Coolmore Stud’s late sire High Chaparral (IRE) was responsible for another high-profile Australian success when CONTRIBUTER (IRE) (pictured above) won the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Warwick Farm on Saturday. The five-year-old had won the Group 2 Apollo Stakes earlier in February and will now be aimed at the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes. He has won three of his four starts in Australia with an overall record of seven wins from thirteen career starts. Bred by Petra Bloodstock Agency, CONTRIBUTER (IRE) was successful in two Listed races at Kempton Park and Royal Ascot for Ed Dunlop last season before subsequently being sold to Godolphin in a private deal.

The Chipping Norton Stakes was Godolphin’s first Group 1 win in Australia, and gave sire High Chaparral (IRE) his twelfth winner at the highest level. Contributer’s dam Serisia and grand-dam Seralia were both bred by Petra Bloodstock Agency and owned by Lady O’Reilly, for whom they won Group 3 and Listed races respectively. Seralia is a half-sister to Shaka, who beat Daylami to win the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in 1996.

SAFETY CHECK CONTINUES SUCCESS OF IRISH-BRED'S IN MEYDAN

SAFETY CHECK (IRE) (pictured above, near-side) led home an Irish-bred 1-2 in the Group 2 Zabeel Mile at Meydan on Thursday. The four-year-old son of Dubawi (IRE) had rattled off two wins over seven furlongs at the same course in January and had little difficulty in accounting for Dark Emerald (IRE) who himself had recorded two Meydan successes already this year. SAFETY CHECK (IRE) had previously won the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort but is to stay and the winner is to head to back to England, where he is a five-time winner, for a summer campaign. Dark Emerald (IRE) has progressed from handicaps to become a leading player at this level and from 29 starts, he is a seven-time winner.

Bred in Ireland by Malih Al Basti, SAFETY CHECK (IRE) is out of an unraced half-sister to Group 1 winner and Group 1 sire Marchand De Sable. There were two other Irish-bred winners on the Meydan card, while the Group 3 UAE Oaks went the way of Local Time, a daughter of the Irish National Stud's Invincible Spirit (IRE).

TALLY-HO STUD'S ROI DE VITESSE WINS QATAR INVITATIONAL CUP

Bred by Tally-Ho Stud, ROI DE VITESSE (IRE) narrowly edged out another Irish-bred Izzthatright (IRE) to win the Qatar 2022 Invitation Cup for the second time at Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. Winner of the race two years ago, the eight-year-old came from off the pace to deny the son of Moss Vale by a short-head. ROI DE VITESSE (IRE) was winning for the fifth time in his career, which has also seen him placed second in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes and third in the Listed Rochestown Stakes at Cork in 2009. Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sales graduate Izzthatright (IRE) is a three-time winner and was running with considerable promise on his first run in Doha. ROI DE VITESSE (IRE), meaning ‘King Of Speed’, is a half-brother to four winners and is out of a half-sister to Listed winner Santa Isobel. They come from the family of triple Group 1 winner and top-class Japanese sire Opera House and four-time Group 1 winner and leading jumps sire Kayf Tara.