Turtle Bowl emerges

By Elaine Belval

One of the last G1 races on the European racing calendar was Sunday, October 30: the Criterium International for two-year-olds at one mile on the turf. It was won by French Fifteen, owned by Raymond Tooth, bred by Gilles and Aliette Forien, and trained by Nicolas Clement. He is the first SW for his freshman sire Turtle Bowl. Earlier this year, French Fifteen won the listed Criterium de l’Ouest at the French regional track of Craon. Previous winners of this last G1 include Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winners Dalakhani and Bago. It’s too early to say how good French Fifteen is, but he has five wins in seven starts having come out at Chantilly on May 2.

French Fifteen is by the stallion Turtle Bowl. Turtle Bowl won seven of 21 starts in four seasons of racing. He won the G1 Prix Jean Prat and placed in the G1 Prix d’Ispahan and Prix Fresnay to Manduro. He also finished third in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot. He showed himself to be a consistently top class horse at the mile distances in France and England.

Turtle Bowl’s sire is Dyhim Diamond. Dyhim Diamond raced in Germany and France with victories in G3 company in both countries. He had limited success as a stallion (with just four black type earners) and is now at stud in Spain. Dyhim Diamond is by the Northern Dancer stallion Night Shift. Night Shift was one of the last sons of Northern Dancer at stud. This long-time Coolmore Stud resident sired over 80 SWs including G1 winners In the Groove, Creaking Board, Nicolette, and Listening. While the Night Shift branch is not as well-known as the Danzig or the Sadler’s Wells branch of Northern Dancer, this line has had success and representatives include the current Irish stallion Azamour (11 SWs in three crops of racing age).

While Turtle Bowl’s sireline is a bit obscure, his female family is one of Europe’s best. His fourth dam is the SW Cherry, bred by the Prince Aly Khan in France. His third dam is the stakes-placed Shahinaaz, bred by the current H. H. the Aga Khan. This family includes G1 winners Kartajana, Khariyda, and Caerlina, and multiple GSWs. His second dam is the winner Kamiya, also bred by the Aga Khan. Kamiya was a “disappointing” producer for the Aga Khan and was sold. Turtle Bowl’s dam, Clara Bow, was bred by Marystead Farm. But, she proved a valued addition to the Cherry family. She has eight winners, four black type performers and three Graded stakes winners (all three Group/Grade 1 capable).

Turtle Bowl, with his excellent race record, female family and acclaimed good looks, was given a chance at stud despite being a son of Dyhim Diamond. He has stood at Haras de la Reboursiere et de Montaigu in France for €5,000. With French Fifteen in his first crop, certainly more can be expected from this sire. And another branch of the immortal Northern Dancer lives on for another generation.