On September 24, King Power Racing’s The Foxes upset a short field at Ascot to win the Royal Lodge Stakes (ENG-G2) and nail down a “Win and You’re In” slot for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (USA-G1). The son of multiple 2016 European champion 2-year-old male Churchill outsprinted his three rivals to the line after a slowly run opening half-mile, marking himself as a possible prospect for next year’s Cazoo Derby (ENG-G1) as well. That may be somewhat optimistic, given that the colt’s Group 2-winning half brother Bangkok liked a mile and a quarter better than a mile and a half in spite of being by 2014 Derby hero Australia, but his connections seem to agree that The Foxes should stretch out beyond the mile he covered in the Royal Lodge.
The Foxes hails from the female family of modern American matriarch Fall Aspen, whose family has had marked success on both sides of the Atlantic. Herself the winner of the 1978 Matron Stakes (USA-G1), Fall Aspen is one of a select group of mares to produce four or more Grade/Group 1 winners. Her quartet of top-level runners includes European Group 1 winners Hamas (by Danzig) and Fort Wood (latter a son of Sadler’s Wells who became a champion sire and broodmare sire in South Africa), 1987 Gamely Handicap (USA-G1) winner Northern Aspen (by Northern Dancer), and 1994 American champion 2-year-old male Timber Country (by Woodman), who trained on to win the 1995 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1).
Fall Aspen produced four other Group winners in addition to her top-level performers, among them Elle Seule (by Exclusive Native), who scored her signature win in the 1986 Prix d’ Astarte (FR-G2). The best of Fall Aspen’s daughters as a broodmare, Elle Seule produced four stakes winners of her own, including 1998 Darley July Cup winner Elnadim (by Danzig) and 1994 Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) Mehthaaf (by Nureyev). She is also the dam of Only Seule (by Lyphard), whose multiple French Group 1-winning daughter Ocupandiste (by Kaldoun) in turn became the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Mondialiste (by Galileo).
Mehthaaf’s only stakes winner as a broodmare was 2001 Premio Lydia Tesio (ITY-G2) winner Najah (by Nashwan), but her stakes-placed daughter Tanaghum (by Darshaan) now has six stakes winners to her credit. Besides The Foxes and Bangkok (who took down his biggest win in the 2021 York Stakes, ENG-G2), she is responsible for Group 3 winners Tactic (by Sadler’s Wells) and Matterhorn (by Raven’s Pass) and listed stakes winners Yaazy (by Teofilo) and Perotan (by Churchill).
Generally speaking, Fall Aspen’s family has been flexible to the distance influences of the stallions it members have been mated to, and Churchill, though a son of Galileo, was essentially a miler, showing the influence of his broodmare sire Storm Cat. The presence of Darshaan as The Foxes’ broodmare sire, however, means that the stamina to go a mile and a half cannot be ruled out. Even if he cannot go quite so far as that, he should be an entertaining addition to the field should his connections make the decision to run him at Keeneland, and a Grade 1 win there would certainly not hurt his potential stallion appeal when added to his blue-blooded pedigree.
The Foxes hails from the female family of modern American matriarch Fall Aspen, whose family has had marked success on both sides of the Atlantic. Herself the winner of the 1978 Matron Stakes (USA-G1), Fall Aspen is one of a select group of mares to produce four or more Grade/Group 1 winners. Her quartet of top-level runners includes European Group 1 winners Hamas (by Danzig) and Fort Wood (latter a son of Sadler’s Wells who became a champion sire and broodmare sire in South Africa), 1987 Gamely Handicap (USA-G1) winner Northern Aspen (by Northern Dancer), and 1994 American champion 2-year-old male Timber Country (by Woodman), who trained on to win the 1995 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1).
Fall Aspen produced four other Group winners in addition to her top-level performers, among them Elle Seule (by Exclusive Native), who scored her signature win in the 1986 Prix d’ Astarte (FR-G2). The best of Fall Aspen’s daughters as a broodmare, Elle Seule produced four stakes winners of her own, including 1998 Darley July Cup winner Elnadim (by Danzig) and 1994 Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) Mehthaaf (by Nureyev). She is also the dam of Only Seule (by Lyphard), whose multiple French Group 1-winning daughter Ocupandiste (by Kaldoun) in turn became the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Mondialiste (by Galileo).
Mehthaaf’s only stakes winner as a broodmare was 2001 Premio Lydia Tesio (ITY-G2) winner Najah (by Nashwan), but her stakes-placed daughter Tanaghum (by Darshaan) now has six stakes winners to her credit. Besides The Foxes and Bangkok (who took down his biggest win in the 2021 York Stakes, ENG-G2), she is responsible for Group 3 winners Tactic (by Sadler’s Wells) and Matterhorn (by Raven’s Pass) and listed stakes winners Yaazy (by Teofilo) and Perotan (by Churchill).
Generally speaking, Fall Aspen’s family has been flexible to the distance influences of the stallions it members have been mated to, and Churchill, though a son of Galileo, was essentially a miler, showing the influence of his broodmare sire Storm Cat. The presence of Darshaan as The Foxes’ broodmare sire, however, means that the stamina to go a mile and a half cannot be ruled out. Even if he cannot go quite so far as that, he should be an entertaining addition to the field should his connections make the decision to run him at Keeneland, and a Grade 1 win there would certainly not hurt his potential stallion appeal when added to his blue-blooded pedigree.
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