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Observations On The Stallion Scene

It is a question that has long fixated the bloodstock industry: which stallion can be caught as he rises to the top?

As we know, those good stallions can be hard to find. Opportunity is naturally a key element to early success, but a stallion still needs to make the most of the chances afforded to him and for every one that lives up to expectations, there will be also be plenty who flop. As often said, horses are a great leveller and with that in mind, there is also the heartwarming aspect that a stallion, if good enough, can literally emerge from anywhere. Wootton Bassett (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), for all he retired to a leading French farm in Haras d'Etreham, is a case in point having made his name off small early crops. And those with the foresight to latch on as he embarked on his rapid rise have been handsomely rewarded since.

Right now, there appears to be a similar momentum behind Rathasker Stud's Coulsty (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). Priced at only €4,000, he covered over 100 mares last season off the back of a bright start with his first 2-year-olds and has again caught the attention of a number of shrewd breeders this year following a season in 2021 highlighted by the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup heroine Shantisara (Ire). Coulsty doesn't have many 2-year-olds or yearlings on the ground, but he will be interesting to watch come 2024 when that first big crop hits the track.

More immediately, there are several stallions for whom the stars are aligning for a big year. For the 2019 season, No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) and Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) hit a fee of €100,000 for the first time. Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was also raised to £75,000, but such was the depth and volume of his book that he may as well have been standing for six figures.

Today, each of these stallions can be classed as elite and are priced as such, with those 2019 figures firmly in the rear-view mirror as they ascend the fee ladder. Each was represented by an outstanding performer in 2021–Kingman as the sire of Palace Pier (GB), No Nay Never as the sire of Alcohol Free (Ire), and Siyouni as the sire of St Mark's Basilica (Ire)–and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that further Group 1 successes are likely to be forthcoming over the next few months. Instead, the question is how much further these stallions might rise now they have the firepower from their 2019 books to aid them.

No Nay Never was handed a particularly significant fee increase that year, rising from €25,000 to €100,000 as the champion first-crop sire of 2018. By that stage, the industry was well attuned to the strengths of Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), notably as an excellent source of juvenile talent. No Nay Never, as an exceptionally fast Group 1-winning son, offered hope of a legitimate Irish-based heir and when his first crop of 2-year-olds yielded G1 Middle Park S. winner Ten Sovereigns (Ire) as well as the high-class speedster Land Force (Ire), he duly became one of the hottest young sires in Europe.

His subsequent crops conceived from 2016 to 2018, when he was priced between €17,500 and €25,000, are also responsible for 17 stakes winners including Alcohol Free and last season's Group-winning 2-year-olds Zain Claudette (Ire) and Armor (GB).

However, with approximately 130 2-year-olds bred off €100,000 to run for him this season, 2022 could well mark another turning point in his career.

His yearlings returned an average of almost 200,000gns last autumn, led by a half-sister to Grade I winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) bought by Al Shira'aa Farms for 925,000gns and a sister to G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) bought by Cheveley Park Stud for 825,000gns.

The pair provides a snapshot of the quality of his 2019 book, which overall contained 50 stakes winners and another 18 Group 1 producers. Naturally, many of them are in top hands, and given the line's propensity to come to hand early, he should be quick to make an impact this season.

As for Kingman, he has no fewer than 194 2-year-olds to run for him bred off a fee of £75,000. As a brilliant miler from one of Juddmonte's finest families, Kingman has obviously never lacked for opportunity. But such support was rewarded immediately as one classy first-crop juvenile after another emerged during that 2018 season, ranging from Calyx (GB), winner of the G2 Coventry S., to Persian King (Ire), who ended his juvenile season by defeating Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Autumn S.

Come the end of the season and it was blatantly obvious that the majority of Kingman's better progeny–of which there were plenty–had inherited his turn of foot. It is that attribute and ability to act on quick ground that has also come to stand him in good stead in the U.S., where he has been represented by the graded stakes winners Domestic Spending (GB), Public Sector (GB), Serve The King (GB) and Technical Analysis (Ire), the latter arguably his best filly to date.

Kingman has obviously consolidated his place as one of Europe's elite stallions since then, notably as the sire of Palace Pier from his second crop and the top Japanese miler Schnell Meister (Ger) out of his third. But a fifth crop that contains the progeny of 24 Group or Grade 1 winners, including the Classic winners Finsceal Beo (Ire), Ghanaati, Great Heavens (GB), Nightime (Ire), Sariska (GB) and Sky Lantern (Ire), alongside 20 Group or Grade 1 producers suggests the likelihood of a serious further uptick in riches to come.

The secret has been out on Siyouni for several years now and, indeed, 2021 was the year in which the Aga Khan's flagship stallion landed his second French champion sires' title. It is worth remembering that the bulk of his success has been achieved off fees ranging from €7,000 to €30,000, while St Mark's Basilica was the product of a seventh crop bred off €45,000. So what might he achieve now he has his first €100,000 crop running for him?

The next chapter of the Siyouni story is also being written with heavy investment being made in his sons at stud, in particular Coolmore as the home of both St Mark's Basilica and Sottsass (Fr). However, he is already becoming a broodmare sire of note, as illustrated by last year's Group 1-placed pair Times Square (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) and Dr Zempf (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) also has his most expensive crop of 2-year-olds on the ground, bred in this instance off a fee of €80,000. By 2019, the horse had undergone five consecutive years of fee increases as he became ever more successful, and today is one of the most popular stallions in Europe at €125,000. A 2-year-old crop that includes the progeny of 83 stakes winners, as well as yearlings that sold for up to 725,000gns, lends confidence to the idea that he will remain on a firm upward trajectory.

New Bay Maintaining Momentum…

These are stallions, however, who are now priced at a level out of reach for many breeders. Instead, the art for plenty of investors, especially those who are more commercially minded, lies in catching such horses as they rise from a lower level.

Breeders have understandably decided that New Bay (GB) is one such horse. As reported in TDN earlier in the year by Emma Berry, New Bay was the first stallion at Ballylinch Stud to fill for this season, despite a fee increase of 87.5% to €37,500. A Prix du Jockey Club winner by Dubawi (Ire) from the family of Kingman and Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert), New Bay possessed a number of enticing attributes when he retired to stud alongside the backing of a powerful ownership group. As such, the deck was stacked in his favour and he is delivering, with G1 Sun Chariot S. winner Saffron Beach (Ire) and the exciting Bay Bridge (GB) leading the way among his first crop, and G2 Champagne S. scorer Bayside Boy (Ire) and wide-margin German Group 3 winner Sea Bay (Ger) among his second. Each of the above is in training for 2022, thereby laying the foundations for a potentially big season to come.

Another popular Irish-based horse with first 4-year-olds, Rathbarry Stud's Kodi Bear (Ire), has also been quick to attract supporters at his new fee of €15,000, up from €6,000. One of a growing number of successful sire sons by Kodiac (GB), he has gained a reputation for throwing tough, sound stock, thereby making him a popular option with trainers. It helps that a number also possess a measure of class: think last season's Group 2-winning juvenile Go Bears Go (Ire) and G1 Oaks runner-up Mystery Angel (Ire). The sire of ten stakes horses overall in two medium-sized crops of racing age to date, it doesn't take too much imagination to envisage him sailing further up the ladder sooner rather than later.

Dubawi's Sons All The Rage…

Dubawi's legacy has arguably never been in a stronger position given that in addition to the likes of Night Of Thunder (Ire) and New Bay, his band of sons at stud also include the hugely popular pair Time Test (GB) and Zarak (Fr).

Both Group 1 performers with exceptional pedigrees, in particular Zarak as a son of Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar), they were nevertheless both priced affordably when they retired to stud in 2018.

At €12,000, Zarak was the more expensive of the pair. He was popular as well, with his first crop containing 86 foals, of which 23 are so far winners. A pair of Listed winners head the group but crucially, it also includes another two Group 1 performers in Times Square (Fr) and Purplepay (Fr). For a horse that only ran once at two himself (when successful at Deauville), it's a start that marks him down as another success story for the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval in Normandy.

The National Stud, meanwhile, installed Time Test at a fee of £8,500, off which they were able to attract a good base of early support. So far, he has responded with 11 first-crop winners although they include no fewer than five stakes horses led by the Group 3 scorers Romantic Time (GB) and Rocchigiani (GB). Another representative, Sunset Shiraz (Ire), was third in the G1 Moyglare Stud S.

All of which has made Time Test hot property, with yearlings selling for up to 400,000gns and his book having reportedly filled fast for 2022. He will have to arguably do more than continue that momentum to satisfy the market hype, but he has plenty to go to war with and remains sensibly priced at £15,000, a figure that gives breeders a chance.

While much of the market chatter continues to centre upon Time Test, it would be foolish to disregard the National Stud's other second-crop stallion Aclaim (Ire). The Group 1-winning son of Acclamation (GB) ran only once at two, when successful at Kempton, before going on to thrive at three and four years. Yet he managed to sire 27 2-year-old winners in his first crop last year, among them the tough Group-placed filly Cachet (Ire); only Cotai Glory (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Profitable (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) sired more.

Tally-Ho Stud's Cotai Glory leads the way among that crop in terms of 2-year-old winners (35) and black-type performers (8) and has enjoyed a productive winter with his progeny on the all-weather to suggest that they are still progressing into their 3-year-old year.

Yet two of the real talking points from last season emerged out of the success of Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Galileo Gold (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}), both of whom were quick to sire first-crop Group 1 winners. Neither has ever stood for a fortune–Ardad stood his first season at Overbury Stud for £6,500 while Galileo Gold was priced by Tally-Ho Stud at €15,000-so they can be credited as doing smaller breeders a good turn.

The question now is whether they can maintain that momentum. It doesn't help that both have smaller crops of 2-year-olds running for them this year (Ardad has 43 and Galileo Gold has 64). However, it will be disappointing if Ardad isn't far from the action, given that he has G1 Prix Morny and Middle Park S. hero Perfect Power (Ire) to represent him alongside G3 winner Eve Lodge (GB) and a number of promising minor winners.

As for Galileo Gold, G1 Phoenix S. winner Ebro River (Ire) tops a list of eight first-crop black-type performers that also includes the tough Group 3 winner Oscula (Ire) and Maglev (Ire), who could assume high order within the Californian turf division judging by his recent success in the Baffle S. at Santa Anita. With all that in mind, Galileo Gold looks an interesting play at €7,000 this season.

For a horse with 20 first-crop winners to his credit, a fee of £10,000 for Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) also looks potentially good value. Don't forget that here is a horse who didn't break his own maiden until May of his 3-year-old season and after capturing the G3 Gordon S., flourished at four when successful in the G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Juddmonte International. He has been extremely well supported at stud by the Niarchos family, who have been rewarded so far as the breeder of G3 Eyrefield S. runner-up Piz Badile and Yarmouth debut winner Aeonian (Ire), and Cheveley Park Stud, who feature as the breeders of no fewer than 11 of his winners to date in addition to the Listed-placed maiden Gwan So (GB).

Everything points to the stock of Ulysses, a beautifully-bred horse, progressing well at three.

French Hopes…

Recent weeks, meanwhile, have been kind to Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), notably as the sire of a pair of impressive Chantilly maiden winners in Point Of Fact (GB) and Lassaut (Fr). A champion on the track, the Haras d'Etreham resident is another who has been extremely well supported at stud, and having sired nine 2-year-old winners in 2021, including the Group 3-placed Queen Trezy, recent results have placed him on a stronger footing going forward. As it is, he is going well in New Zealand where his first runners include recent G1 Sistema S. runner-up Dynastic and G2-placed Andalus.

Finally, it is is hard not to be taken by the early results fired in by Haras de Bouquetot's Zelzal (Fr). A quicker son of Sea The Stars (Ire) who captured the 2016 Prix Jean Prat, Zelzal is bred on the same Kingmambo cross as his sire's fellow Group 1 winners Baeed (GB) and Cloth Of Stars (Ire), and is doing his bit to enhance his legacy as an influential sire of sires on the Flat at a time when a number of his better sons are standing within the jumps sphere.

With 57 3-year-olds bred off €8,000, Zelzal doesn't possess the firepower of some of his contemporaries. However, his first crop already includes three stakes-winning fillies in Zelda (Fr), a Listed winner at two, alongside Dolce Zel (Fr) and Ouraika (Fr), between them winners of the GIII Florida Oaks and GIII Sweet Life S. in the US this year.

The post Observations On The Stallion Scene appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Thoughts from Ocala Part 3: Finding Value in Freshman Sires

Justify, City of Light, Mendelssohn, Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro all received glowing reviews by various consignors in parts one and two of our 'Thoughts from Ocala' series. Logically enough, this select group of freshman sires holds the top five stud fees amongst their stallion crop in the U.S., each standing for $20,000 or more in 2022.

While 'value' and 'freshman sires' are two terms rarely used in the same sentence in this industry, as buyers can surely attest, we asked consignors to point out a few first-crop sires who might be flying under the radar now, but could very well be making headlines when their 2-year-olds take to the sales ring and the racetrack. The responses we received were all across the board, but each of the freshman sires noted stand for under $15,000 this year and could eventually wind up creating valuable opportunities for breeders and buyers alike.

CIARAN DUNNE: Wavertree Stables

Our sleeper horse is probably Always Dreaming. We only have two, but if they're reflective of what the rest of them are, I would think that he's a horse with a big future. They've got a beautiful way of going and they act like horses that will stay all day long. We have a colt out of Silent Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) who goes to OBS March [Hip 121]. He's a half-brother to Epicenter (Not This Time), who wants to go long, so we have high hopes for him.

Mor Spirit is obviously a horse that we're a little bit biased on having had him as a yearling and selling him as a 2-year-old, but the colt out of Follow My Tail (Indian Charlie) was probably one of his more expensive yearlings [$160,000 at FTJuly] and he has trained accordingly. He's going to OBS March [Hip 437] and I think everybody will know who Mor Spirit is when he's done.

Another stallion who maybe is a little under the radar is Good Samaritan. Again, we have a very small sampling. We only have one, but she is just a wonderfully-athletic filly. She came to us late, but she's done everything right and she's going to the March Sale [Hip 404] because she pointed herself there rather than us deciding it for her. We're quite excited about her. I think she'll be a neat filly down the road.

JIMBO GLADWELL: Top Line Sales

We have a Tapwrit filly that has really shown a lot of speed early and should be a nice filly over at OBS March [Hip 309]. She has looked like she would go 10 flat from the day we bought her. All we've done is maintained that and kept her going in the right direction. She's good-minded and a really good-moving filly with a lot of balance and muscle. We're very happy with the way she's broken out. Tapwrit was a sire that kind of flew under the radar for us, but she's really gone the right way and is going to be really fast at the sale.

We also have a really nice U.S. Navy Flag filly that came over from Europe. She's doing really well and we're very happy with her. She handles the training and has had no issues with anything we've thrown at her. I think she's going to really throw a big work over at OBS March [Hip 368] and we're very happy with the way she's coming along.

NIALL BRENNAN:

Obviously there are a lot of nice freshman sires this year, but there are a few I don't have any by so it's hard to comment.

However a stallion that I feel like could be very much under the radar is Cloud Computing. I've got two lovely fillies by him that are big, strong, scope-y, classy fillies. They're beautiful movers on the racetrack. They're very light on their feet, very athletic and they act like they've got speed.

One is out of a Malibu Moon mare and the other one is out of a Rock Hard Ten mare. They're both bred to run all day, but they sure look like they'll get over the ground pretty quick to me. I'm impressed with them. Just because of those two fillies, I'm going to pick him as an under-the-radar stallion.

NICK DE MERIC:

Bucchero is as a local stallion in Florida. He's a son of Kantharos, who is a sire that we've had great luck with over the years and we are particularly fond of. We've sold some good Kantharos 2-year-olds over the years. Bucchero seems to be getting nice individuals. We've seen a lot of them at local yearling sales. They seem to be precocious, athletic and quick, and we have a Bucchero filly going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 473] who would fit that description on all accounts.

SUSAN MONTANYE: SBM Training and Sales

I have an Always Dreaming colt that actually is the half-brother to We the People (Constitution), who just broke his maiden for Rudolphe Brisset. This colt is potentially targeting the OBS April Sale. I might even wait until Maryland, depending on what the brother does. He's a big, two-turn, cool horse. I think Always Dreaming might be a little bit under the radar. I know there are other people who have some and they think that they're a little on the early side as well.

I have an Army Mule colt going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 3]. He's more of a two-turn horse. He's a big, pretty colt and has been straightforward. I have another Army Mule filly going to OBS March [Hip 298] as well, and she is going to be hopefully really fast. She's more of a sprinter type. Fingers crossed, she should work lights out and I think Army Mule should be well received. I don't know that the Army Mules are stamped as only sprinters or only two-turn horses. I think he could kind of get you both.

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Lions Ready To Roar At Arqana

Buyers at this weekend's Arqana August Yearling Sale will have the chance to get their hands on an extremely rare commodity when eight yearlings from the lone crop of 2018 Cartier Horse of the Year Roaring Lion go up for sale in Deauville.

Qatar Racing's Roaring Lion was euthanized in August 2019 in New Zealand after suffering several bouts of colic. The grey had not long before finished covering a debut book at Tweenhills Stud in Britain that resulted in 90 registered foals.

David Redvers, racing manager to Qatar Racing and owner/managing director of Tweenhills Stud, said, “We've seen quite a lot of the Roaring Lions that are around and we have a good number here, somewhere between 30 and 40. They're a very good, level group of miler, middle-distance type of horse very much in Roaring Lion's image at the same stage.”

Redvers would know. He and his team picked out Roaring Lion at the same point in his life, on the first day of Keeneland September in 2016, for $160,000-not quite a steal, but certainly under the radar of the $305,171 session average. Placed under the tutelage of John Gosden, Roaring Lion won his first three starts on the bounce, including the G2 Royal Lodge S., before finishing a neck second to Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Racing Post Trophy. Third behind eventual Derby winner Masar (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) in the G3 Craven S. and fifth behind Saxon Warrior in the Guineas, Roaring Lion bounced back to win the G2 Dante S. by 4 1/2 lengths before finishing third in the Derby. He then embarked on a remarkable four race Group 1 win streak taking in the Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion S. and Queen Elizabeth II S., the Group 1 winners in his wake including Saxon Warrior, Laurens (GB), Addeybb (Ire), Study Of Man (Jpn), Rhododendron (Ire), Thunder Snow (Ire) and Hawkbill.

“When the horse has been and gone it's easy to forget what a brilliant racehorse he was, but there have been so many by him that are similar in their action and that have his quality,” Redvers said. “The ones that have just started their prep, we love their outlook, movement, everything. We're delighted with what we're seeing and we're massively invested. Qatar Racing is going to have 25 to 30 in training by him.”

Redvers said he and his team will also be on the lookout for the Roaring Lions at the sales, likening the scenario to another Horse of the Year that was lost too soon, Dubai Millennium, and Dubawi, the champion sire he left in his lone crop.

“We'll be trying to identify one or two of the best horses [at the sales] and the hope is that we will identify the Dubawi in the Dubai Millennium crop,” Redvers said. “And while we know what we like the look of, we don't have a crystal ball, so there will be plenty of opportunity for other people there as well.”

Roaring Lion finished second only to Saxon Warrior by average among first-crop sires at the foal sales last year, his eight sold averaging £61,027/€71,985, and his first yearling to step into a sales ring will be lot 4 at Arqana on Saturday, a colt out of the Pivotal (GB) mare Every Time (GB). He is a homebred for Haras d'Etreham, which purchased the mare for 300,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2015. Every Time is a placed half-sister to the dams of G3 Oh So Sharp S. winner Mot Juste (Distorted Humor) and G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G3 Albany S. winner Cursory Glance (Distorted Humor), whose half-sister Willow View (Lemon Drop Kid) is the dam of American Grade I winner Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). The Roaring Lion colt is the fifth foal out of the mare, whose first foal is a winner. The mare's second foal, a filly by Invincible Spirit (Ire), was injured before she could go into training and her third, the Zoffany (Ire) filly Villa Wagram (Ire), has been placed this year at three. She also has a 2-year-old colt by Camelot (GB).

“He's a colt we've always liked; he has size, scope, a bit of quality about him, and a good walk,” said Etreham's Nicolas de Chambure. “He looks a Classic type of horse to me. He looks mature already, and as the Americans would say, he's a real two-turn type of horse. We're very happy with him. He has that bit of class that Roaring Lion had.”

Etreham also sends the final Roaring Lion of the sale through the ring. Lot 321 is out of the winning Amarysia (Fr) (Medicean {GB}), a two-time winner and half-sister to the stakes-winning and producing Skia (Fr) (Motivator {GB}). Lot 321 was a €65,000 Arqana December foal.

“He is being pinhooked by one of our clients,” de Chambure said. “He has a very good mind as well, and that's something those [Roaring Lion] colts have in common. He has a bit of scope, and he looks a bit earlier. He's a bit more compact and more close to the ground, but he has that good walk as well and some quality about him.”

Ecurie des Monceaux offers a homebred Roaring Lion colt (lot 96) out of Secrete (Fr) (Cape Cross {Ire}). The 12-year-old mare has repaid the €250,000 Monceaux invested when it purchased her out of the Wertheimer et Frere draft at the 2012 Arqana December Sale; her first foal, Normandy Eagle (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), was Group 3 placed and her third foal, Solage (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) was a listed winner in Ireland. Her fourth foal, Rumi (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) won this year's G3 Prix Vanteaux. Both Solage and Rumi were €700,000 yearlings at this sale.

“I was quite impressed with Roaring Lion and I wanted to send him a nice mare,” said Monceaux's Henri Bozo. “Secrete is the mare we sent him and she's a really nice one-she's produced three black-type horses including Solage who won a stakes in Ireland and Rumi who won a Group 3 in France this year. It's a very proven family in Europe. The Roaring Lion colt is quite similar to the stallion; he has a good walk and a good temperament so I'm happy with him. He's a nice horse and I think it's interesting to have the Kitten's Joy bloodline.”

The other Roaring Lions on offer are Haras de la Perelle's colt out of G1 Falmouth S. winner Giofra (GB) (Dansili {GB}) (lot 13); La Motteraye's filly who is the first foal out of the listed-winning Lbretha (Fr) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) (lot 38); Haras du Cadran's filly out of the dual listed-winning Avenue Gabriel (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) (lot 137); Haras des Capucines's colt out of the listed-winning Cheriearch (Arch) (lot 153); and Normandie Breeding's colt out of New Desire (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), a full-sister to champion Islington (lot 239).

Tweenhills launches another sire at this year's yearling sales, and although categorized as a first-crop sire on these shores he is in fact not at all, having already made waves in the Southern Hemisphere with his first four crops to race. Zoustar won the G2 BRC Sires' Produce S. at two before going on to take the G1 Golden Rose S., G2 Roman Consul S. and G1 Coolmore Stud S. at three, after which Qatar Racing and Widden Stud bought into him. The decision was taken to wait to shuttle the son of Northern Meteor (Aus) until he had proven successful Down Under, and thus when he covered his first Northern Hemisphere book of mares at a fee of £25,000 in 2019 he already had seven stakes winners Down Under led by the brilliant Sunlight (Aus), who had led home a 1-2-3 for her sire in the 2018 edition of the Coolmore Stud S. Zoustar's first Northern Hemisphere book resulted in 103 foals-which averaged £57,028/€67,268 at the foal sales last year–and his proficiency continued in such fashion in Australia that his fee actually rose to £30,000 for his second British book in 2020.

“His best crop is his second crop, which is an extraordinary thing,” Redvers said. “His nomination fee went up and he got a bigger book of mares and that was because his second crop was off the back of his extraordinary results with his first 3-year-olds in Australia,” Redvers said. “He had the first three in the Coolmore Stud S. and produced a couple champions. We've had the benefit of seeing what an extraordinary sire of sprinters and milers he is in Australia and that's as close you can get to an open goal as a breeder.”

“They're a different type of horse to the Roaring Lions,” Redvers continued. “The Roaring Lions are all quality and screaming back-end 2-year-old and a mile to 10 furlong 3-year-old. The Zoustars that are bred on speed lines look like absolute rockets, but they don't look like small, precocious horses; they have big hips and a great action. So many of them have his undeniable, immediately recognizable characteristics: that big broad head and jaw, and you can just see him in them. I'm as excited about him as it is possible to be about a stallion, and hopefully we're going to see a new era in the production of speed horses in the UK and Europe.”

There are five Zoustars catalogued at Arqana, and Etreham offers a colt out of the winning Fortitude (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) (lot 181). Etreham purchased Fortitude as a 3-year-old for 90,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2017 and she has enjoyed some major family updates this year, with her 5-year-old half-brother Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) winning four stakes races including the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, and her 2-year-old half-brother Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}) taking the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot. Fortitude has a 2-year-old by another Australian-bred sire, the Etreham shuttler Scissor Kick (Aus), and the Zoustar colt is her second foal. De Chambure said that in sending Fortitude to Zoustar, he was attempting to replicate the speed-on-speed matings that have worked so well for Zoustar Down Under.

“I thought it would be interesting to breed that Green Desert line to Zoustar,” he explained. “He's done really well with those speedy Australian mares and I thought I'd try to replicate that by sending him a mare that has a bit of speed. Sometimes we probably make the mistake of using those Australian sires to speed up a pedigree and send them a Classic mare or 2400 metre type of mare, and sometimes that doesn't work because it's too extreme. So I thought I'd send him a mare with true speed. We're happy with the colt, he has that good length from Oasis Dream and he's very athletic and a good walker.”

Monceaux's Zoustar filly, lot 269, is the first foal for her dam, the winning Saccharose (GB), who is by Australian champion sire Exceed and Excel. Monceaux bought Saccharose for €170,000 at Arqana December carrying this filly in 2019.

“She's has the physical and she moves well, and she looks quite forward and precocious,” Bozo said. “She looks like she could run early. I have another Zoustar selling in October. I have three of them and they're all very athletic horses; they have a lot of strength.”

The other Zoustars catalogued for Arqana are a filly out of the Listed Lanwades Stud S. winner Arabda (GB) (Elnadim) (lot 134) offered by Arcadia Elevage; Haras de Saint Pair's half-sister to Grade III winner Guildsman (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) from the family of Almanzor (Fr) (lot 162); and Haras d'Haspel's colt out of Meandering (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a full-sister to multiple group winner Up (Ire) and a half to multiple Group 1 winner and sire Dutch Art (GB) (lot 224).

It is exciting times for the team at Tweenhills Stud. Although Roaring Lion is much missed, he and Zoustar's first yearlings look to usher in a new era for the stud, which also has some first-crop yearlings by the crack miler Lightning Spear (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Its elder statesman Havana Gold has hit another gear this season, and G1 2000 Guineas winner Kameko covered his first book this spring.

“Roaring Lion was the first serious world champion we produced so it's incredibly exciting seeing his first crop of yearlings going through, obviously tinged with a huge amount of sadness that there aren't more crops to follow for him,” Redvers said. “But Zoustar is possibly the horse that excites me personally even more, because we know already that he is the sire of two Group 1 winners from his first crop in Australia and that he's going from strength to strength down there. So it's going to be the most fascinating 12 months. Hopefully this time next year we'll be seeing the fruits of it.”

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First Winner for Straight Fire Lights Up the Tote

Let go at debut odds of 52-1, Fourteeneightyfour (Straight Fire) became the first winner for his freshman sire (by Dominus) with a surprisingly easy victory in Monday's third race from Delaware Park.

The California-bred, who was entered for, but ultimately withdrawn from last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale, was last away from the inside gate, but recovered to be within a couple of lengths in the opening quarter-mile, which was timed in a sharp :22 flat. Taken to the outside for the run around the turn, he launched an eye-catching bid to inhale the front-runners nearing the top of the stretch and widened in hand to take it by nine impressive lengths in good time.

Fourteeneightyfour is one of 28 reported foals for Straight Fire, who earned 'TDN Rising Star' honors when decimating a field of Del Mar maidens by 10 1/4 lengths at second asking while stopping the clock in 1:14.92 for the 6 1/2 furlongs. Campaigned by Jim Rome's Jungle Racing LLC, the Roth family's LNJ Foxwoods, Kimberly Nish's KMN Racing and others and trained by Keith Desormeaux, Straight Fire would go on to complete the exacta behind Klimt (Quality Road) in the 2016 GI Del Mar Futurity and was third to Gormley (Malibu Moon) in the GI FrontRunner S. in what would become his final career appearance.

Fourteeneightyfour is the fifth starter for Straight Fire. Each of his previous four runners has been placed.

The stakes-winning It's High Time was acquired by Straight Fire LLC for $12,000 not pregnant to Bayern at Keeneland November in 2017. She missed to Straight Fire for 2020, but produced a Florida-bred colt by Copper Bullet this year. This is the extended female family of GI Vosburgh S. winner Black Seventeen (Is It True).

3rd-Delaware, $40,150, Msw, 7-5, 2yo, 5f, :58.62, ft, 9 lengths.
FOURTEENEIGHTYFOUR (c, 2, Straight Fire–It's High Time {SW, $234,040}, by Gone Astray) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $22,800. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Valentin Jimenez; B-Straight Fire LLC (CA); T-Baltazar Galvan.

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