6 minute read
Shadow is the Light
The son of Lope De Vega heads up the 2024 European Two-Year-Old Classifications, a table with 23 stallions represented by juveniles of last year rated over 110
THERE ARE 42 horses rated 110 upwards in the European Two-Year-Old Classifications of 2024 and the list was headed by Godolphin’s Lope De Vega colt Shadow Of Light (rated 120).
Charlie Appleby’s crack juvenile raced five times, winning four of those outings and he finished his two-year-old campaign with a Newmarket Group 1 double in the Middle Park and Dewhurst Stakes.
Out of the New Approach mare Winters Moon, he is a three-parts brother to the Darley stallion Earthlight whose 2024 first-crop was headed by Daylight (110 on this list), winner of the Group 3 Prix de Cabourg at Deauville and placed also in both the Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) and Prix Morny (G1).
Winters Moon, also a homebred, out of the Darshaan mare Summertime Legacy, was a very decent two-year-old herself rated 99 and was a debut winner at Newmarket’s July meeting prior to placing next start in the Sweet Solara Stakes (G3).
Winters Moon finished her first season with a fine third behind Together Forever, dam no less of City Of Troy, in the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile. Sandwiched between them in that race was Agnes Stewart, dam of Fallen Angel who won the Irish 1,000 Guineas in 2024.
At 119, the 2024 next best, and highest-rated filly, is Lake Victoria.
The daughter of Frankel had an unblemished season winning each of her five races, including Group 1s in three different countries - the Moyglare Stakes at The Curragh, Newmarket's Cheveley Park Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf at Del Mar.
Lake Victoria was bred to be good being out of the dual Group 1-winning Quiet Reflection, who won both the Commonwealth Cup (Gr1) at Royal Ascot and Haydock's Sprint Cup (Gr1). Frankel was responsible for four 110+ rated two-year-olds on this list and, in addition to Lake Victoria, he is sire of Exactly (112) and the 110-rated pair Bedtime Story and Red Letter.
In joint-third place on 118 is the hugely-promising Sea The Stars cost The Lion In Winter and Expanded, who was narrowly beaten in the Dewhurst by Shadow Of Light.
Expanded is by Wootton Bassett who, with seven horses on this list, is numerically the leading sire. Expanded's rating perhaps is a little surprising given that his only other race was when he was seen winning a Curragh maiden.
Clearly that figure is due to his proximity to Shadow Of Light, but he must have shown something to the assessors to be rated higher than Wootton Bassett’s four juvenile Group 1-winning two-year-olds of 2024–Henri Matisse (116), Camille Pissarro (114), Twain (113) and Tennessee Stud at 110.
The Lion In Winter is Sea The Stars’ sole representative on this list and he followed up his debut Curragh maiden victory with a fluid win in the Acomb Stakes (G3) at York.
He went to the top of the ante-post lists for both the 2,000 Guineas and Derby, but a foot injury prevented him lining up against Shadow Of Light in the Dewhurst.
No such list would be complete without mention of Dubawi and his two representatives here are Ancient Truth (117) and Delacroix (116).
Ancient Truth won three of his four races, including the Group 2 Superlative Stakes and met his only defeat when third to stablemate Shadow Of Light in the Dewhurst.
He is out of the Australia mare Beyond Reason, who won a pair of Group races at Deauville as a juvenile.
Delacroix was successful in the 7f Autumn Stakes at Newmarket for Aidan O’Brien prior to going down a nose in an all-out battle with Hotazhell (rated 117 and by Too Darn Hot) in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at Doncaster. Delacroix is out of the champion mare Tepin (Bernstein), winner of six Group 1 races.
Too Darn Hot had another good year on the track and was also responsible for the 111-rated Simmering, successful for Ollie Sangster in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot, the Prix du Calvados at Deauville and ran second to Lake Victoria in the Moyglare Stakes (G1).
Young sires well represented
There’s a consensus that the leading stallions with their first two-year-olds of 2024 were a decent group and that was borne out by several siring representatives on this list, including Ghaiyyath (Stanhope Garden 111).
Both Hello Youmzain (Electrolyte 112, Misunderstood 110) and Kameko (Wimbledon Hawkeye 114, New Century 110) have two representatives, with the latter’s horses really looking as though they will train on as three-year-olds and will benefit from a touch further in their races – Wimbledon Hawkeye and New Century listed were seen to good effect at the end of their Group and Grade 1s in 2024.
Whitsbury Manor Stud’s Sergei Prokofiev’s is represented by the 110-rated Arizona Blaze, who is on the same rating as Eathlight’s Daylight.
The handicapper’s view
Graeme Smith, BHA handicapping team leader
“Shadow of Light became just the third horse in more than a century to win both the Middle Park and Dewhurst, with his runaway success in the first of those earning him the title of European champion two-year-old of 2024 with a rating of 120.
“What’s unusual about this year’s classification is the level of competition at the top. There are eight horses rated between 117 and 120, and that really whets the appetite for some enthralling competition in their Classic season ahead.”
IHRB handicapper Mark Bird
“Lake Victoria created her own piece of history on the way to emerging as the champion European two-year-old filly for 2024 by becoming the only champion filly in the history of the classifications to win three Group/Grade 1 races at the age of two.
“Almost as remarkable, the daughter of Frankel recorded top-level wins at 6f, 7f and a mile, as well as in three different countries.
“She ranks second only to Minding [2015] among Aidan O’Brien’s eight champion European two-year-old fillies to date and matches the feat previously only achieved this century by Found [2014] in becoming the outright two-year-old champion ahead of the colts in her native Ireland, a country which this year had the highest number of horses on the juvenile classification for the first time ever.”
