By Kelsey Riley
When one has the chance to purchase a mare from a pedigree that has excelled all over the globe, they will find themselves faced with the good problem of deciding which market to place said mare in. Last November, when SF Bloodstock and Newgate Farm signed for the 4-year-old mare Unbelievable (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) carrying her first foal by Gleneagles (Ire), that was exactly the decision they faced. The unraced Unbelievable, who will be offered again next week at Tattersalls as lot 1747 through Baroda & Colbinstown Studs, is a daughter of the G1 Fillies' Mile S. second Maryinsky (Ire), better known as the dam of champion and four-time Group 1 winner Peeping Fawn (Danehill) and Group 1-winning sire Thewayyouare (Kingmambo). This is just the tip of the iceberg in this pedigree, however, as the second dam is the GI Kentucky Oaks winner Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}), whose main claim to fame is the champion broodmare Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister), the dam of consecutive GI Belmont S. winners Rags To Riches (A.P. Indy) and Jazil (Seeking The Gold) and stakes winners Casino Drive (Mineshaft) and Man Of Iron (Giant's Causeway). Blush With Pride's legacy also encompasses Grade I winner Streaming (Smart Strike) and nearly countless other stakes winners across the world.
SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan explained the mare was bought to support Newgate's roster of young stallions in Australia.
“She was a mare we bought last November for obvious reasons; it's one of those recession-proof pedigrees, it's beautiful from top to bottom,” he said. “We bought her to make her a part of our elite broodmare band at Newgate and to support the young stallions down there like Capitalist, etcetera.”
After foaling her Gleneagles colt, Unbelievable was shipped to Australia to be bred during the Southern Hemisphere season. She had barely touched down, however, when yet another pedigree update prompted a change of heart: September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), out of the mare's half-sister Peeping Fawn, won the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot.
“She had barely arrived in Australia when September comes out and wins the 2-year-old stake in Royal Ascot,” Ryan said. “We revised our plans and put her back in quarantine and put her on yet another airplane to Europe. She spent the summer there in preparation for the sales next week.”
“The reality is she wasn't bred this spring in Kentucky to go to Australia and she wasn't bred in Australia because she was coming back to Europe, and therefore she's open and ready to be bred by whoever purchases her,” he added. “We felt the best way to extract the value out of her would be to bring her back to the market that she'd have the most appeal in.”
September continued to justify that decision throughout the season. She finished third in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. before running Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) to a head when second in the G1 Fillies' Mile, and closed out her season with a troubled third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf.
September is just the latest representative from a family that keeps on giving, and her close relation represents an 'Unbelievable' opportunity to get into it at Tattersalls next week.
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