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What promised to be an historic 24 hours for shuttle sire New Approach came up short when his previously unbeaten colt Dawn Approach failed as a hot favourite in Saturday’s English Derby at Epsom.
New Approach sired Talent, the winner of Friday’s G1 Epsom Oaks and was poised to become the first sire to have his progeny win both English classics since Sadler’s Wells achieved the feat with Imagine and Galileo in 2001.
The only other stallion to have claimed the Oaks-Derby double in the same year since World War II was Blushing Groom.
New Approach’s less fancied Derby runner Libertarian, winner of the G2 Dante Stakes, did far better than Dawn Approach to finish second in Saturday’s classic.
Ironically it was Galileo, New Approach’s sire, who added a second Derby to his immense list of sire achievements when his son Ruler Of The World ran away with the race.
Still, the success of New Approach’s daughter Talent in the Oaks added another G1 win to the fast growing list for the 2008 Derby winner, who shuttles from the UK to Victoria.
Talent is his second classic winner of the year from his first crop, joining 2000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach.
Talent (New Approach x Prowess by Peintre Celebre) was an immensely impressive winner of the Oaks, being among the tailenders coming out of Tattenham Corner before she accelerated to the front at the furlong and won going away by next to four lengths.
Her more favoured Ralph Beckett-trained stablemate Secret Gesture (Galileo) finished second.
Beckett, who prepared Look Here to win the 2008 English Oaks, could hardly believe the 1-2 result.
“It doesn’t happen does it,” he said. “To finish first and second is an extraordinary result.”
“I’m in no doubt Secret Gesture will be a Group 1 winner in the future, and I hope they both go on. They will probably both have to go to the Irish Oaks.”
Talent comes from a female family steeped in Oaks tradition going back to her third dam Bireme (Grundy) who won the 1980 classic at Epsom.
He stakes-placed dam Prowess (Peintre Celebre x Yawl, by Rainbow Quest) was third in the Chester Oaks and finished ninth to Alexandrova in the 2006 running of the Oaks.
Prowess, who has now produced two stakes performers from her first two runners, also has a yearling sister to Talent.
Talent won second-up at Kempton last September and returned this term to land the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket on May 5.
Beckett pointed out that Talent broke a 33-year drought for barrier one in the Oaks, noting an ironic breeding twist to the result.
“The last to win from there was Bireme, who is actually Talent’s third dam, would you believe,” Beckett said.
