European G2 double for Footsteps

Footstepsinthesand has a brilliant record globally as a stakes-sire and he was responsible for classy G2 winners in both France and Germany on Sunday.

First up was Al Shaqab Racing’s progressive three-year-old Heshem (3c Footstepsinthesand-Doohulla, by Stravinsky) who saw off G1 winner Ultra to win the G2 Prix Eugene Adam at Maisons-Laffitte (pictured).

Christophe Ferland’s improving charge, bred in Ireland by Yeguada de Milagro, had won his previous two starts before this career-best effort and he looks set to bid for more Group-race glory.

"I have always loved this horse at home," Ferland told the Racing Post. "We skipped the good races in spring and in June, partly because he was a little bit raw and Al Shaqab had some more seasoned horses for those races.

"We always had this race in mind to give him a nice comeback with the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on August 15 after that."

The red-letter day for Footsteps continued when Italian star Kaspersky (5h Footstepsinthesand-Croanda, by Grand Lodge) took the G2 Aengevelt Meilen Trophy in Dusseldorf.

It was a seventh black-type victory for Allevamento La Nuova Sbarra’s home-bred.