War Front Enters New Phase of European Career

Last week's action on the track emphasized how War Front 's stallion career, and perhaps breeders' perception of him, has evolved.

The Claiborne Farm kingpin had faced something of a public relations crisis in Europe due to an unfortunate accumulation of top-class 2-year-olds who, for one reason or another, had failed to replicate their form at 3 or older: see Air Force Blue , Brave Anna, Faydhan, and War Command.

There must have been some sleepless nights among the Coolmore directorate, wondering if they had made the correct decision to target the son of Danzig as a worthy outcross for their many high-class and well-related mares by Sadler's Wells and sons Galileo and Montjeu in pursuit of breeding group 1 winners and, crucially for the operation, making commercial stallion prospects.

But their faith in War Front appears to have been vindicated.

Last year's European champion 2-year-old U S Navy Flag notched a first group 1 in his 3-year-old campaign for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore with a clear-cut victory in the Darley July Cup (G1), having tried to make the running and faded over a mile in top-flight company on his last three starts. Another son of War Front, last year's Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes (G1) second Fleet Review, followed U S Navy Flag home in third.

Earlier at the July Festival, another War Front 3-year-old in Naval Intelligence—a rare good one that Coolmore appear to have let slip through their fingers, having bred him but sold him to race for Jane Chapple-Hyam—was a surprise yet impressive winner of the listed Edmond Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes.

U S Navy Flag, Fleet Review, and Naval Intelligence are all out of Galileo mares in classic heroine Misty For Me, Rip Van Winkle's sister A Star Is Born and group 3 scorer Say, respectively. The mating of War Front with Misty For Me also came up with Roly Poly, who last year became the first group 1 winner for her sire at 3 or older in Europe since Declaration of War  in 2013.

It is tempting to believe that the War Front-Galileo cross is the perfect recipe, marrying the best of current American and European bloodlines.

Similarly, Coolmore's Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) winner this year—Lancaster Bomber, another who took his rivals off their feet with a bold front-running performance—is by War Front out of Sun Shower, a daughter of Indian Ridge who had already produced ace miler Excelebration. Again, refining the raw talent provided by the sire with a proven European group 1 pedigree.

Coolmore's announcement in the immediate aftermath of the July Cup that U S Navy Flag would be prepared for the lucrative Everest at Randwick in Australia in October is a laudable sporting decision and one that makes good business sense as the organisation will want to showcase War Front to Australian breeders for the sake of the important shuttle sire market, knowing there are likely many more group 1 winners like U S Navy Flag in the pipeline.

As for War Front's credentials as a sire of sires, his Coolmore-owned freshman and second-season sire sons War Command and Declaration of War  registered new winners in the past seven days.

War Command supplied 3 1/2-length Wolverhampton Stakes winner Theatre of War and impressive Ascot debut scorer Nuremberg, while Declaration of War's daughter Tobruk also won on the Wolverhampton all-weather.

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