Battaash’s Full-Brother The Antarctic Retired to Coolmore’s Castlehyde Stud for 2024

Multiple group winner The Antarctic (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}–Anna Law {Ire}, by Lawman {Fr}), a full-brother to crack sprinter Battaash (Ire), has been retired and will stand under the Coolmore banner at Castlehyde Stud in 2024, Coolmore announced on Wednesday. A fee for the G1 Middle Park S. second and G1 Prix Morny third will be announced later.

“He's fast, a very good-looking individual and his own-brother Battaash is probably the best five-furlong sprinter of recent times,” said Castlehyde's Paddy Fleming. “On a mark of 113 as a 2-year-old, the Antarctic was rated the equal of Havana Grey (GB)–who is out of a Dark Angel mare–and just a pound below his own sire Dark Angel.”

Bred by Paul McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud, the grey was a 750,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase by Coolmore's MV Magnier. Trained by Aidan O'Brien for a Coolmore partnership, the February foal won his first two starts and was second in the G2 Prix Robert Papin later in his juvenile season prior to a victory in the G3 Prix de Cabourg. Two Group 1 placings followed–with a third in the Prix Morny to stablemate Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) and a second to that foe in the Middle Park. As a 3-year-old he also won the G3 Lacken S. at Naas and was retired with a mark of 12-4-2-3 and $255,971 in earnings.

“We always said Battaash was the best-looking horse that we'd bred but I think this guy is better, no doubt about it,” said McCartan after The Antarctic joined the Coolmore fold at the sales.

The fifth foal out of Anna Law, herself a half-sister to G2 Champagne S. Etlaala (GB) (Selkirk), The Antarctic is also related to group sire Tasleet (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

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‘Tough, Genuine and Consistent’: Rock Of Gibraltar Dies at 23

Former world champion 3-year-old Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) (Danehill–Offshore Boom {GB}, by Be My Guest) has died from heart failure at Castlehyde Stud in Ireland at the age of 23.

The son of Danehill was bred by the late Joe Crowley with his daughter Annemarie and son-in-law Aidan O'Brien. He was sent into training with the latter at Ballydoyle as a juvenile in 2001, later racing for the partnership of Sir Alex Ferguson and Susan Magnier.

Rock Of Gibraltar's sensational racing career, which saw him land seven consecutive Group 1 races in 11 months, began in the April of his 2-year-old season when he broke his maiden over five furlongs in the hands of Mick Kinane at the Curragh. Kinane, Ballydoyle's stable jockey at that time, would be aboard for 12 of the colt's 13 starts, his one omission being when suspended for the 2000 Guineas. Rock Of Gibraltar, ridden that day at Newmarket by Johnny Murtagh, raced on the far side of the track, beating stablemate and race favourite Hawk Wing by a neck to land the first of his two Classic victories, with Kinane back in the saddle for his follow-up at the Curragh.

Kinane remembers his partnership with Rock Of Gibraltar as “the most fun I had riding any racehorse”.

He told TDN on Monday, “He was an exceptional racehorse. He loved racing, and he was the only horse I ever rode who would have a buck and kick and a squeal going down to the start. He had an unbelievable turn of pace. He was a fantastic miler, a brilliant 2-year-old and a brilliant 3-year-old.”

In hindsight, Rock Of Gibraltar's 2000 Guineas starting price of 9-1 seems extraordinarily generous. By the time he lined up for his seasonal debut on the Rowley Mile on May 4, 2002, he was already a dual Group 1 winner, having annexed the Grand Criterium and Dewhurst S. to conclude a juvenile campaign in which he won five of his seven races, including the G2 Gimcrack S. and G3 Railway S.

At three, he became the fifth horse in history to land the 2,000 Guineas double in Britain and Ireland, and then went on to add the St James's Palace S., Sussex S., and Prix du Moulin to his outstanding record, becoming the first horse to win seven consecutive Group 1 races in the northern hemisphere, beating a record previously held for 30 years by the great Mill Reef. In his final start, Rock Of Gibraltar was second to Domedriver (Ire), beaten less than a length in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Arlington.

Horse of the Year in 2002, Rock Of Gibraltar embarked on his stud career at Coolmore the following season, effectively replacing Mozart, another top son of Danehill who had died the previous May after only one season at stud. 'The Rock' remained in Ireland for all bar one of the subsequent years, when he stood at the Shizunai Stallion Station in Japan in 2007. His 16 Group 1 winners include the top sprinter Society Rock (Ire), Eclipse S. winner and former useful sire Mount Nelson (GB), and the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Samitar (Ire). In recent seasons Rock Of Gibraltar has featured as the broodmare sire of subsequent winners of the 2,000 Guineas, Kameko and Poetic Flare (Ire).

Rock Of Gibraltar was out of the Be My Guest mare Offshore Boom (GB), who had been bought from her breeder Moyglare Stud by Crowley and the O'Briens in 1997 for IR£11,000. One of her later foals, also by Danehill, was the G3 Derrinstown Stud  1,000 Guineas Trial runner-up Nell Gwyn (Ire).

A lengthy essay in Racehorses of 2002 perhaps summed up the late stallion's racing career of 10 wins from 13 starts best when stating, “It goes almost without saying that the hardy Timeform epithet 'tough, genuine and consistent' fits Rock Of Gibraltar to a T.”

In tribute to Rock Of Gibraltar, Paddy Fleming, stud manager at Castlehyde, said, “He was healthy and looking great right up to the end. He was a fantastic racehorse and a very good sire who will be missed by all the staff here.”

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Classic Winner Santiago to Stand Under Coolmore NH Banner

Classic winner Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}–Wadyhatta {GB}, by Cape Cross {Ire}) will stand under the Coolmore National Hunt banner at Castlehyde Stud in 2022. A fee for the G1 Irish Derby hero will be announced later.

“Santiago is a Derby winner with a pedigree full of Derby winners and leading sires,” said Coolmore's Cathal Murphy. “He's a big, quality individual with a fantastic action, and I'm sure National Hunt breeders will be very impressed when they see him.”

Purchased for €275,000 in utero at the Arqana July Sale in 2016, the Lynch Bages Ltd.-bred is a half-brother to two-time Group 1-placed filly La Joconde (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). A winner in three starts at two for the Coolmore partners and trainer Aidan O'Brien, the bay improved markedly at three, taking Royal Ascot's G2 Queen's Vase in June of 2020 and the Irish Derby at The Curragh just eight days later. He also ran third in the G1 Goodwood Cup in July of that year and was runner-up in the 2021 G2 Yorkshire Cup S. He sports a record of 11-3-3-1 and earnings of $714,737.

Dual Group 1 winner and veteran sire Tamayuz (GB) (Nayef) is under his stakes-placed third dam, while GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf entrant and G3 Killavullan S. hero Glounthaune (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) is out of a Nayef half-sister to his winning dam Wadyhatta. Other Group 1 winners in the family include Eshaada (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) and Anabaa Blue (GB) (Anabaa). Santiago's fourth dam is a half-sister to breed-shaping bluehen and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe victress Urban Sea (Miswaki).

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Zain Claudette’s Sister Tops Tattersalls Ireland

NEWMARKET, UK–With an outstanding day of action anticipated at Newmarket on Saturday, an Exceed And Excel (Aus) half-sister to one of the potential stars of the day, Zain Claudette (Ire) (No Nay Never), added further lustre to the family when topping the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale at £200,000.

Zain Claudette has been a break-out performer for trainer Ismael Mohammed this season, progressing from winning a Newmarket maiden to the G3 Princess Margaret S. and then G2 Lowther S. Come the weekend, she may well have taken the next step to become a Group 1 winner. Either way, her year-younger sibling can be viewed as being a value purchase, even as the most expensive yearling to stroll through the ring at Tattersalls over the last two days.

It was no surprise to see Mohammed perched in the top of the bidders' section and making a determined effort to sign up the chestnut filly from Castlehyde Stud on behalf of Zain Claudette's owner Saeed H Altayer.

“He was very keen to buy her,” said the trainer, who reported that his stable star is in good order ahead of her start in the G1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park S on Saturday. “She is improving with every race,” he added. “She worked on Monday and worked really well.”

“It's good to have a top lot,” Paddy Fleming of Castlehyde Stud had said on Tuesday and he was surely repeating himself on Wednesday when his draft was again responsible for day's top yearling (lot 451). 

Zain Claudette had herself been purchased for £20,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Sale last year and, as a first foal, she has helped her dam Claudette (Speightstown) to get off to the perfect start in her stud career, thus ensuring that her second foal, bred in partnership by Andriy and Andrew Milovanov with V Troyan, would make exactly ten times that price. Though not earning black type herself in her four wins, the 8-year-old Claudette is a daughter of the GIII Martha Washington S. winner Tippity Witch (Affirmed), while her grandam Senora Tippy (El Gran Senor) was a listed winner in France before being Grade II-placed in the States. Among Senora Tippy's eight winning offspring is also the prolific Senor Benny (Benny The Dip), whose 10 victories included the listed Abergwaun S.

Claudette is one of 16 mares kept in Ireland by Andriy Milovanov, the president of the Ukraine Equestrian Federation. He indicated that the mare is now in foal to Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and is likely to head back to his sire No Nay Never next season.

Strong Clearance

Day one at Park Paddocks had been an uplifting one for many participants in the September Sale, and similar comments apply to the second and final day of trade. A second-day clearance rate of 91% led to an overall figure for the sale of 90%, up six points on last year and continuing a a trend of apparently strong demand in the middle market. The average on Wednesday was £28,720 (+57%) and the median was £22,000 (+50%).

For the sale as a whole, 402 horses were sold from 448 offered, bringing an aggregate of £10,877,978. Converted to Irish currency, this represents €12,779,580, which is quite a hike from the 2020 tally of €8,009,140, but 69 fewer horses changed hands 12 months ago. To put it into context with trade from 2019, the last time the sale was held at Fairyhouse, 388 yearlings sold that year for a total of €9,415,500 at an average of €24,267.

The 2021 average of £27,060/€31,790 was up by 32%, while the median of £20,000/€23,496 was up 34%.

Daddy Cool

It was a case of Johnston to Johnston in the sale of one of the day's leading lots (293), a colt from the first crop of Starfield Stud's Smooth Daddy.

Mullingar-based breeder Christopher Johnston was responsible for the colt out of the unraced Magician (Ire) mare Silesie, who was sold by Kildallan Stud for £120,000 to Charlie Johnston, assistant trainer to his father Mark.

A son of the late Scat Daddy, Smooth Daddy covered 74 mares in his first crop in Ireland at a fee of €5,000, and in the case of this particular family it is a sireline which has already been deployed to good effect through Silesie's half-sister Surfside Tiara, a stakes-winning daughter of Scat Daddy. The family also includes Coolmore's young American-based sire and dual Group 1 winner Air Force Blue.

Dermot Kilmartin, who consigned the colt through his Kildallan Farm said, “He has been very straightforward since the day he came in for prep and this is an absolutely super result. Christopher was watching online and is over the moon.

“Over the last couple of days he has been very busy. I knew there were people on him, but I didn't think he 'd make that kind of money. Fingers crossed he goes on to do well on the track.”

Charlie Johnston, who had to outbid brothers Sean and Dwayne Woods for the colt, added, “He's a cracking individual. Obviously that was a lot more than I thought he would make, but he was a real standout.

“This is the first one I've seen by the sire, but Micheal [Orlandi, of Starfield Stud] used to work for us many moons ago, so we know him well and it is a great start for his stallion.”

Sitting together on the stairs late in the session, agent Billy Jackson-Stops and trainer George Scott went to £105,000 to secure a colt by one of the hottest young stallions in Europe, Mehmas (Ire). Bred and consigned by Tally-Ho Stud, where the leading second-crop sire stands, lot 482 is a son of three-time winner Drifting Spirit (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) from the further family of G1 Falmouth S. winner Nahoodh (Ire), who is also by Clodovil.

Great Feeling For Dreeling

Topping the list of consignors with an average of £92,500 was the Dreeling family's Coole House Farm, which was represented by only two yearlings at the sale and sold one each day for £90,000 and £95,000 respectively. The latter, lot 435, a son of the venerable Footstepsinthesand (GB), was bought by MV Magnier through agent Ed Sackville and is the first foal of Caped Lady (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}).

A delighted Mark Dreeling explained, “My wife Barbara and I set a plan about five years ago to try to get a Cape Cross mare. Everybody has their preferences in a mare but we personally don't like very big mares and Cape Cross has a tendency to throw a big mare so it took us seven years to find one.”

He added, “We went to the sales to see [Caped Lady] specifically and spent 10 seconds looking at her. I was busy with breakers at home and couldn't go back to the sale when the mare sold on Monday so I said to Barbara, 'You have one job, don't go near that stable door, don't do anything, just arrive in the morning, go to the ring and don't come home without her.” So it is all down to Barbara.”

Caped Lady currently has a Bated Breath (GB) foal on the ground and is in foal to Ten Sovereigns.

Dreeling continued, “We couldn't be happier; it's worth it when you get a day like this. We had two wonderful foals from two beautiful mares. It has been a hard year for Barbara and myself, we have both had health issues. It's been rough, but we are here and the focus was to get these two here to the sales and for me to be better to be with them.”

He added, “My daughter Megan is here with the horses, but my other daughter Julia is at home and she is the one who runs the office and takes care of all the administration. Julia and I go through the stallions and she sorts the mating plans with me, she is fundamental to what we do.”

Banner Results

Starspangledbanner (Aus) proved to be one of the most popular sires at the sale, with 15 of his yearlings selling for an average of £42,667. During the final session, 

lot 329, the first foal of the 3-year-old winner Tammy Wynette (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), a colt bred by Gerrardstown House Stud, was the pick of Tom Goff at £85,000. 

The same price was given by Ross Doyle for lot 475 from Ballyvolane Stud. Bred by Carrigbeg Stud and David Powell, the late April filly is out of the Averti (Ire) mare Divert (Ire), who is already the dam of eight winners from nine runners, including the listed-placed Reroute (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}).

Among the stallions making their yearling sales debut this year, Zoustar (Aus) was represented by two lots who returned an average of £56,000, while Smooth Daddy, helped by the six-figure colt, set an average of £52,333 for three sold.

Four Havana Grey (GB) yearlings sold for an average of £40,000, while the quintet by Gustav Klimt (Ire) brought £32,800. Sioux Nation had the largest representation of the freshman brigade and his 11 sold fetched an average price of £27,901, while Kessaar (Ire) had eight sell for an average of £29,325.

September Part II

A further 91 yearlings constituting Part II of the September Sale were offered during the evening for an aggregate of £575,897/€676,561.

Heading this final session was lot 521, a colt by War Command who was bought for £36,000 by Demi O'Byrne and Sean Grassick.

Via telephone en route to catching his flight home, Grassick confirmed that the Croom House Stud-consigned colt will also head back home to Ireland to be trained. A half-brother to two winners, he is out of the Refuse To Bend (Ire) mare Peig (Ire), herself closely related to the GI Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup H. winner and stallion Subtle Power (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

Direct comparisons with previous editions are difficult. Last year's Part II featured just 81 yearlings, 56 of which were sold for an average of €5,736, so Wednesday's average of £8,227/€9,665 was up significantly on that figure, and also stood up well compared to the much larger catalogue for the 2019 sale, when 176 horses returned an average of €6,201 and median of €4,500. The 2021 median was £6,100/€7,166.

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