By Tom Frary
One of the last longstanding British-based breeding operations, Anthony Oppenheimer's Hascombe and Valiant Studs, is very much enjoying an upswing since the momentous 2015 campaign of Golden Horn (GB). As John Gosden's dynamo performed heroics in the G1 Investec Derby, G1 Eclipse S., G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, he brought the red, black and white silks back to the fore. Shortly after, it was the turn of Cracksman (GB), a descendant of the late Sir Philip's 1982 1000 Guineas heroine On the House (Fr) (Be My Guest) to further enrich the family's stock and heritage. If that pairing's emergence in such a narrow corridor of time could have been put down to outrageous fortuitousness, the springing forward last year of Star Catcher (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) eradicated all doubt that the establishment has hit a peak.
One who could carry on the success story in 2020 is another filly who sports the famous livery in the William Haggas-trained once-raced winner Domino Darling (GB). What makes her special is she emanates from the first crop of his beloved Golden Horn, the Dalham Hall Stud resident whose first season promised much thanks also to the exploits of West End Girl (GB), Festive Star (GB) and Cape Palace (GB).
Domino Darling is out of Oppenheimer's mare Disco Volante (GB) (Sadler's Wells), runner-up in the 2002 Listed Pretty Polly S. which serves as a key Oaks trial staged at Newmarket which the Haggas stable always has one eye on. She is a daughter of Divine Danse (Fr) (Kris {GB}), a high-class multiple group-winning sprinter who was also placed in the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Cheveley Park S., and is therefore a half-sister to the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 St James's Palace S.-placed Valentino II (GB) (Nureyev). Disco Volante's son Namibian (GB), by Golden Horn's sire Cape Cross (Ire), collected the G3 Queen's Vase over its old trip of two miles, as well as the 12-furlong G3 Gordon S., and is one of seven winners from eight runners for the dam. Perhaps providentially, this is also the family of the 2008 G1 Epsom Oaks heroine Look Here (GB) (Hernando {Fr}).
Stamina is hardly going to a problem for Domino Darling, who was introduced in a heavy-ground mile maiden at Doncaster in late October. She was sent off at 10-1 and on betting was the Haggas second-string behind the eventual fourth Lady G (Ire), also by Golden Horn. Steadily wound up by Tom Marquand, the February-foaled bay eventually overhauled the well-regarded 6-4 favourite Gold Wand (Ire), yet another by Golden Horn in a race the freshman was to dominate. As Domino Darling and the Roger Varian-trained runner-up fought out the finish with a neck separating them, they pulled 4 1/2 lengths clear of Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) who went on to win a maiden at Saint-Cloud.
Haggas said of the now 3-year-old, “Domino Darling has had a good winter and she seems forward in her skin and condition. The Doncaster Race looked a good race and the form has been franked, albeit in a minor way. I am well aware that Roger Varian has a high opinion of Gold Wand and I like my filly who finished fourth very much, although she fractured a knee in the race and is a little bit behind at the moment. I think it was a good race, but one should always be wary of heavy-ground maidens at the end of the season.”
Regarding racing conditions and trip, the Somerville Lodge handler added, “Domino Darling is not over-big, but is neat and I don't see faster ground being against her. She is fairly adaptable in her work at home and relaxed nicely in her race, having been a little enthusiastic in the opening furlong. Her pedigree suggests that she should stay well, being by Golden Horn out of a Sadler's Wells mare and related to a good stayer, so I am hopeful that a mile and a half will be well within her compass.”
With that in mind, it is fair to say that the team at the Newmarket yard can dream as the resumption of racing nears.
“I am sure that there will be opportunities for her at listed and group level in the lead-up to the Oaks, which has to be her primary target,” Haggas said. “She has a long way to go yet to prove that she is good enough, but her owner bred her with the intention of competing at this sort of level and we shall be doing our best to ensure that she is given every chance to be a good filly. Mr. Oppenheimer bred her mother and her father and knows the family inside out and I'm sure he would be very keen to tilt at windmills if she was good enough.”
DOMINO DARLING (GB), f, 3, Golden Horn (GB)–Disco Volante (GB), by Sadler's Wells.
Pedigree: Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Debut at Doncaster: Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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