at Darley’s Kelvinside base at a fee of $11,000 (inc GST) in 2020.