Pedigree in focus: Prix Jacques le Marois winner Charyn

By Laura Joy

13:27 · WED August 14, 2024

Bloodstock expert Laura Joy takes a look at the pedigree of Roger Varian's Charyn, who has established himself as the season's star older miler.

Charyn becomes the latest progressive miler sired by Dark Angel, who raced exclusively as a juvenile and is in the midst of a golden campaign after standing his 17th season this year. Whilst the Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot was his first at the highest level, and impressed many, Sunday’s Gr.1 Prix Jacques le Marois was considered more competitive than the Gr.1 Sussex Stakes in many camps after the withdrawal of Rosallion (Blue Point), and the manner in which Charyn accounted for the deep field of Group One winners announced his arrival as the leading miler of the season. A mouth-watering clash with the Sheikh Obaid’s Classic winner and leading three year old of the division hopefully lies ahead, the pair accounted for the French 2,000 Guineas winner Metropolitan (Zarak) by almost identical distances, but in the meantime, Charyn deserves a celebration of his own.

His profile epitomises the importance of patience and serves to remind us that the world really doesn’t revolve around Royal Ascot. The colt by Dark Angel out of the Kodiac mare Futoon has a pedigree that would lead many to believe it was all about his juvenile campaign. Dark Angel retired to stud aged two and Kodiac is a prolific source of juvenile talent, yet Charyn made his debut after the all-important Royal Ascot two year old races had been run. That didn’t stop him displaying his precocity, something that will prove important when he eventually joins the stallion ranks, he made a winning debut in August and closed his first season with a narrow success in the Gr.2 Criterium de Maisons-Lafitte. It’s almost hard to believe when he has just coasted to a second Gr.1 success so stylishly, but his three year old campaign was winless, despite running several good races in defeat. This season has been quite the opposite, with his only defeat coming at the mercy of Audience (Iffraaj) in what was a strange Gr.1 Lockinge at Newbury.

Charyn (right) is on top at Sandown

Charyn’s pedigree may not suggest a progressive profile like this at first glance, but a closer look tells a different story. Starting with Dark Angel, Charyn’s Royal Ascot victory meant he became his sire’s 17th individual Group One winner and first in a memorable double with Khaadem’s second Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes win. The latter is a fine example of their sire’s prowess, a Stewards’ Cup Handicap winner as a three year old, he has matured into a top level sprinter on his day, reaching his peak aged seven. The same can be said for a number of Dark Angel’s leading progeny - Battaash earned his first Group One on his final start at three with his best season coming in 2020 aged six, where he was unbeaten. Likewise, last year’s Champions Sprint victor Art Power reached his peak at the same age. In fact, 15 of Dark Angel’s 17 were aged three or over, with just four aged three. His first Group 1 winning juvenile came in 2021, from his 11th crop, the Gr.1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Angel Bleu.

That’s not to say the Gr.2-winning juvenile Charyn was not precocious and his future stallion master will be certain to remind breeders of that fact. His pedigree would fool many into thinking he would be an out and out juvenile, being a full-brother to the Gr.1 Mill Reef winner Wings Of War. With the exception of their dam Futoon, who was a useful sprinter, it’s back to the third dam to find more precocity, where there are four Stakes-winning juveniles including another Gr.2 Mill Reef winner Galeota and the half-brothers Gr.3 Molecomb winner Brown Sugar (Tamayuz) and Burnt Sugar (Lope de Vega), who won the Gr.3 Sirenia Stakes.

IMPRESSIVE! Back-to-back Group 1 wins for CHARYN at Deauville in the Jacques le Marois!

Perhaps more notably for keen followers of sires and broodmare sires, Charyn became Kodiac’s second Gr.1 winner as a damsire after The Platinum Queen’s (Cotai Glory) remarkable Gr.1 Prix de l’Abbaye victory as a two year old. Numerically, Kodiac still falls short of ‘good’ in this role with 13 Stakes winners to his credit, but what intrigues are the variety of sires his daughters have clicked with. Washington DC, Power, Markaz and even Frankel have all succeeded in siring Group winners out of Kodiac mares. The diversity is fascinating and even more impressive when you consider these daughters were all bred from a stud fee of €10,000 or less, with the majority in the range of €4,000-€7,500. Kodiac made it as a sire the hard way, and his daughters may be worth keeping on side for the moment until his statistics have a chance to measure up.

Charyn’s pedigree as well as his talent over the Classic distance of a mile ranks him one of the most exciting stallion prospects of the season so far. With the Gr.1 Prix de Moulin murmured as a (distant) possibility for both Rosallion and Charyn, we can dream of a clash to savour and the opportunity to enjoy this brilliant colt for a little bit longer.

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