Four-time Group 1 winner and prolific sire Mastercraftsman (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}-Starlight Dreams, by Black Tie Affair {Ire}) has died age 15 at Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud in Ireland following a suspected heart attack on Friday morning.
“Mastercraftsman was a lovely horse to have anything to do with and will be missed by everyone here,” said Castlehyde manager Tom Gaffney. “He has sired some wonderful animals and hopefully there will be a few more stars by him to come.”
Mastercraftsman was bred by Lynch Bages and was the fifth foal out of Starlight Dreams, who would develop into an excellent producer as the dam of Grade III winner Genuine Devotion (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and G1 Moyglare Stud S. runner-up Famous (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), dam of this year's Listed Oaks Trial victress Sherbet Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid), in addition to Mastercraftsman. Mastercraftsman, however, was undoubtedly her leading light.
Placed into training with Aidan O'Brien, Mastercraftsman broke his maiden at first asking at The Curragh in May of his 2-year-old campaign for owner Derrick Smith, with Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor later joining the partnership. The grey would sail unbeaten through his next three starts-the G2 Railway S., G1 Phoenix S. and G1 National S.-under Johnny Murtagh before finishing fourth in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Despite losing his unbeaten record, Mastercraftsman had done enough to be named Cartier champion 2-year-old colt of 2008.
With Murtagh choosing stablemate Rip Van Winkle (Ire) for the 2009 G1 2000 Guineas, Mastercraftsman was partnered by Pat Smullen for the Classic, and they checked in fifth, one spot behind Rip Van Winkle and 4 1/4 lengths off the peerless Sea The Stars (Ire). While Rip Van Winkle followed Sea The Stars through the middle distances in the G1 Derby and G1 Eclipse S. in his next two starts, Mastercraftsman stuck to the mile, a move which resulted in victories in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S., reunited with Murtagh. The two Ballydoyle colts changed course thereafter; while Rip Van Winkle dropped back to a mile to take the G1 Sussex S. and G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., Mastercraftsman went up to a mile and a quarter, finishing second in the G1 Juddmonte International and third in the G1 Irish Champion S., both times beaten by Sea The Stars. Mastercraftsman dropped down in class for a confidence-boosting five-length score in the G3 Diamond S. four weeks after the Irish Champion S., and closed out his career with a fourth-place finish in the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.
Mastercraftsman began stud duties at Coolmore in 2010 for a fee of €20,000 and was an immediate hit, with three of his seven Northern Hemisphere-bred Group 1 winners having emanated from that initial crop. Kingston Hill (Ire) gave his sire a first-season Group 1 win when scoring in the Racing Post Trophy, and he went on to win the following year's G1 St Leger in addition to finishing second in the Derby.
Kingston Hill wasn't his sire's first Classic winner, however. That honour went to The Grey Gatsby (Ire), who took the 2014 G1 Prix du Jockey Club before besting that year's Derby winner Australia (GB) in the Irish Champion S. Racing until the age of six, The Grey Gatsby, still his sire's highest-rated runner, would be placed at the top level four more times, and he has his first 2-year-olds this year.
Mastercraftsman's third first-crop Group 1 winner was Amazing Maria (Ire), who hit her top stride at age four when winning the G2 Duke of Cambridge S., G1 Falmouth S. and G1 Prix Rothschild on the bounce for breeder Sir Robert Ogden and trainer David O'Meara.
Mastercraftsman's immediate success meant successive fee bumps to €35,000 and €40,000 for his fifth and sixth seasons, and it was at an advertised fee of €35,000 that his most accomplished filly was produced. A homebred for the Niarchos Family, Alpha Centauri (Ire) looked a class apart when winning at first asking and when taking the Listed Irish EBF Fillies' Sprint S., but she had to settle for second as the favourite in Royal Ascot's G3 Albany S. and was just fifth in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. The grey came roaring back at three, however, winning four consecutive Group 1s over a mile-the Irish 1000 Guineas, Coronation S., Falmouth S. and Prix Jacques le Marois-before finishing second to six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) while picking up an injury in the G1 Matron S. Alpha Centauri's first foal is a yearling colt by Galileo, and she produced a filly by that champion sire this year. Alpha Centauri's full-sister Discoveries (Ire) is one of 111 2-year-olds for Mastercraftsman this year and she was the winner of a hot Curragh maiden on June 25.
Mastercraftsman made it a habit of producing top-class fillies, with A Raving Beauty (Ger) winning the GI Just A Game S. and GI First Lady S. and Off Limits (Ire) the GI Matriarch S. in America. Technician (Ire) once again advertised his sire's stamina influences with victory in the 2019 G1 Prix Royal-Oak.
Mastercraftsman has also found success as a sire in the Southern Hemisphere following shuttle stints to Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand and to Haras Firmamento in Argentina as well as a short stint in Chile. His New Zealand-conceived Group 1 winners include Danzdanzdanz (Aus), The Auld Floozie (NZ), Saint Emilion (NZ) and Valley Girl (NZ), while he is also the sire of five South American Group 1 winners headed by G1 Latinoamericano victor Ya Primo (Chi). Mastercraftsman has to date sired 16 Group 1 winners worldwide, 82 total stakes winners and the earners of over £45-million. He has sired eight stakes winners thus far in 2021 and recorded a one-two in the Listed Upavon S. at Salisbury on Wednesday when Lilac Road (Ire) bested Technique (GB).
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