Cracksman Sires First B-T Winner at Sandown
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Photo: Edward Whitaker/Racing Post
Dance In The Grass wins the Star Stakes at Sandown Park
Cracksman , whose debut crop of runners have come to the fore more quickly than might have been expected, now has a first black-type winner as Dance In The Grass maintained her unbeaten record in the European Bloodstock News Ebf Star Stakes at Sandown Park.
Unbeaten!
Dance In The Grass (Cracksman) makes it two from two with victory in the Listed @bloodstocknews Star Stakes for @SilvDSousa and @Johnston_Racing @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/7mRZ2zqwT8— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 21, 2022
The Dalham Hall resident and champion racehorse has already fired in seven individual winners from 11 runners around Europe and had been getting close to a score at stakes level with his daughter Aloa finishing second in last month's Premio Gino e Luciano Mantovani in Milan.
Cracksman, a son of Frankel who descends from the Oppenheimer family's 1982 One Thousand Guineas (G1) winner On the House, was only seen once at the end of his juvenile season and after placing in two Derbys, took the first of his two QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1) titles at the end of his Classic season.
Dance In The Grass, jointly bred by the Dalgety family and Minster Stud, was bought by trainers Mark and Charlie Johnston for 57,000 guineas (US$81,294) at Book 1 of the 2021 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
Dance In The Grass wins the Star Stakes at Sandown Park
A winner on debut at the same course and seven-furlong distance 41 days earlier, she was following in the footsteps of a certain Inspiral in winning this race.
The filly is the first foal out of Sir Percy mare Dance The Dream, a listed-placed full sister to very smart juvenile hurdler Knight Salute.
Mark Johnston had noted Darley's revelation that Cracksman's Plusvital Speed Gene Test designation was a C:C, those most suited to running over five furlongs to a mile, but his emergence so soon has been pleasant news.
He said: "The Cracksmans are great; I can't think many people thought they would be early 2-year-olds.
"If you looked at them early in the spring you'd have said they were going to be slow-maturing, late 2-year-olds who you would not see the best of until they were 3. So everything this year is a bonus I hope.
"Although we only have three horses by Cracksman, the other two are a bit similar and Crackovia has also been a winner for us. I wish I had a few more!"