THE NEW HORSES #9: MEPHISTO WALTZ
With nothing much to report on the racing front, other than the release of True Motion for a period of rest and possible move from a 1200m to a 1700m distance for Pop Label, we may as well continue with the profiles on the newcomers.

Courtesy Carrot Club

Mephisto Waltz is a young colt based at Kenji Nonaka's stable at Ritto Training Centre. As far as I'm concerned, he's racing royalty, having Conduit as his father. Conduit won the St Leger and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in England, but also passes on Dalakhani blood (winner of the L'Arc de Triomphe and Prix du Jockey Club - the French Derby), which is a mixture of Shirley Heights (Epsom Derby and Irish Derby winner) and Miswaki DNA. Going back another generation on the sire side brings in Mill Reef, Mr Prospector and Crystal Palace into the equation. If there is such a thing as a star-studded bloodline, this one has to be a good example. Conduit's dam, although never raced, brings with her more celebrity horses, including Sadler's Wells (Northern Dancer line) and Irish River, who had a fabulous career in France.

Mephisto Waltz's dam is Indigo Waltz, which combines Sunday Silence, Northern Dancer (this colt is a Northern Dancer cross, incidentally) and Buckpasser blood, and while the female line was hardly raced, it seems to have a habit of creating winners, perhaps thanks to Best In Show, who won five races from a gruelling 27 starts.