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Deep Impact’s Saxon Warrior triumphant in the 2,000 Guineas

Slightly less favoured than his stablemate Gustav Klimt (Galileo), the big, powerfully-built Saxon Warrior was having his first start of the year after recording three wins from three starts at two years in 2017.

On Saturday, ridden by his trainer’s teenage son Donnacha O’Brien, the still green Saxon Warrior reached the lead just over a furlong from home before going on to win by a length and a half from Tip To Win (Dark Angel) with Godolphin’s Masar (New Approach) just a head further back in third place.

Saxon Warrior’s victory was history making in more ways than one. He is the first British or Irish classic winner for the great Japanese sire Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) who first made a mark in Europe in 2012 when his daughter Beauty Parlour captured the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr 1, 1600m).

Deep Impact now has 34 Group One winners among his ever growing tally of 113 stakes winners and is represented in Australia by two Group / Grade One-winning sire sons, Mikki Isle and Real Impact, who both shuttle to Arrowfield Stud in NSW, while dual Group One winner Tosen Stardom will take up stud duties at Woodside Park in Victoria this season. Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand will also shuttle a son of the Japanese super sire in the form of Grade One winner Satono Aladdin.

For trainer Aidan O’Brien the success of Saxon Warrior added to his domination of the 2,000 Guineas since he first won the classic 20 years ago with King Of Kings (Sadler’s Wells). Saxon Warrior gave him a record ninth winner and his third in the past four years. Added to that, Saxon Warrior is the trainer’s 300th winner of a Group/Grade One race.

Saxon Warrior is now an even money favourite to win the Derby (Gr 1, 1m4f) next month. Should he succeed there are hopes he will then attempt to complete the Triple Crown in the St. Leger Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 6.5f) at Doncaster, a feat not achieved since 1970 when the late Vincent O’Brien sent out champion Nijinsky (Northern Dancer) from the same Ballydoyle stable to complete this rare treble. Aidan O’Brien almost pulled it off with Camelot (Montjeu) in 2012, but that colt went down narrowly in the final leg, the longest and oldest of the Classics.

On pedigree Saxon Warrior should have reasonable prospects of staying the St. Leger distance, as his father stayed even further while his maternal grandsire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) was a dual Derby winner and has sired many genuine stayers of class.

If there is a chink in Saxon Warrior’s staying credentials it may be the accent on speed in the early removes of his female pedigree.

His dam Maybe (Galileo) was Europe’s champion juvenile filly of 2011 when unbeaten in five appearances, her most important win coming in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 7f), but she really failed to train on as a three-year-old after finishing third in the 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m).

Go back one more generation to find that Saxon Warrior’s second dam is Sumora (Danehill), a stakes winning two-year-old at around five furlongs and also dam of Maybe’s stakes winning sister Promise To Be True (Galileo) who only just got a mile.

More encouraging, perhaps, is the fact that Sumora is a half-sister to Dancing Rain (Danehill Dancer), winner of the Oaks (Gr 1, 1m4f) and of the German equivalent, their dam Rain Flower (Indian Ridge) being a half-sister to four stakes winners over a variety of distances.

Rain Flower is out of unraced Rose Of Jericho (Alleged), whose four notable winners were Dr Devious (Ahonoora), winner of the Derby although by a speed sire, champion sprinter Archway (Thatching), who left classic-winning stayers at stud in Australia, Shinko King (Fairy King), another very useful sire, and Royal Court (Sadler’s Wells), winner of the Ormonde Stakes (Gr 3, 1m5.5f).

Last season Saxon Warrior showed both fighting qualities and staying potential, opening his winning account over a mile at the Curragh before going on to win the Beresford Stakes (Gr 2, 1m) at the same track and winding up his first campaign with a neck victory in the Racing Post Trophy (Gr 1, 1m) at Doncaster, a race which has provided such future winners of the Derby as Camelot (Montjeu), Authorized (Montjeu), Motivator (Montjeu), High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) and Reference Point (Mill Reef). These performances prompted Timeform to last year give Saxon Warrior the high rating of 120p.

Coolmore’s expensive exercise of sending mares to Japan to go to Deep Impact in search of a superior outcross has paid off as another pleasing result is the now three-year-old filly September (Deep Impact), winner last season of the Chesham Stakes (Listed, 7f) at Royal Ascot and three times placed in Group/Grade One contests.

Saxon Warrior was foaled in Japan but in recent seasons his mother Maybe has been at stud in Kentucky, producing a colt by American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) in 2017 before being covered by War Front (Danzig).

With a particularly well balanced pedigree, Saxon Warrior carries four lines of Northern Dancer (Nearctic), including one female strain plus two crosses of Hail to Reason (Turn-to) via two sons.

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