Foal watch: week three

Telescope colt (left) and filly (right) this week. Colt pic: @WoodfieldFarm1/Twitter; Filly: @Eskdale_TB/Twitter

Strap in for a bumper edition of Foal Watch after last week’s quiet spell was well and truly broken with a plethora of new arrivals this week.

Treve

https://twitter.com/ChampionsSeries/status/827115909814820867

There was obviously only one place to start this week and although Treve was not a Champions Series star in her own right, we have every confidence in the fact that her first colt is certainly bred to be! This colt by Dubawi arrived to much hysteria this week – and with good reason.

Manager of Al Shaqab’s Haras de Bouquetot stud in Normandy, Benoit Jeffroy said: “Treve produced a good first foal. Everything went well. She foaled late (overdue) and waited for lunchtime (on Wednesday). Treve and her foal are doing well. The next step in the story now begins, and it is hoped that this colt is as fast as her parents!”

Treve was a dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner who was denied a hat-trick of wins by Golden Horn in 2015 and she has a date with Shalaa later this year.

Ruler of the World

Details are a bit sketchy on this adorable filly by the 2013 Derby winner as she was foaled on Thursday afternoon at Highpark Bloodstock, but there has been no official statement put out since.

What we do know, however, is that this was their first foal of the year and if her sire is anything to go by, she’ll need good ground when she starts her racing career. Ruler of the World Won his first three starts on good ground – including the Derby – before then winning only once again in his career, when getting good ground at Longchamp in the 2014 Prix Foy.

Sir Percy

The 2006 Derby winner is waiting for one of his progeny to hit the (admittedly very high) standards he has dauntingly set them, but this first filly out of former James Fanshawe-trained She’s Gorgeous may well be the #ChampionsSeries winner he is searching for.

G Force

The first foal for Foxland Stud was this lovely colt out of Champions Series winner G Force – born just earlier this morning!

As you can imagine, there are even fewer details available for this very recent arrival, but if he’s anything like his sire, he’ll be a ball of speed – as was demonstrated when he won the Sprint Cup at Haydock back in 2014.

Camelot

The QIPCO 2000 Guineas and Investec Derby winner Camelot has proven to be a hit off the track as well. This was the first foal of the year for Crimbourne Stud near the South Downs. Out of former Irish handicapper Syann, we won’t expect anybody to be feeling blue about this foal!

Telescope

It’s been cause for a double celebration for Telescope this week as he welcomed both a colt and a filly in to the world on Wednesday.

The gorgeous filly is out of La Doelenaise – half-sister to Cheltenham Festival contender Sizing John – and was the first foal of the year for Eskdale Thoroughbred, whilst the colt was Telescope’s first Irish colt foal, according to Woodfield Farm Stud.

Telescope was once one of the leading market contenders to land the Derby, but eventually succumbed to such expectations. That said, he was a regular feature in other Champions Series races – such as when being touched off for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot by Taghrooda and when third to Australia in his demolition of the Juddmonte International.

American Pharoah

Another horse which is not strictly Champions Series-relevant, but is still a beauty comes again from the USA where American Pharoah has welcomed a filly in to the world this week. Out of Margate Gardens, this filly was born at Runnymede Farm and is reported to be “lively and strong”.

Check out week one and week two of Foal Watch and make sure you haven’t missed any potential superstars!