Although an important speed factor is undoubtedly introduced by Dark Angel, a very effective juvenile in his own right as the winner of the Gr.1 Middle Park Stakes at 6 furlongs and who stamped himself as a remarkable sire of fast and early runners, there is plenty of stamina to balance it in Angel’s Bleu maternal family.

While Starspangledbanner excelled at short distances, although he sucessfully stretched out to a mile to capture his native land’s Guineas, Circles of Gold, Angel Bleu’s third dam, won the Gr.1 AJC Australian Oaks and was also runner-up in the Caulfield Cup, which comes as no surprise since her broodmare sire, French import Zamazaan, was a Prix du Cadran runner-up prior to becoming a champion sire in Australia and New Zealand. Similarly, her offspring Hveger and Elvstroem stayed pretty well, while their half brother Haradasun, who won the Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes in 2008, was more comfortable at distances ranging from 6 to 8 furlongs, very much like Angel Bleu.

Closer to Angel Bleu, his dam’s full brother Highland Reel, a seven-time Group 1 winner, proved a class act for stamina, with victories in the King Georges, Breeders’ Cup Turf, Coronation Cup and Hong Kong Vase.

Whatever your mare brings to the table, Angel Bleu has something to offer to complement or improve it. A smart combination of succesful sire lines, Angel Bleu should suit most mare profiles. Being bred on a reverse cross to Havana Grey, who produced the 2023 Sumbe Prix Morny winner Vandeek from an Exceed And Excel mare, sources of inpiration are plentiful.

Mares by various branches of Danzig sires have succeeded with Dark Angel. The Green Desert-line is particularly noteworthy through daughters of Lawman, Cape Cross, Oasis Dream, Showcasing, Kheleyf… The Danehill branch has been potent as well, producing stakes winners from mares by Choisir, Dansili, Exceed and Excel, Camacho, Mastercraftsman, and of course, Kodiac whose son Charyn exemplifies the success of such mating.

One of the few sons of Dark Angel at stud, Harry Angel already has stakes winners from mares by Dansili, Exceed and Excel, and Showcasing, making it a safe bid to replicate the Danehill nick, all the more than Angel Bleu’s contribution will appear only in the fourth generation of his offspring.

Zoning in on French territory, Mangoustine, the winner the 2022 Gr.1 French 1000 Guineas, by Dark Angel out of a Zamindar mare, obviously indicates the strong potential of mares carrying strains of Mr Prospector. And, from the home-grown lines, it’s likely that mares by Kendargent, Goken and Siyouni  will also suit Angel Bleu, for all have already worked together with Dark Angel to produce stakes horses.

With a pedigree tracing back to a british mare called Eulology who was exported to New Zealand in the early years of the 20th century, Gold Vink, Angel Bleu’s 5th dam, although an unfamiliar name to European ears, is an important broodmare whose influence Down-Under can easily be compared to that of Northern Hemisphere’s most revered matrons.

“Back in January 1971 Gold Vink broke her maiden in Brisbane at her 17th start and retired some 18 months later with a record of two wins from 26 starts with earnings of $4,410. Hardly the record to inspire belief that she was destined to become a broodmare whose influence would spread throughout the world.” Mark Smith

The dam of a Group 1 winner, it was through her least successful runners Polar Maid  and Olympic Aim, however, that she left her mark, with the latter becoming the dam of 1995 Australian Oaks winner Circles Of Gold, who in turn produced champions Haradasun and Elvstroem, while her Group 1 placed daughter Hveger is the dam of 7-time Group 1 winner Highland Reel and the second dam of Angel Bleu.

Olympic Aim is also the third dam of champion sprinter and proven sire Starspangledbanner, the Aussie invader who captured a pair of European Group 1s off easy victories in vintage renewals of the Caulfield Guineas and Oakleigh Plate in his native land, while his sister Gold Chant produced Australian Thousand Guineas winner Amicus.

The pannel charged with the difficult task of handicaping juvenile races obviously did not underestimate the pair of Group 1s notched by Angel Bleu in his 7th and 8th start of the year. Rated at 115 pounds on the grounds of his outstanding 2-year-old season, Angel Bleu was tied for second in Europe with Coroebus, Inspiral, Luxembourg and Tenebrism, between highweight Native Trail and future classic winner Modern Games in third.