Satono Flag was a high-class galloper but the fact that he is making his way to Argentina is a good clue that he was not among the top rank of Deep Impact’s sons. If he was, he’d be at Shadai Stallion Station alongside Contrail, Kizuna, Mikki Isle, Real Steel, Satono Diamond and Danon Kingly.
The freshman stallion won three of his 11 starts – a hat-trick straddling his two and three-year-old campaigns – including the G2 Deep Impact Kinen; he was fifth in the G1 Satsuki Sho, 11th in the G1 Tokyo Yushun, and third in the G1 Kikuka Sho, each time behind the triple crown winner Contrail; he missed the entirety of 2022 due to an injury and failed to finish on his comeback attempt in January.
But Satono Flag’s acquisition is especially significant given that he is out of the champion Argentine race mare Balada Sale. She was bred at Haras Vacación – located outside the town of San Antonio de Areco, northwest of Buenos Aires – and was a Group 1 winner at home before racing, unsuccessfully, at the Dubai Carnival and in France, and being sold as a broodmare to Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm in Japan.
“Balada Sale was one of the best mares that we bred in our history, and today we are proud of how she is performing in Japan,” said Ventimiglia.
Balada Sale has also produced Satono Flag’s Group 1-placed sister Satono Reinas, whose racing career ended after a sterling fifth behind Shahryar in the 2021 G1 Tokyo Yushun. At five years of age, she is already alongside her dam at Northern.
Meanwhile, Deep Impact’s sons are now their father’s future and their reach is extending as his bloodline is sought around the world. At the end of January Asian Racing Report looked at the potential influence of his sons at stud in New Zealand, Staphanos at Novara Park and the shuttler Satono Aladdin at Rich Hill Stud, and the latter, in particular, has continued to flourish, most notably via his son Tokyo Tycoon, winner of the G1 Sistema Stakes at Pukekohe last Saturday.