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Former shuttle sire Mastercraftsman has soared to new heights with his star daughter Alpha Centauri winning her fourth consecutive Group One event in the Prix Jacues le Marois at Deauvile in France on Sunda
A homebred for the Niarchos family, the filly is trained in Ireland by Jessica Harrington and is a leader among the 50 stakes-winners by Mastercraftsman, a son of Danehill Dancer who shuttled to New Zealand’s Windsor Park Stud.
She may have a way to go to rival the feats of Australian champion Winx, but for now Alpha Centauri can wear the crown as the best female on turf in the northern hemisphere.
Deauville’s mile trip on softer ground presented a sterner challenge for Alpha Centauri but the filly never looked in danger after she cruised past major rival, the G1 Prix Rothschild winner With You, with two furlongs to run.
She went on to score by a soft 2 1/2 lengths from the G1 Prix D’Ispahan winner Recoletos while With You battled to hold third some six lengths from the winner.It was a satisfying ninth win in the Marois for the Niarchos clan, her owner-breeders having sponsored the G1 race since 1986.
The homebred Alpha Centauri (Mastercraftsman x Alpha Lupi by Rahy) has now won six of her nine starts and in excess of $A2.6 million and descends from one of the great NIarchos mares Miesque, winner of the Marois twice in the late 1980s.Miesque is Alpha Centauri’s third dam.
Alpha Centauri’s unraced dam Alpha Lupi is a half brother to the Listed winner and G2 placed Tenth Star (Dansili) from the champion French 3YO filly East Of The Moon (Private Accunt).East Of The Moon, another winner of the Prix Jacques Le Marois in the Niarchos colours in 1994, is a half-sister to champion sire Kingmambo from Stavros Niarchos’ champion Nureyev mare Miesque, who won the Breeders Cup Mile twice among her 10 G1 victories.
Alpha Lupi has an unraced 2YO filly by So You Think and a yearling filly by Sea the Moon.Other Niarchos owned winners of the Marois have been the colts Hector Protector, Exit To Nowhere, Spinning World twice and Six Perfections.
Harrington said the G1 Matron Stakes at Leopardstown on September 15, G1 Sun Chariot at Newmarket on October 6 and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 20 were all options for Alpha Centauri ahead of a possible US trip for the Breeders Cup Mile in November.“If she does make it through to the Breeders’ Cup it will have been a very long season,” Harrington said.
Former New Zealand-based shuttle sire Showcasing added a new G1 winner on Sunday when his brilliant colt Advertise won the Phoenix Stakes at The Curragh in Ireland.Advertise is prepared by Martin Meade and is the first UK-trained winner of the 2YO feature since 1997.
Advertise prevailed by a half length from the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly So Perfect (Scat Daddy) and her stablemate The Irish Rover (Nay Nay Never) while Ballydoyle’s favoured runner Sergei Prokofiev failed to run on after over-racing.Advertise (Showcasing x Furbelow by Pivotal) has won three of his four starts and will now be set to step up to a mile in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes in October.
His winning dam Furbelow is a sister to the stakes winner Red Diadem and a half-sister to the dam of the G2 winner Saayerr and the G2 placed Ornate.
His third dam was Heart Of Joy (Lypheor) was a G2 winner and G1 placed in the English and Irish 1000 Guineas before producing two stakes performers.Furbelow also has a yearling filly by Dream Ahead and a colt foal by Lethal Force.
New Zealand’s Haunui Farm in conjunction with England’s Whitsbury Manor Stud announced in April that Showcasing will no longer shuttle to the Southern Hemisphere after the UK stud made a successful offer to purchase the 50% shareholding in the stallion held by New Zealand-based shareholders.The offer was accepted on the proviso that he would no longer shuttle to the Southern Hemisphere.
He will be represented by three further racing crops in the Southern Hemisphere.
