Tag: Pinatubo

Agent Mike Ryan Gives Lowdown On Chad Brown’s Juveniles And More

Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan has given the lowdown on the top Chad Brown-trained juvenile prospects that were selected at last year's Book 1 session at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Ryan, who has sourced well over 50 Group/Grade 1 winners in his long and distinguished career, including Book 1 graduates Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}), admitted to finding trade “a little easier” in 2023 compared to previous visits to Park Paddocks. 

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Newspaperofrecord featured in Ryan's debut haul at Book 1 back in 2017. She was knocked down to the agent, signing on behalf of Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables and Brown, for 200,000gns. 

Ryan has returned to Tattersalls every year since and signed for a whopping 16 yearlings in 2022 and the same number last year, the majority of which were purchased on behalf of the hugely successful owner and trainer. 

Recapping last year's activity, where Ryan spent 3,860,000gns, the agent said, “We got blown out of the water several times, for sure. But we did feel that we got a lot of quality for the money that we spent. Seth Klarman is an amazing owner. He is incredibly patient and loves the game. It's great he has enjoyed the amount of success that he has because he is a huge supporter and is an incredible investor. He loves buying these European grass horses and he's done incredibly well with them. It might have been a little easier to buy them last year. I sense that the market was probably a little bit patchy, as it is here in America, because we have more inventory than we have buyers. That's a problem here as well.”

It may only be February but Ryan has seen enough from this year's bunch of juveniles to suggest the team are in good shape for the year ahead.

He commented, “It's early days but we've been around enough good horses down through the years to know when you do see that cream rising to the top. You can base your observations on previous horses that you have had through the programme and you know pretty quickly with young horses whether you've got a decent group or an average group. We're quite pleased with the bunch of two-year-olds we have for this year. We usually buy two or three Lope De Vegas every year and we have a colt by him out of Sea of Faith (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who we like quite a bit. He's been impressing us.”

Ryan added, “We've got a Blue Point (Ire) colt out of a mare called Blind Faith (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) who we bought from the McCartans of Ballyphilip Stud and he's a lovely horse. He'll go two turns as well because he's got plenty of scope and stretch. He's got a lot of class and has a great mind. He does things very easily. 

“We got a very strong Kingman (GB) out of Queen's Code (Ire) (Shamardal) and he's impressive. There's a magnificent turf track at Stonestreet and a bunch of them worked on it the other day. He was one of the colts who showed up nicely. The Wootton Bassett (GB) colt out of The Fugue (GB) (Dansili {GB}) could be pretty special. He's a big horse and we won't be rushing him but he moves beautifully and covers a lot of ground. He'll be a nice mile-and-a-quarter horse and gives us a lot of confidence. 

“I haven't seen the Study Of Man (Ire) colt out of Almiranta (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) training but the reports are good. We really liked him as a yearling; he'd a great frame with great angles. I'm very curious to see what he looks like on the racetrack. I'd expect him to make a two-year-old and, you know what, it wouldn't shock me if he ran on the dirt.”

All told, Ryan signed for nine fillies and seven colts at Book 1 last year. The distribution between fillies and colts was the same for a similar spend of 3,745,000gns in 2022. 

On what he looks for when searching for European-bred grass horses to run in America, Ryan explained, “We typically try to buy horses who will get a mile and beyond. We don't focus on sprinters because we don't have the opportunities on grass that you do in Europe for sprinters.

“We like horses who give us the feeling that they have a turn of foot. Horses who look like they can accelerate quickly. Our turns are tight and usually the serious running starts at the top of the stretch to the wire so you need well-balanced horses who can corner exceptionally well as well.”

He added, “We've been very lucky at Book 1 and, the first year we went over there, we bought Newspaperofrecord. She was by Lope De Vega and we've been very lucky with that stallion as well. Program Trading (GB), who won two Grade Is last year, is another example of that. We've been very lucky with Kingman (GB)–Domestic Spending and Technical Analysis (Ire)–and we've been very lucky with Dubawi (Ire)–who wouldn't be?–but we're always looking for the new horse.

“We've only bought a couple by Frankel (GB), one of which is McKulick (GB), and he is just an incredible stallion but we have found that they might not be as speedy and sharp as what we require for turf races over here. Whereas the Kingmans, they do have that natural speed and are naturally forward horses.

“We like Night Of Thunder (Ire) and Too Darn Hot (GB) is a horse we like a lot as well. We have a Too Darn Hot filly called Oversubscribed, who actually dead-heated last time at Tampa and was unlucky not to win, and she is very, very good. We thought she was Breeders' Cup class last year but she came up with a small setback and just needed some time off. We think she could be anything.”

While Ryan loves nothing more than to return to a tried and trusted source of success, he is also open-minded enough to snap up the progeny of some of the lesser-exposed stallions. Along with bagging that Study Of Man colt from Staffordstown Stud for 220,000gns, Ryan added two fillies by first-season sire Pinatubo (Ire) for a combined sum of 480,000gns and said both recruits are really impressing in their work. 

“We've a very nice Pinatubo (Ire) filly out of Sparkle Roll (Fr) (Kingman {GB}),” he said. “We bought her off Highclere Stud. We actually bought two Pinatubos. The other is out of a mare called Dreamlike (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and we got her from Fittocks Stud for 260,000gns. “She is a three-quarters sister to Program Trading. We were very impressed by the Pinatubos and we underbid a couple of others. I actually bred to him myself and I have two yearlings by him, I've got a mare in foal to him and I'm sending two mares back to him. He's a beautifully-bred horse; a son of Shamardal and was just a superior racehorse. They just have a lot of quality and are easy to like.”

He added, “I've always been a huge fan of Shamardal. He reminds me of Into Mischief. His progeny are so determined, courageous and have a great desire to compete. They are just tough, good and dependable racehorses. Shamardal was that way himself and he seems to have passed it on. He's a great, great influence in my mind.”

As well as pedigrees and sires, there are basic fundamentals that Ryan hones in on when trying to find the next Newspaperofrecord. Given speed and, more importantly, a change of gear plays a massive role in the winning and losing of many big races on grass in America, a well-balanced, lighter and somewhat sleeker type of thoroughbred is what Ryan tends to go searching for. 

He explained, “Grass horses are different to American dirt horses. The American dirt horse is very powerfully made. They have very strong quarters and are very powerful over their backs with a deep girth and chest. I don't like heavy horses. I prefer horses with a clean neck and shoulder. We look for horses with good mechanics. Horses who move well and do it within themselves. Obviously you look for a horse with a good temperament as well. But, we're quite flexible. We will forgive some conformational flaws and I put a lot of emphasis on a horse's demeanour; the feel or the vibe you get from a horse. That's very important to me.”

He added, “We're lucky in Tattersalls that we get plenty of time to look at horses, which we do. The sale is spread out nicely and it gives trainers in particular time to look at the horses. It's such a high concentration of good horses at Book 1 and we do work it thoroughly and have really enjoyed going over there. Thankfully we have come out of there with a lot of good horses. But if you don't find them at Book 1, where else are you going to find them? Seriously. You've got 40 Kingmans, Frankels, Wootton Bassetts, Night Of Thunders, No Nay Nevers and about 25 Dubawis. You know, it's just an incredibly strong bunch of sires to choose from.”

The common denominator in this success story is Brown. The agent says that a strong mutual respect underpins their relationship and points to Brown's apprenticeship with legendary trainer Bobby Frankel as being the cornerstone to him becoming one of the most successful trainers in America. 

“He's super, super smart,” said Ryan of the trainer. “Chad is just incredibly intelligent and extremely organised. He has an incredible recall. I think he was incredibly fortunate, and I keep telling him this, to have worked for one of the greatest American trainers in Bobby Frankel. That would be the equivalent to working for Aidan O'Brien, Vincent O'Brien or Andre Fabre. That was the best university that he could have gone to and he'd often say to me, 'this is what Bobby would have done,' when it comes to a horse. 

“He's incredibly patient and he gives his horses time. That's why his horses have real longevity. He's more focussed on developing a horse to have a career and not just a season. We've a great mutual respect. I have learned a lot from him and he has learned a lot from me. We trust each other. That goes a long way.”

With that in mind, it's not just the youngsters that Ryan suggested would be worth following throughout 2024 and said that big things were expected of previous Book 1 purchases Equitize (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Dynamic Pricing (Ire) along with Oversubscribed. 

He concluded, “There's a four-year-old called Equitize and he is very, very good. I think people are going to be reading a lot about him this summer and he could go for races like the Man O'War and the Manhattan. Dynamic Pricing is a lovely three-year-old filly by Night Of Thunder. We bought her at Book 1 a couple of years ago from Croom House Stud. She was third in the Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream on her last start but got in a lot of trouble. I'd put those two older horses forward with Oversubscribed as being our horses to follow on the grass this year.”

The post Agent Mike Ryan Gives Lowdown On Chad Brown’s Juveniles And More appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Managing Numbers And Expectations’ – Breeze-Up Inspections In Full Swing

Never has the demand to get horses into the breeze-up sales in Europe been higher. It begs the question; how do the big sales companies limit their catalogues? 

Inspectors from Tattersalls, Arqana and Goffs have been out in force in recent weeks trawling through the breeze-up consignors' barns to come up with their shortlists. 

According to Harry Fowler, one of the main inspectors at Goffs, entries for the company's only breeze-up sale have sky-rocketed this year. With most of the viewing done at this stage, the Goffs inspectors will meet in the coming weeks before calling on vendors to make up their mind on Valentine's Day at the latest. By the end of February, the 210 slots for Goffs will be finalised and the catalogue will be sent off to be printed. 

Explaining the process, Fowler said, “You will have definite yeses, some maybes and then straight nos. With the nos, you would discuss them there and then with the consignor so that there are no surprises later on. 

“We get all of our inspections done by the end of January and then have a meeting and go through things on a horse-by-horse basis. We can't have any more than 210 horses in the sale. In the current economic climate that we are in, it's important that we keep it tight and it seemed to work well last year, as the sale leapt forward by 30 per cent on average and over 50 per cent on turnover. It was a rocking sale.”

He added, “The results on the track proved buyers right as well. So we want to keep it tight and, by doing this, we basically allocate vendors a certain number and try to keep them to that number unless they have an exceptional bunch. In that case, we might give them a couple more slots. The same might be the case if, say, they didn't perform last year, we might cut them back a couple of spots. By Valentine's Day, we will have asked vendors to commit about who is going where and then we will send the catalogue off to get printed by the end of February.”

Harry Fowler | Goffs

It may seem a little soon to be making these calls. The Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale is the earliest of them all yet it doesn't take place until April 23 and 24. That's over two months of galloping to be done between making a decision about where you are going with a horse and the fall of the hammer. A lot of time for some to turn a corner and bob their heads above the parapet and, unavoidably, others to go the wrong way. Therein lies the risks.

Tattersalls Ireland boss Simon Kerins is in a unique position in that, not only are he and his team of inspectors searching for that Royal Ascot two-year-old for the Craven Sale in mid April, but there are also slots to be filled for the Guineas Sale in early May and the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale later that month. Without a deep trust and strong working relationship with the vendors, Kerins explains, making these calls in February would be close to impossible. 

He said, “So much of it is down to the trust that we, as inspectors, have with the vendors. The guys who have been doing this a while will be able to tell you if they really think something is good or not. The bonus with the breeze-ups is, if you have a horse by a sire who is just about acceptable from a commercial perspective, they can surpass what they would ever make as yearlings if they go and breeze very well. The same can be said for a horse who is not one hundred per cent correct or if one is a little bit small. 

“From getting out and seeing a lot of the horses over the past few weeks, many of the vendors have done very little with them, and wouldn't have tested them in a way that would determine their ability. A lot of it is faith between the vendor and the inspector.” 

Kerins admitted that while some horses who are just about acceptable in terms of pedigree and conformation get into breeze-up sales provided they are showing the right signs to their respective handlers, the margin for error has become even narrower such is demand for sale slots. 

Kerins added, “The standard is rising. Certainly with our own Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale, the standard is rising exponentially. The challenge that we can sometimes face is we have some people who have been stalwart supporters of us down through the years and always sent us a similar type of horse. Now there are newer people on the scene with a better calibre of horse they want to send us and we have to just marry the loyalty and the quality. It can be very challenging managing numbers and managing expectations as well. We are ultimately delivering bad news to some vendors given there are only a certain number of slots up for grabs. Entries are through the roof but we do have the option in June for those horses who don't get into the Craven, Guineas or Tattersalls Ireland sales, to breeze at Dundalk and then sell online afterwards. That is an option.”

One man who has had more good news than bad in recent times is Shane Power of Tradewinds Stud. It was his Beautiful Diamond (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}) who lit up the breeze-up circuit when selling for £360,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale just seven months after being sourced for 30,000gns as a yearling. Those are the types of results that earn a hungry young consignor some clout by the time it comes to inspections. 

“It's like anything, when you turn up and get the results, they repay you the following year and the relationship grows,” Power explains. “We sold our first breezer five years ago at Donny. It was a little horse by Arcano (Ire) and he went and won a couple of races for Michael Dods. A couple of years ago we had only two breezers, last year we had five and this year we have 11, so we are trying to up our game the whole time. We've had all of the sales companies out already this year and you'd have a fair idea about where they are all going at this stage.” 

He added, “But, if you have sold a few good horses the previous year, it's definitely a big help to the sales companies coming back to you because, at the end of the day, that's what they want. We obviously want to get paid as well but the sales companies really need to sell the good horses year in year out to be able to compete with their rival sales companies. In fairness to the inspectors, they do use their imagination and they are well aware that the breeze-ups, in particular, are designed to produce racehorses, and not just sales horses.”

Power also went on to pour cold water on the theory that it's too early to make a prediction on what horse should go where in January and February.

Shane Power | Tattersalls

He explained, “You'd probably have half an idea about who would be likely to go where at the yearlings sales. And, in fairness to the inspectors, they are nearly always on the same page as you when they do come out. The earlier bunch will end up in the Craven or at Donny and, those who need a bit more time, you have the Guineas Sale or Tattersalls Ireland. The horse tells you more so than anything else.”

Power added, “It definitely helps when they have cost a few quid as yearlings. It's probably the most obvious barometer for which people can judge the horses on. It's the same for the foals to yearlings, the first thing a sales inspector can go off is what the market thought of the horse four or five months ago.”

It was Fowler who inspected Beautiful Diamond this time 12 months ago. They don't always stick out like she did, but the Goffs scout recalled what drew him to Beautiful Diamond and how she encapsulates everything that the sale company searches for when out and about in the winter months.

He said, “We understand that, for an earlier sale, our buyers are coming in search of Royal Ascot horses. In the past eight years, we have had nine Royal Ascot winners, and not all of those have been two-year-olds, many have trained on as well. 

“Perfect Power (Ire) and Bradsell (GB) are brilliant examples of top-class Goffs graduates who have not only gone on and won at Royal Ascot, but become stallions as well. Buyers come to Goffs looking for horses who will be early but it's not just the whizzbang two-year-old they are looking for, they want the horses who can train on, just like Perfect Power and Bradsell did.”

He added, “I remember walking into Shane Power's yard last year and being taken by two lovely horses. Both were inexpensive yearlings but they had a lot of quality. One of them turned out to be Beautiful Diamond who, not only breezed very well and made £360,000 to Blandford Bloodstock, but she won first time out and then went on to finish third in the Queen Mary. That's your perfect Donny horse. She has her whole three-year-old career ahead of herself and, in the meantime, she paid for a new barn at Shane Power's yard. That's what we're all hoping for. We were just lucky enough that Shane wanted to bring her to us. He knew exactly what he had from an early stage.

“The flip side of that is there are plenty of examples of when it doesn't work out but Beautiful Diamond was one who just hit you right between your eyes. You've got to rely on your instincts doing this job and, generally, the ones who look as though they might be a little bit chancy at this stage, they are the ones who need a lot of luck.”

They say it's the talented breeze-up men and women who will know quicker than anyone else in the industry who will make it and who will drift away when it comes to the freshman sires. After all, these are the people who are separating the wheat from the chaff. But what do the inspectors think?

Fowler mused, “You would get a fair feel at the yearling sales and again when going around and speaking with all of the breeze-up consignors. Pinatubo, for example, is the favourite for the first-season sires' championship but I have only seen a couple of those so far. A lot of the first-season sires, their progeny look as though they will make up into two-year-olds. I've seen plenty of Shamans and they look like they'll be two-year-olds. The Sergei Prokofievs are big horses so, whether the power of those horses will make them two-year-olds or not, I don't know.”

He added, “I've seen a few sharp and early types by Sands Of Mali, some by Far Above who look to be big and powerful horses like he was and then a few nice Mohaathers. I think they have plenty of quality about them. Arizona is another stallion who I have seen a few nice two-year-olds by. They look to be very powerful horses. There are plenty of good reports on Earthlight but they look to be horses for later on in the season. They look as though they'll train on. The same could be said about Ghaiyyath. They look to be more three-year-old types.”

Like Fowler, Pinatubo and Earthlight were nominated as the more obvious young sires to keep the right side of by Kerins, who admitted that the progeny of younger stallions can often be an easier sell at public auction.

He concluded, “I have only seen a couple of Pinatubos and they were very nice. The same with Earthlight. I've seen a couple of those that were quite nice but that's quite obvious. It's the same with the foals and years, the progeny of the first-season sires sell like hot cakes, and the breeze-ups are no different. With the two-year-olds, if they can gallop and they look the part, they will be an easy sell if they are by any of the first-season sires. Again, it's buying that dream that appeals to so many people.”

The post ‘Managing Numbers And Expectations’ – Breeze-Up Inspections In Full Swing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Pinatubo And Sergei Prokofiev Head First-Season Sires’ Betting

Paddy Power have had their say on the first-season sires' championship and the betting giants are unable to separate Pinatubo (Ire) and Sergei Prokofiev at the head of the market at odds of 6-4.

It was Blue Point (Ire) who dominated the first-season sires' championship last year in recording 50 individual winners in Europe including two Group 1 scorers. According to Paddy Power, Darley are in a strong position to scoop the prize for the second successive year as, not only can the powerful operation call on joint-favourite Pinatubo, but Earthlight (Ire) is also prominent in the betting at 2-1.

Whitsbury Manor Stud, where Sergei Prokfiev is based, has a good reputation for getting young sires up and running with their first crop and famously landed this prize in 2022 with sire sensation Havana Grey (GB).

The Starfield Stud-based Far Above (Ire) is another stallion that the betting firm seemingly gives a chance to while Mohaather (GB) is frictionally bigger at odds of 10-1. Ballyhane Stud resident Sands Of Mali (Fr), whose stock has caught the attention of trainers Richard Fahey, Johnny Murtagh, Michael Dods and more, is one of the more interesting outsiders at odds of 33-1.

Paddy Power's Paul Binfield commented, “We are unable to separate Pinatubo and Sergei Prokofiev at the front of the market. The former was a revelation as a two-year-old with his National Stakes victory a joy to behold and while he didn't quite live up to expectations during his Classic season, he still won a Group 1 and was placed in three others.”

He added, “While he was never beaten over seven furlongs and was a very decent miler, Sergei Prokofiev brings electrifying speed to the table-he won three times as a juvenile, including a comfortable success in the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes, and was a gallant third in the Coventry Stakes over six furlongs.”

Pinatubo won three times at the highest level. His brilliant juvenile campaign culminated with a spellbinding performance in the Goffs Vincent O'Brien S. at the Curragh followed by the Dewhurst at Newmarket while he won the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville as a three-year-old. 

He stands at Dalham Hall Stud for £35,000 and, of 49 yearlings sold in Britain and Ireland in 2023, they averaged £146,488 and included a £380,000 colt and a £500,000 filly. 

Meanwhile, Sergei Prokofiev stands for just £6,000 and, of the 97 yearlings of his to sell at public auction last year, they averaged £37,203.

 

 

 

The post Pinatubo And Sergei Prokofiev Head First-Season Sires’ Betting appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Value Sires Part IV: It’s All Relative

We're at the top end now when it comes to stallion fees, but there is quite a range to those prices, which for this feature is anything above £/€20,000. There is of course a massive difference, certainly when it comes to value, in a stallion standing at £35,000 and one at £350,000. In fact, we have two at that latter fee, which makes Frankel (GB) and Dubawi (Ire), the champion sires of the last two years in Britain and Ireland, the most expensive stallions in the world.

Those two representatives of Juddmonte and Darley respectively live within a mile of each other as the crow flies over the stud farms encircling Newmarket. Add to that mighty pair the names of Kingman (GB) at £125,000 and Baaeed (GB) at £80,000, and you have four of the top ten European stallions by price all within that square mile of excellence. 

It's not all about Newmarket, of course, with the Aga Khan Studs standing the most expensive stallion in France, Siyouni (Fr), at €200,000, the same fee commanded by their Sea The Stars (Ire) in Ireland, where he matches Wootton Bassett (GB), who heads the Coolmore roster. The lucky ones among us were those who jumped aboard the Siyouni and Wootton Bassett supporters' buses when those two stallions started out at €7,000 and €6,000 respectively. In bloodstock, as in life, there's a lot to be said for those who have carved out their own lofty niches from humble origins. 

Of course, with this level of sire power, one needs a mare of equally high standing, whether on the racecourse or as a producer or both. Many of the resulting offspring are retained to race by major owner-breeders, and those that do make it to the sales ring can be expected to fetch the level of return that could make even these high fees look good value. It's all relative. 

Dependable

At a more reachable level for many breeders comes this dependable trio – two we can most certainly call stalwarts and one who stamped his presence on the business with his first few crops. 

We discussed Yeomanstown Stud's Dark Angel (Ire) in greater depth in TDN last August. For 2024, he remains at €60,000, which was his fee for the preceding three seasons and down from three years at €85,000 between 2018 and 2020. Admittedly, his yearling sales average, which was in six figures for seven straight seasons, has dipped a little in the last few years and to a certain degree he is perhaps a victim of his own success, with various sons and other younger stallions of a similar profile encroaching on this popular sprinter/miler territory. But he had 77 yearlings sold at an average of £88,637 in 2023 which isn't bad going and, now 19, he was also third in the general sires' table behind Frankel and Dubawi.

From one O'Callaghan family farm to another, we switch to Tally-Ho Stud. At 23, Kodiac (GB) is into veteran territory but he is also at his lowest fee for nine years at €35,000. You pretty much know what you're going to get with him because he's been there, done that, siring plenty of fast colts and fillies and regularly providing the highest number of winners in a season. He hasn't lost his touch, as demonstrated last year by his Group 1-winning son and now stable-mate Good Guess (GB) and the G2 Lowther S. winner Relief Rally (Ire).

Before Good Guess gets a shot at the title, the most credible threat to Kodiac's crown within the Tally-Ho empire comes from Mehmas (Ire), who tore up the first-season sire record books in 2020 and has continued to build on that great start. His European results are backed up by some notable success in America, which should put his sales stock, whether as yearlings or horses in training, on the radar of a wider range of buyers, and at €50,000 in 2024, his fee has come down from last year's high of €60,000. 

His two-year-olds of this year were conceived in his first book after that break-out season of 2020, so we can expect the level of of his mates that year to have risen in line with his fee. That is not always a guarantee of increased success but I wouldn't want to bet against Mehmas continuing to be one of the most exciting younger sires in the European ranks. His equable temperament, and that of many of his offspring, appears to be what sets him apart.

Versatile

If you're looking for a stallion with the potential to get you a Classic winner at a mid-level price then the names of Teofilo (Ire) at €30,000, Sea The Moon (Ger) at £32,500, and Galiway (GB) at €30,000 should all be considered.

It would be wrong to compartmentalise Teofilo as a staying stallion, though he is very good at that, as his Melbourne Cup-winning sons Without A Fight (Ire), Twilight Payment (Ire) and Cross Counter (GB) show, not to mention the Ascot Gold Cup winner Subjectivist (GB). But there is much more in Teofilo's playbook than that, and he remains a hugely dependable sire across the distances, and of fillies too, from the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Pleascach (Ire) to Irish St Leger winner Voleuse De Coeurs (Ire). If you also factor in some of his achievements as a broodmare sire – Coroebus (Ire), Mac Swiney (Ire), Cachet (Ire) and Dreamloper (Ire) are among the Group 1 winners in that category – and a case can be made for Teofilo being an elite sire at a much more affordable fee than some in that category. 

Sea The Moon has defied the level of commercial acceptability usually granted to winners of the Deutsches Derby and throughout his career to date has posted very consistent sales returns via his yearlings. His fee has remained sensible – starting at £15,000 for the first six seasons, and then rising steadily to £22,500, then £25,000 and to his current high of £32,500. No doubt helped by the fact that he tends to get very good-looking stock, Sea The Moon has a following in both hemispheres despite never having left Lanwades since retiring to stud, and he coasts into 2024 having sired the winners of the equivalents of the Derby and the Oaks in his native Germany, where he is the champion sire.

Climbing up the ranks in France is Galiway, whose two Group 1 winners are the full-brothers Sealiway (Fr), who was also busy last year at Haras de Beaumont, and Classic prospect Sunway (Fr). We can perhaps expect Galiway to make as much of an impact at the Cheltenham Festival as he may do at Chantilly or Epsom, and that has increased his appeal to the National Hunt crowd, with another of his sons, Kenway (Fr), having recently joined Coolagown Stud in Ireland. 

But it is the Flat with which we are chiefly concerned here, and Galiway's French yearling results last year – six sold at Arqana in August for an average of €131,667 and 23 in October for a €44,761 average, all from his 2021 fee of €12,000 fee – make him a stallion worthy of closer attention. Since 2021, his price has increased to €30,000.

The Next Step

This year is a critical one for the two young stallions who made the biggest impression with their first-crop runners in 2023. Understandably, both Blue Point (Ire) and Too Darn Hot (GB) have been given fee increases, the former from €35,000 to €60,000 and the latter from £40,000 to £65,000. Getting a mare in to either of these Darley stallions might have been the toughest first challenge for the many breeders who wanted to use them at their higher fees. There is plenty of sales-ring and some racecourse evidence to back up those decisions, and a Group 1-winning three-year-old, preferably a Classic winner, will be required to keep these reputations soaring.

A year ahead of them is Coolmore's Sioux Nation, whose juveniles of this year were conceived at his lowest fee of €10,000. He is now at €27,500 thanks to the exploits of the hugely likeable Brave Emperor (Ire) and Matilda Picotte (Ire) among his 10 Group winners from his two crops of runners to race. Sioux Nation was third in the second-season sires' table last year behind Ace Impact's sire Cracksman (GB) and Havana Grey (GB), and while the latter had the highest number of black-type winners (11), Sioux Nation was represented by the most Group winners of this intake (7). He is definitely a horse to watch, even though his fee has increased by €10,000 in the last year.

Everything to Prove

I'm going to pitch in two names here who are teetering on the brink of triumph or disaster. That's not actually true, of course, but such is the knee-jerk reaction to the early results of stallions by industry people who really should know better, that some horses can be commercially 'dead' before we have even had a proper chance to see what they can do. If mass desertion by breeders follows then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that the stallion will fail, sometimes through no actual fault of his own, other than the fact that he is unlikely to get you a Brocklesby winner. 

Anyway, as I climb down off my soapbox for the umpteenth time with the fading hope that folks will just wait'n'see awhile, I will put forward Ghaiyyath (Ire) at €25,000 and Hello Youmzain (Fr) at €22,500 as two of the more interesting names among those with first runners in 2024. 

A dual Group 1-winning son of Kodiac, Hello Youmzain's yearlings were in demand in Deauville last year and he must be odds-on to be France's leading first-season sire this year. He covered 140 mares in his first season at Haras d'Etreham at his opening fee of €25,000.

Ghaiyyath's fee has also been trimmed slightly from his starting point of €30,000. Not all sons of Dubawi are created equal, of course, and there is now no shortage of them at stud, but Night Of Thunder (Ire), bred on the same cross as the 130-rated Ghaiyyath, and Too Darn Hot, bred on a similar cross, have set the bar high. 

Both Hello Youmzain and Ghaiyyath became Group winners themselves for the first time in the second half of their juvenile seasons. If their offspring can follow suit, it is easy to imagine that both stallions could be more expensive by this time next year.

TDN Value Podium

Bronze: Acclamation (GB), Rathbarry Stud, €25,000

If we are spruiking Dark Angel and Mehmas in this piece, then we must have their sire on the podium. At 25, Acclamation is still going strong and is an increasingly significant influence. As last year's G1 Hong Kong Cup and G1 Cox Plate winner Romantic Warrior (Ire) showed, he is far from just a one-trick pony, though he is obviously best known as a sire of sprinters, with the brilliant Marsha (Ire) among them. Al Shaqab's Orne (Ire), who was bred at home by Rathbarry, has Classic claims ahead of this season, and with Acclamation's fee sliding down from his career-high of €40,000 in 2018 and 2019, he's very much still one to keep on your side. 

Silver: Pinatubo (Ire), Dalham Hall Stud, £35,000

Perhaps boosted by the success of his fellow son of Shamardal, Blue Point, last year, Pinatubo seems to be many people's idea of this season's leading freshman in waiting. If you had the chance to see him last week during Darley's open days, then it would be hard to disagree, as he has swagger and substance in spades. 

His yearling average of almost £154,000 for 41 sold tells of his commercial popularity to date. It's up to him now, and up his sleeve he has the fact that he is from the same family as Invincible Spirit and Kodiac. 

Pinatubo has remained at £35,000 throughout his stud career and that could look very reasonable if his stock live up to expectations this year. 

Gold: Sottsass (Fr), Coolmore, €25,000

We hear a lot about 'stallion-making races' and I'm not sure I believe in the concept, but all we need to know about Sottsass is that he won the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – two races that most owners would give their eyeteeth to win – not to mention the G1 Prix Ganay and G2 Prix Niel. He was also third in the Arc as a three-year-old behind the older horses Waldgeist (GB) and Enable (GB).

Sottsass is from one of the current 'it' families, with his half-siblings including the stellar Sistercharlie (Ire) and My Sister Nat (Fr), while full-brother Shin Emperor (Fr) looks a Grade 1, or even Classic, winner in the making in Japan this year.

He is the first cab off the rank when it comes to Coolmore's sons of Siyouni (Fr). In general, his first yearlings looked athletic and together, and they may raise a few eyebrows by coming to hand sooner than expected. More importantly, however, they should go on, and as we know, it's best to rely on a Classic winner to get you a Classic winner.

 

The post Value Sires Part IV: It’s All Relative appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights