In certain respects, Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp looks a case of same same.
Breeding wise the race is dominated by Sadler’s Wells with Galileo represented by four runners, Galileo’s son Nathaniel has the dual winner of the race Enable bidding for that elusive third win in Europes’ premier middle distance race while this year’s Deutsches Derby winner In Swoop represents another branch of the Sadler’s Wells line but sill an element of same same.
In Swoop is by Adlerflug, a son of three-time Gr1 winner In The Wings (Sadler’s Wells) who himself ran twice in the Arc, finishing 11th behind Carroll House in 1989 and then fourth the following year behind Saumarez before winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Belmont.
Adlerflug is a grandson of Alya, a sister to Allegretta, herself the dam of Arc winner Urban Sea, the dam of Galileo and Sea The Stars.
Adlerflug won the Deutsches Derby in 2007 when he was rated the Champion 3yo in Germany as well as the Gr1 Deutschland-Preis the following season.
Adlerflug’s final race resulted in a third place behind Vision d’Etat in the 2009 Gr1 Prix Ganay and he has proved a success at stud
Advertised at €10,000 at Gestut Schlenderhan in 2020, to date he has four Gr1 winners including Iquitos and In Swoop’s brother Ito.
The most striking aspect of Adlerflug’s record so far is his strike-rate with 28 stakes performers from 164 offspring to race (17%).
His 14 stakes winners have won in Germany, France, Italy and Australia and he has enjoyed good success with mares by Monsun with Savoir Vivre (Gr2), Shivajia (Gr2), Moonshiner (Gr3), Swacadelic (LR) and Indian Eagle (LR).
This is further reinforced with Monsun’s sire Konigsstuhl the maternal grandsire of In Swoop and Ito.
Worth noting Adlerflug is the also sire of German Gr2 winner Meergorl out of a mare by Tertullian (Miswaki) and thus inbred to Anatevka, a pattern that looks well worth repeating.
In Swoop gave Gestüt Schlenderhan their 19th winner of the German Classic as owner and greatly resembles Adlerflug in appearance, both brightly coloured with a white blaze and stockings.
In Swoop is the third Group winner left by Gr1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) winner Iota (Tiger Hill), who is also the dam of In Swoop’s Gr1 Grosser Preis von Bayern-winning brother Ito (Ger) and Gr3 Counties Cup in New Zealand winner Igraine (Galileo), now owned by Trelawney Stud following her purchase by bloodstock agent Paul Moroney for 65,000gns at the 2017 Tattersalls December sale.
A high-class racehorse and sire, Tiger Hill (Danehill) finished fifth to Montjeu in the 1999 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard at Chantilly, In Swoop made his debut in a modest maiden over 2200m at Lyon-Parilly in mid-May this year, starting as favourite and winning comfortably.
He was then stepped straight up in class for his second start, the Gr2 Prix Greffulhe, also run at Lyon this year and finished third behind Sunday’s Arc entry Gold Trip (currently 100/1 for Sunday) after racing greenly.
At his third start he produced a zig zagging finish to land the Deutsches Derby and last time out he made good ground over the concluding stages to finish runner-up to Mogul in the Gr1 Grand Prix de Paris over 2400m with Gold Trip third and the Derby winner Serpentine fourth.
In Swoop clearly needs to improve to win on Sunday however, every drop of rain that falls on ParisLongchamp enhances his chance and having only raced four times he is still open to improvement.
In this crazy year that is 2020 anything can happen.