Tag: first-season sire

Stallion News: Kevin Blake And Jack Cantillon Buy Smart Sprinter Bouttemont

Kevin Blake and Jack Cantillon have secured French sprinter Bouttemont (Ire), who they are targeting at a rare Group 1 double in the Flying Five and Prix de l'Abbaye, before standing the highly-rated son of Acclamation (GB) in Ireland. 

Bouttemont will see out his career with current trainer Yann Barberot and will race in the colours of Syndicates.Racing, the successful ownership group which is headed by Cantillon. 

A number of packages that include racing and breeding rights are available in the Group 3 winner with Blake describing the opportunity to invest in Bouttemont as a rare one for prospective investors.

The well-known racing pundit and breeder told TDN Europe, “We're doing things a little bit different in that people can get into Bouttemont for the remainder of his racing career and also secure breeding rights. This is a new partnership between Jack and myself and I really believe that Bouttemont is quite a compelling horse. He has the form, the profile, the looks and the pedigree. You'd like to think he'd be an appealing horse at that level.

“I think it's quite a unique thing that, anyone who gets involved in the horse at this stage, they get to rock up to the Irish Champions Festival in a few weeks' time and then on to Longchamp with a share in a Group 1 runner on Arc day. You don't usually get an opportunity to do this sort of thing without spending an awful lot of money so it's a pretty interesting opportunity.”

Bouttemont landed the Group 3 Barriere Prix de Meautry at Deauville a year ago. He posted an impressive speed figure when landing a listed contest at Chantilly over the minimum trip back in June and Blake says he is confident that the five-year-old has more to offer over five furlongs. 

He explained, “Bouttemont ran to an RPR of 116 when he won the Prix Hampton at Chantilly and that's the performance that I'd be focussing in on because an RPR of 116 would have been good enough to win or finish second in any of the past five Flying Fives or Prix de l'Abbayes. The ability to be good and competitive in those races is there when he gets his conditions.”

Blake added, “Nearly every person we've bounced the idea of the horse to can see the case and have shown a lot of enthusiasm. In most cases, people wouldn't have been familiar with the horse but, when you explain what you're thinking and provide them with the information, they can see it and are quite excited by it. Again, it's the uniqueness of being able to get in on a racing and breeding level which is appealing to a lot of people.”

Bouttemont may represent Blake's first endeavour into standing a stallion but this won't be Cantillon's first rodeo. Far Above (Ire), who stands at Micheál Orlandi's Starfield Stud in County Westmeath, was sourced by Cantillon and covered 142 mares in his first season at stud.

Commenting on his latest stallion acquisition, Cantillon said, “I don't think people should get confused about the fact they could achieve two things that they might otherwise never achieve in their lifetime here. When you pick up the TDN over the next few weeks and months, you will read announcements about horses retiring to stud. This isn't a stallion retiring announcement. This is a stallion prospect being reimagined. 

“What really excites me about this is that, not only do people have the opportunity to own a breeding right in one of the highest-rated sons of Acclamation, but they also have the upside of racing. People can accomplish the lifelong goal of owning a stallion and ultimate life goal of owning a Group 1 runner with a live chance as well.”

He added, “Dealing in cold hard facts, this horse gave a performance in the Prix Hampton which places him on a career higher-rating RPR than Mehmas and Dark Angel, achieved a top speed of 72 kilometers per hour in that race and almost broke the track record. He's an exceptionally-quick horse.

“I have always gotten on very well with Kevin and we have combined what we are good at here; identifying value and being a champion of the breeder, which involves new ways for breeders to get involved in our great game. Hopefully we have unearthed the next great stallion son of Acclamation and, who knows, he could be the last son of Acclamation who ever retires to stud. Even if he doesn't get his ground in his remaining Group 1 dates, he already has the proven credentials of the type of horse that thrives at stud in Ireland.”

Acclamation has already come up trumps with stallion sons Mehmas (Ire), Dark Angel (Ire) and more emerging as leading stallions having embarked on their careers at stud at modest fees initially. 

The prowess of Acclamation as a sire of sires was illustrated by Blake in last month's TDN Europe and the research for that article is said to have convinced him to bring Bouttemont to stud in Ireland.

Blake said, “The origin story is that I was doing a piece on sires of sires for TDN Europe and Acclamation came out with the big double red circle around his name. This purchase was the product of a lot of groundwork as Jack and I have been working on partnering on a stallion for the last number of years. It took time to find the right one but Bouttemont jumped off the page.”

He added, “This part of the world is full of breeders that have had great experiences with Acclamation and his sons Dark Angel and Mehmas. We couldn't be more excited to help bring what might be the last new stallion son of Acclamation back home to Ireland and offer him to breeders at an accessible level.”

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Blue Point 2-1 Favourite To Land First-Season Sire Honours

Blue Point (Ire) has been installed as the 2-1 favourite to be crowned leading first-season Flat sire in Britain and Ireland by Paddy Power.

Ballyhane Stud's Soldier's Call (GB) has been inserted at 5-2 next best in the betting while Coolmore's Ten Sovereigns (Ire) has been quoted at odds of 3-1. Tally-Ho Stud, responsible for two of the past three champion first-season sires Mehmas (Ire) and Cotai Glory (GB), are represented by 4-1 chance Inns Of Court (Ire). It's 10-1 the field.

Blue Point stands at Kildangan Stud for €35,000 having started off on a fee of €45,000 in 2020. The son of Shamardal was a smart 2-year-old, as he showed when winning the G2 Gimcrack S., but he progressed with age and landed the G1 King's Stand S. and G1 Diamond Jubilee S. in the same week at Royal Ascot as a 5-year-old.

Of the 64 yearlings by Blue Point to sell at public auction last season, they averaged just over €100,000, and included a €420,000 filly bought by MV Magnier from Mountain View Stud at the Goffs Orby Sale.

Soldier's Call has been hotly-tipped to get off to a fast start with his juvenile runners this year. A speedball of a 2-year-old himself, Soldier's Call won the Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot, and the G2 Flying Childers S. at Doncaster before running an excellent third, beaten just a neck against hardened sprinters, in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye at ParisLongchamp.

Speaking to TDN Europe at the recent Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail, Ballyhane boss Joe Foley nominated two juveniles to follow from the stallion who stands for €7,5000 at the County Carlow outfit.

Foley said, “We're proud to have Soldier's Call. We're happy with him and we're looking forward to seeing his progeny race and I am sure every other stallion man is looking forward to their stallion's progeny race as well. All will be revealed at the end of the year.”

“There is a colt out of Alicia Darcy (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who was a good race filly, and he has gone to Karl Burke. He's beautiful and everybody loves him. He's one we'd be keen on.”

He added, “There's a colt out of Rush (GB) (Compton Place {GB}), who Kevin Blake bred, who we bought at Doncaster for £105,000. He's a really good-looking, chunky 2-year-old and everyone loves him as well. He's gone to Archie Watson. They'd be the two I'd pick but I'm sure I've missed the best one.”

Invincible Army (Ire) was subject to similarly bullish reports on the Stallion Trail, with Rob O'Callaghan saying that he had every confidence in the Yeomanstown-based sire this year. However, Paddy Power have largely ignored Invincible Army's claims by pricing him up at 25-1.

O'Callaghan said, “We're very confident with Invincible Army. He's got great stock coming through and has a lot going for him with over 130 2-year-olds this year. They are well-bred horses and they've got the strength, the action and they have gone to the right homes as well. Karl Burke, Richard Hannon, Ger Lyons, Richard Fahey and Clive Cox have all bought yearlings by him and he's got as good a chance of any of the first-season sires to make a big impression this year. You've got to remember that he was a top-class racehorse and was a group winner at two, three and four.”

Too Darn Hot, the unbeaten and champion 2-year-old in 2018, who won the G1 Dewhurst S. for John Gosden, can also be backed at double-figure odds with Paddy Power offering 14-1. If there is a lurker in the betting, it may well be Highclere Stud's Land Force at odds of 10-1, whose yearlings sold well last year.

Not only did Shadwell pick up a couple of fillies by the impeccably-bred G2 Richmond S. winner from Book 2 at Newmarket, but Richard Knight also paid 180,000gns for a colt out of Book 1 by the stallion who averaged over €30,000 with his yearlings last year.

Paddy Power are clearly erring on the side of caution with the 4-1 quoted about Inns Of Court, and rightly so, given Tally-Ho's track record in this sphere.

The son of Invincible Spirit (Ire), who stands at €5,000, went down well at the yearling sales last year, averaging just over €30,000 for the 116 that were sold.

Paul Binfield, spokesman for the betting firm, said, “It's a little early to say where the money's going as we've only just priced it up, but it will be fascinating to find out which of the sires attract interest.

“We price it up on which yard the horse came from, their stud fee-trying to get the right mix between quality and price, the number of mares covered and also the sire's pedigree themselves.

“We've installed Blue Point as the favourite this year as Godolphin are renowned for farming their own horses so our traders felt that he was the right choice to head the market, but as I mentioned earlier, let's see where that money goes.”

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Baaeed To Command 80k For Shadwell In First Season

The highest-rated turf horse in a decade, Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}–Aghareed, by Kingmambo), will stand for £80,000  in his first season at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud in 2023. The winner of 10 of his 11 starts, including six consecutive Group 1s, he is joined under the Shadwell banner by G1 Sprint Cup hero Minzaal (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire})–Pardoven {Ire}, by Clodovil {Ire}), who will also be standing his first season next year, at €15,000.

Stephen Collins, European bloodstock manager for Shadwell, said, “Baaeed's fee reflects his current status as the champion turf horse in the world for 2022 and also his impeccable race record and superb pedigree, being a direct descendant of Height Of Fashion (Fr), the dam of top-class performers Nashwan, Nayef and Unfuwain.

“The 135-rated Baaeed is a wonderful addition to the Shadwell stallion roster and we have been inundated with enquiries for nominations. We have been overwhelmed with the response from breeders from all over Europe and further a-field.”

Rated 121, Minzaal will stand at Shadwell's Irish base, Derrinstown Stud in Co Kildare.

Collins said, “At a fee of €15,000, we have no doubt that Minzaal will prove very popular with breeders. He's a strong, good-looking individual who was a very high-class 2-year-old and developed into an exceptional older sprinter, winning the Sprint Cup in devastating style. His immense talent combined with his superb attitude will stand him in very good stead for what we firmly believe will be an equally successful stallion career.”

The Nunnery Stud roster also contains crack miler Mohaather (GB), whose fee remains unchanged at £15,000 while first-season sire Tasleet (GB)'s fee has risen to £6,000 (Jan. 1, special live foal) from £5,000 in 2022. Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) captured the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot. Eqtidaar (Ire)'s fee remains at £5,000.

Collins added, “The forthcoming sales will see Mohaather's first foals sell at public auction, which will be exciting for us all. We have a number of very nice foals by him on the farm and very much look forward to seeing how his other progeny are received in the sales ring over the coming weeks.

“Tasleet's yearlings sold well at public auctions throughout the autumn, which is no surprise given Bradsell's success in the Coventry Stakes and other eye-catching performances from the sire's progeny in 2022. Eqtidaar's first yearlings through the ring have also been making their mark with his progeny realising up to 12 times his stud fee.”

Also based at Derrinstown Stud is Awtaad (Ire), whose fee has been kept unchanged at €5,000. Former Derrinstown stalwart Tamayuz (GB) has been pensioned, and former Derrinstown Stud resident King Of Change (GB) has been moved to Micheal Orlandi's Starfield Stud in Co Westmeath for the 2023 breeding season.

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Great Solution for Growing Venture at Gestut Lunzen  

BADEN-BADEN, Germany–His name has been etched into the annals of German racing history as the winner, in 2018, of the Grosser Preis von Berlin, followed three weeks later by the Grosser Preis von Baden. Best Solution (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) then turned this Group 1 double into a treble by flying to the other side of the world and adding the Caulfield Cup to his fine record as a 4-year-old. 

In 2020, the Godolphin colour-bearer retired to stud in Germany with a powerful syndicate of some of the country's leading breeders behind him ensuring that he covered around 80 mares, a decent book size by German standards. He now faces the first important test of his stud career when 12 members of that first crop come under the hammer on Friday at BBAG.

Having started out at Gestut Auenquelle, which looks likely to welcome the Arc winner Torquator Tasso (Ger) to its stallion roster for next year, Best Solution moved this season to Gestut Lunzen, a new enterprise run by Nikolas Schenke and Tommy Witt based in the north of Germany between Hamburg and Bremen.

“We started off with just a couple of horses and stalls and grew from there,” says Witt, who also plays a hands-on role as the stallion man for Best Solution. “Last year the syndicate approached us to give him a little break and change of environment before the breeding season started. He did well in his development with us and he has stayed.”

Schenke and Witt both served apprenticeships at Gestut Fahrhof, with stints at Newsells Park Stud, and respectively Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky and Monty Roberts' Flag Is Up Farm in California. 

“We always saw the same countries but never met,” Witt explains. “Then when Nikolas came back to Germany he took over at Bernried, working for Gestut Ammerland, and I got a call from Nikolas to say he was looking for someone to work at Bernried, and we were both there for four years.”

In 2015 the duo started Gestut Lunzen, which has made early forays in the consigning business at the BBAG Autumn Yearling Sale. It will be no surprise to see the name represented at the major fixture before too long. 

Schenke says, “Now we have 25 mares as permanent boarders on the farm, so we do the foaling, yearling prep, breaking in, the all-round package. We are not as big as some other farms but we started from scratch and we've grown to about 60 boxes now and 80 acres, so we are getting there.”

It thus came as a major vote of confidence when the syndicate which includes such powerful names as Gestut Rottgen, Gestut Hof Ittlingen, Gestut Gorlsdorf, and Gestut Brummerhof, entrusted a young stallion to the relatively new venture. Gestut Lunzen also stands the Group 3 winner and German Derby-placed Accon (Ger) (Camelot {GB}) for his owner Holger Renz, but the addition of a stallion with the international profile of Best Solution has elevated the stud's own profile another few rungs up the ladder. 

“That gave us a big push,” admits Schenke. “We've worked from the bottom up but it is working out alright and it gave us the confidence that we haven't done a bad job over the last few years.”

Best Solution is an intriguing addition to the stallion ranks and is something of an outlier as a son of Kodiac with all his big-race wins coming at a mile and a half, though he was up and running as early as the July of his juvenile season and later that year won the G3 Autumn S. Indeed, the sire's only other Group 1 winner beyond a mile is Best Solution's full-brother El Bodegon (Ire), who landed the 10-furlong Criterium de Saint-Cloud in heavy ground last season to give James Ferguson his first success at the top level. 

One doesn't have to look too deep into the pedigree of the brothers to see the source of their staying power. Their Juddmonte-bred grand-dam Kushnarenkovo (GB) (Sadler's Wells) was herself a winner at a mile and a half and is a full-sister to the St Leger winner Brian Boru (Ire) and a three-parts sister to G2 Hardwicke S. winner and National Hunt sire Sea Moon (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}). Their dam Eva Luna (Alleged) won the G2 Park Hill S. over 1m6f two months after breaking her maiden and then winning the Listed Galtres S.–a feat that another Juddmonte filly, this year's Galtres winner Haskoy (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), looks set to attempt to emulate.

Schenke and Witt have seen plenty of Best Solution's stock at their own farm and on Thursday were busy perusing his offspring at BBAG, where Sea The Moon's breeders Gestut Gorlsdorf will offer a filly by him, lot 204, the first foal out of one of Sea The Moon's daughters, Tabby (Ger), from the family of smart Group-winning juvenile fillies Wannabe Grand (Ire) and Cairns (UAE).

“They look quite early types from what we have seen,” says Witt. “It will be interesting to see what they can do as 2-year-olds. I'm sure some of them will be early developers.”

Schenke adds, “For his first two seasons he was the busiest stallion in Germany and this year he covered 45 mares which for a third season in Germany is not too bad.

“We've seen a lot of his foals at the farm because quite a lot of the mares he covered last year came back when the breeders were happy with the foals.”

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