Shaquille | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Commonwealth Cup: Pass or Fail for Britain’s Youngest G1?

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin

On Tuesday the European Pattern Committee (EPC) announced that 42 races are at risk of being downgraded in 2025, including Britain's G1 Commonwealth Cup.

Its status will depend very much on its performance in 2024, which will mark the tenth running of the race introduced to the British calendar in 2015 as a readymade Group 1 in order to “create a more balanced programme and better opportunities for high-class sprinters”. The Commonwealth Cup, run at Royal Ascot over six furlongs for three-year-olds only, was initially open to geldings, though this rule was changed from 2020. Its introduction to the race programme coincided with the upgrading to Group 1 status of the Qipco British Champions Sprint S., formerly known as the Diadem S.

The Commonwealth Cup couldn't really have asked for a better inaugural winner than Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and his ascent through the sprinting ranks illustrated to an extent the importance of a springboard such as this. The Shadwell colt, winner of the previous year's G2 Gimcrack S., had finished eighth, some seven lengths behind Make Believe (GB), in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains on his first and only try at a mile. His attempt at the Classic was understandable as Muhaarar had won the G3 Greenham S. over seven furlongs on his three-year-old debut. Dropped back to six, however, his season came alive. From the Commonwealth, which he won by three and three-quarter lengths from Limato (GB), he sailed faultlessly through the July Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest before returning to Ascot to claim his fourth consecutive Group 1 victory in the newly promoted British Champions Sprint.

Two more three-year-olds have won the latter since then: Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis), who was runner-up in the Commonwealth Cup of 2018, and three years later Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who had also won the G3 Jersey S. in 2021.

Commonwealth Cup ratings

A race is rated through the average mark of the first four horses home. The EPC considers these ratings over a three-year period. The Group 1 parameter is 115, and to retain Group 1 status a race's rating must be within 2lbs of that mark.

In the case of Group 1 races for three-year-olds only, if the average rating falls more than 2lb below the parameter in two consecutive years, then a majority vote among EPC member countries will decide whether or not the race is to be downgraded.

In 2020, race ratings were discounted owing to the Covid pandemic and the disruption to the racing calendar. The yearly race ratings for the other eight runnings of the Commonwealth Cup are shown below, courtesy of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), along with the first four finishers for each year.

2015 115.00 (Muhaarar, Limato, Anthem Alexander, Salt Island)

2016 112.25 (Quiet Reflection, Kachy, Washington DC, La Rioja)

2017 117.25 (Caravaggio, Harry Angel, Blue Point, Bound For Nowhere)

2018 111.50 (Eqtidaar, Sands Of Mali, Emblazoned, Stone Of Destiny)

2019 118.75 (Advertise, Forever In Dreams, Hello Youmzain, Ten Sovereigns)

2020 — (Golden Horde, Kimari, Ventura Rebel, Royal Commando)

2021 110.75 (Campanelle, Dragon Symbol, Measure Of Magic, Dandalla)

2022 111.25 (Perfect Power, Flaming Rib, Flotus, Cadamosto)

2023 114.50 (Shaquille, Little Big Bear, Swingalong, Ocean Quest)

As we can see, three of the eight rated runnings to date have met or exceeded the Group 1 parameter of 115, and one fell below that by less than 1lb. Of concern is the fact that the other four were all some way short, even with that 2lb concession. The ratings of 2021 and 2022 triggered a warning, and while last year's running was up to par, the three-year average rating for the race remains below 113.

The race's lowest rating of 110.75 will be discarded from the three-year cycle this year, so a vintage renewal in 2024 will certainly help matters (we're looking at you, Vandeek).

How good were the winners?

Muhaarar was a hard act to follow but Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), the first filly to win the Commonwealth Cup, went on to win the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup in the same season as well as finishing third in the G1 July Cup. She remained in training at four and won the G3 Renaissance S in Ireland.

Caravaggio (Scat Daddy) won the Flying Five S. three months after his Commonwealth victory, and that race has subsequently been upgraded to Group 1 status. He led home two sprinting stars in Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal). Harry Angel collected the July Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup that same season, while Blue Point really came into his own at four and five with back-to-back wins in the G1 King's Stand S., the second of which came in the same week that he won the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. in the summer following his victory in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai. He was the champion first-season of Britain and Ireland in 2023.

Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) failed to sparkle after his narrow victory in the Commonwealth Cup, but his runner-up Sands Of Mali we have discussed above.

The highest rating achieved in the race came in 2019 when the subsequent Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) had Hello Youmzain (Fr) (Kodiac {GB}) behind him in third, and the latter went on to win that year's Haydock Sprint Cup followed by the Diamond Jubilee in 2020. In fourth that day was Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never), who won the July Cup on his next start, and the redoubtable Khaadem (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who won that season's Stewards' Cup, was seventh. Khaadem also won the G2 King George S. in 2022 as well as last year's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. (formerly the Diamond/Platinum Jubilee) as a seven-year-old.

The 2020 winner Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) was subsequently third in both the July Cup and the Sprint Cup, while Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who was awarded the race in the stewards' room after being headed by Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) at the wire, returned to Ascot the following year to take third in the Platinum Jubilee. She had also won the G2 Queen Mary S. and G1 Prix Morny during a top juvenile campaign.

Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) was another crack two-year-old who gathered the G2 Norfolk S., G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. before returning at three to lift the Commonwealth Cup. He too had found the mile beyond him when finishing seventh to Coroebus (Ire) in the 2,000 Guineas after winning the Greenham.

And that brings us to Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}), last year's top-rated three-year-old sprinter in the world on a mark of 120. His Commonwealth Cup victory over the favourite Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) was followed by a sound beating of his elders in the July Cup.

Of the seven male winners to date, six are currently at stud in Britain, France and Japan. Eqtidaar died last year. Another eight of the placed horses are now active stallions.

Overall it's a pretty solid roll call for a race which raised eyebrows when being parachuted into the programme as a brand new Group 1 but which generally can be considered to be doing the job it was designed to do.

Following Tuesday's announcement by the EPC, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) expressed its disappointment at the lack of support for its bid to upgrade the G2 City of York S., a move which would provide another tweak to the sprint programme and make it the sole seven-furlong Group 1 race in Britain. The EPC also turned down an application from the BHA to upgrade the G2 Qipco Champions Long Distance Cup.

What do the experts think?

The BHA's director of international racing and development Ruth Quinn, who also sits on the EPC, recalls the unprecedented decision to create the Commonwealth Cup and award it Group 1 status from the outset.

“It was a project that [the EPC members] were all very passionate about and fully embraced, and they understood the reasons why Britain was putting it forward as a strategic case.

“At the time there was a lot of surprise that we were looking to create a new Group 1 race from scratch, which was unheard of, but it was a brand new concept and we were trying to capture people's attention in a way that the race programme hadn't been able to before. It meant that if you win the Middle Park you don't have to go and try your horse in the Guineas if it's a genuinely speedy animal. Everyone knows that three-year-old sprinters are going to struggle against older horses if we don't give them a helping hand in the first half of the season.”

She adds, “If we hadn't put it in at Group 1 level then I think we would have had a much harder task in making them change their behaviour, and we did hit the ground running with Muhaarar. And we had a good few years of real talking horses for the race over the winter.

“I do feel it is serving a broader, long-term role which just didn't exist in the past.”

Aidan O'Brien saddled the 2017 winner Caravaggio, as well as last year's runner-up Little Big Bear. He says of the possibility of the race being downgraded, “It would be a massive pity. The Commonwealth Cup is a very prestigious race and it is in a great slot in the programme book for the three-year-olds. It has just become a very important race in a relatively short space of time.

“Strategically, it might not be a great idea if they decided to downgrade the race. I think it should remain a Group 1 because it's a very important race in an important place in the calendar.

“You get the best three-year-old sprinters turning up there every year. I remember when it wasn't there and its addition has made a massive difference. Everything is right with the race. They might be jumping the gun if they downgraded it.”

Breeder and former trainer Luca Cumani agrees with O'Brien. He says, “I think it's a very important race for three-year-old sprinters and it filled a gap in the calendar that existed before. Before, everybody had to try to make a potential sprinter into a miler by trying him in the Guineas and only then have to revert to sprinting but have nowhere to go in his own age group, but instead having to take on the older horses. So they were marking time for almost a year until the horse became a four-year-old and could start to be competitive again.

“So I think it does definitely fill a gap in the Pattern and I would be very sad to lose it as a Group 1 race. I am surprised that it is in danger.”

Kirsten Rausing, breeder and owner of Lanwades Stud, is keen to see the City of York S. upgraded to a Group 1. It has been won in the last two years by the dual Group 1 winner Kinross (GB), and Rausing's homebred Sandrine (GB), herself a treble winner at Group 2 level over six and seven furlongs, has been third in both of the last two runnings.

She says of the Commonwealth Cup being on the at-risk list, “In general it is of course disappointing but personally I feel the retention of Group 2 status for the City of York Stakes is of more concern. Upgrading that race would have given us a first Group 1 over seven furlongs in the UK. One hopes that the upgrade will come in 2025.

“Re the Commonwealth Cup, [the possibility of] downgrading it must be seen as an admission that the race has not achieved the original ambition of attracting the world's best sprinters. Whether the reason for this is the race date in the context of the worldwide racing calendar, or perhaps the, although rich by UK standards, relatively low prize-money, or the inevitable absence of Japanese representation in a sprint race. Who can tell?”

Richard Fahey, trainer of Perfect Power and Sands Of Mali, says, “One of the problems was that we were selling [sprinters] off to Hong Kong and this race was brought in to try to give us a chance to keep them. We've had a lot of luck in the race and I am hugely surprised to see that it's on the list.

“It's a stepping stone for the younger sprinters. Yes, it's an easier option for them in some respects, and maybe that's why the ratings aren't standing up, but obviously it's a restricted pool of just three-year-olds.

“It would be a shame if it's downgraded, as there are some good prep races for it. They upgraded the [G3] Pavilion and the [G2] Sandy Lane when the Commonwealth Cup was introduced, so what happens to them if it becomes a Group 2?”

Joe Foley, owner of Ballyhane Stud, stands Sands Of Mali and was also instrumental in the purchase of Shaquille for Steve Parkin's Dullingham Park. He says, “I was surprised to read that the race is in danger of being downgraded. The Commonwealth Cup has been a very successful race since its inception. Obviously I paid close attention to the race last year and Shaquille was very impressive but then he went on and achieved a big rating on his next start when beating his elders in the July Cup. Last year's Commonwealth Cup was an up-to-scratch renewal. Not only had you Shaquille in there but the runner-up, Little Big Bear, was a high-class two-year-old who achieved some big ratings. You had Swingalong in third and another very good horse in fourth [Ocean Quest]. To see that the race is under the spotlight after such a high-class edition is surprising. I'd be very disappointed if that happened.”

The post The Commonwealth Cup: Pass or Fail for Britain’s Youngest G1? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Equinox Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse

LONDON, UK — Japan stole the show at the Longines World Racing Awards in London, with Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023 while the G1 Japan Cup claimed the title of Longines World's Best Horse Race. The top-rated three-year-old filly in the world was Japan's Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

Equinox's top rating of 135 – the highest ever awarded to a Japanese horse – was achieved in his four-length romp in the Japan Cup, his final appearance on a racecourse in which he had Liberty Island and her fellow Classic winners Stars On Earth (Jpn) and Do Deuce (Jpn) behind him. Such a strong first four meant that the 2023 running of the Japan Cup was awarded a rating of 126.75.

Trainers, jockeys, owners and breeders from across the racing world attended the ceremony at the Savoy to celebrate the 11th time that Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) had joined forces to celebrate the best in the sport.

The Tetsuya Kimura-trained Equinox was the second Japanese horse to receive the accolade after Just A Way (Jpn) in 2014. Ridden throughout his career by Christophe Lemaire, he was unbeaten in 2023, with his other victories coming in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Takarazuka Kinen (G1), and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

“To be honest it was quite enjoyable,” said Lemaire with no little understatement of his association with Equinox as he accepted his award on Tuesday.

“Each time he ran there was a big expectation but on that horse I had such confidence. I tried to do my job as well as possible and I will miss him a lot. Like most top athletes he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical strength allowed him to run fast and use his beautiful stride. Also he was very clever, is he understood very quickly what he had to do to win. My job was just to get a good start and put him in a good position to let him express his talent.”

He added, “He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder for producing such a beautiful horse and the trainer for allowing him to mature and getting the best out of him.

“Equinox was something special. He had an aura. Most of the people first discovered him in Dubai but in Japan he was already a rising star.”

Masashi Yonemoto, the CEO of Equinox's 300-strong ownership group Silk Racing, was in London to collect his award along with Kimura and Lemaire. A strong Japanese contingent was bolstered by the presence of Masayoshi Yoshida, the president of the Japan Racing Association (JRA), and Masayuki Goto, the JRA's executive adviser of international affairs, who received the trophy for the world's best race, which was a first for the Japan Cup in its 43-year history.

Equinox was rated 7lbs clear of last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, the unbeaten Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), who was joint-second in the ratings with the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) on 128. They were thus Europe's top-rated runners for 2023, a pound clear of G1 Queen Elizabeth S. winner Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who were joint fourth on 127.

Hukum's runner-up at Ascot, Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Hong Kong's champion Golden Sixty (Aus) were next on 126, while the dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) was awarded a mark of 125 for his victory in the G1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, the same as Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), who was judged to have run to that mark on three occasions at Sha Tin and was the top-rated sprinter in the world.

There was a five-way tie for tenth place with a rating of 124 having been awarded to White Abarrio (Race Day), Cody's Wish (Curlin), Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}).

In total, 36 horses achieved a rating in excess of 120. Of these, nine were trained in Britain, seven in Japan, seven in the USA, four in Hong Kong, and three each in France, Ireland and Australia. Frankel was the sire of four of the top 15 horses in Europe – Mostahdaf, Westover, Onesto (Ire) and Triple Time (Ire) – and grandsire of the co-top-rated Ace Impact, who was also the highest-rated three-year-old in the world.

It was a particularly good year for European three-year-old colts, with Ace Impact being joined by Big Rock, Auguste Rodin, Paddington and King Of Steel among the top 20 horses globally.

Three of the four top-rated fillies or mares in the world were also trained in Europe and all hail from the Newmarket stable of John and Thady Gosden. Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was awarded a mark of 121 for her G1 Dahlbury Coronation Cup win, while Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was on 120 for her success in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, the same mark given to Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for her G1 Falmouth S. win. The aforementioned Liberty Island tied with Emily Upjohn on a mark of 121.

Also on 121 was the top-rated stayer, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who started his career with Simon and Ed Crisford in Britain before switching to the Australian stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman. With Lucky Sweynesse leading the way for the older sprinters, the top three-year-old sprinter in the world for 2023 was the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) on 120.

Four of the top ten races in the world in 2023 were staged in Japan, with the Takarazuka Kinen in fifth spot, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) joint-sixth and the Arima Kinen in eighth. The Equinox factor had a firm say in the rankings of the races, with the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic ranked second with an average rating of 126.50. The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a regular winner of this title, was third on 124.75, just ahead of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on 124.50. The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S was co-sixth, while the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois was ninth and the Juddmonte International tenth.

The official rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee, which is co-chaired by Nigel Gray and Dominic Gardiner-Hill, and they are published by the IFHA.

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Value Sires for 2024 Part I: New Stallions

Who would be a stallion master, eh? Sure it's fine if you have a new horse to show off, or one of the elite few who has truly made it, but pity the owner of the stallion who has just faded from fashion through no real fault of his own, merely overlooked as the stampede rushes on to the next new thing.

One can't blame breeders either for showing such interest in the new stallions at stud, for they have yet to be judged (though they will be, just as soon as their first foals hit the sales grounds) and have therefore “done nothing wrong”.

Let's not forget that in almost all cases, for a stallion to be at stud in the first place he was a decent racehorse. But there are degrees of decency, from the downright jaw-dropping bred-in-the-purple Classic winner to the Group 3 winner whose precocity and speed are really all he has going for him unless he can throw a nice type in the first place, and then those nice types can go on to do as their father did. That can be enough these days, and there's a separate and lengthy debate to be had about whether that really should be enough. But for breeders trying to sustain their business through a commercial approach, the first thing that matters is how likely you are to be able to sell a foal or yearling well, no matter how much we all know that breeding for the racecourse is what really counts in the long run, as long as that run isn't too long a run, if you know what I mean.

Aye, there's the rub. The long-term view can be rewarded with the greatest riches. Breeding a 'Cup horse', for example. Big prizes on big days, or perhaps a big offer from another nation that has already lost its way on the stamina front, or indeed from a major jumps owner if things haven't quite worked out on the Flat. Increasingly, through, few breeders can or want to wait that long. And as one breeder remarked at the recent foal sales, “At least if you have a horse by a first-season sire you know that every pinhooker is going to look at him.”

So as we begin our Value Sires series in Europe for the season ahead, we will tackle the newcomers first before we head on, in price brackets, to those stallions who may or may not be suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, which in the bloodstock business often merely means they are no longer this year's 'it boy'.

How anyone can base a business plan on such an unpredictable collective whim is beyond me, but that's the challenge faced by breeders when deciding on matings each year. If you are using a currently popular stallion who will cover a large book then you'd better pray extra hard for a corker of an individual if there are any holes in your mare's pedigree or production record.

From Paddington (GB) at €55,000 to a handful of sires at €5,000, with just about everything in between, there is a huge range in both price and talent of this year's intake. We are not including a full list of new sires here, and the three which we consider to represent the best value in this division feature on the podium at the conclusion of this piece.

Value is relative, of course, and the fee for Paddington is punchy enough but then he was superb last year in his somewhat unusual progression from the Madrid Handicap in a bog at Naas through to that string of four Group 1 victories on summer ground at the Curragh, Ascot and Sandown and then back to more give at Goodwood. You can't really argue with a record that includes the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James' Palace S. (beating Chaldean), Eclipse S. and Sussex S. Mostahdaf (Ire) and Nashwa (GB) had his measure at York in the International but by then Paddington had won six on the bounce, at a rate of a race pretty much every month since late March.

His first three dams all earned black type on the track, and we like to see a bit of Montjeu (Ire) on the page, through his Listed-winning dam Modern Eagle (Ger), providing a variation on a theme of Coolmore's other two sons of Siyouni (Fr), Sottsass (Fr) and St Mark's Basilica (Fr), who are both out of Galileo (Ire) mares. Paddington's granddam Millionaia (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) was runner-up in the G1 Prix de Diane and great granddam Moonlight Dance (Alysheba) was third in the G1 Saint-Alary. But his fourth dam Madelia (Fr) (Caro {Ire}) outpointed them both by winning the Diane, Saint-Alary and the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, so there is plenty on the page to reinforce his claim to future greatness.

It is up to each breeder to decide whether or not €55,000 is a price they can swallow, but it is a pretty safe bet that Paddington, himself a €420,000 yearling, will already have plenty of takers.

Coolmore is big on bears this year, and in fact Paddington and his fellow new recruit Little Big Bear (Ire) both hail from Wildenstein families, with the latter being a great grandson of the Hall-of-Famer All Along (Fr) (Targowice). Reinforcing the No Nay Never blood in Tipperary, he did as he was expected and was fast and early. At three, he added the G2 Sandy Lane to the previous year's win in the G1 Phoenix S. in which he was injured. He was then beaten by Shaquille (GB) in the G1 Commonwealth Cup and a further injury incurred in the July Cup brought about his early retirement. Little Big Bear starts out at €27,500.

Putting on the Rizz

The Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year for 2023 was 'Rizz'. No, me neither, but apparently if you're a regular TikTokker, you will already know that this means “style, charm, or attractiveness, and the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner”, or put more simply is a shortened version of charisma.

I don't know the French translation of rizz, but let's go with 'ooh la la', and it's something which Ace Impact (Ire) has in spades. Who among us did not marvel at the way he chewed up and spat out the otherwise brilliant Big Rock (Ire) down the Chantilly straight in the Prix du Jockey Club? Could he stay a mile and a half? Could he ever, just as soon as the afterburners were engaged to propel him past Westover (GB) and Onesto (Ire) in the Arc.

Jean-Claude Rouget told TDN in October that he watched Ace Impact's six races through again after he was retired, perhaps to remind himself that, though brief, his career really did burn brightly. Always leave them wanting more, they say, and he certainly did after six perfect races. It's a shame but understandable, as when it comes to launching a Prix du Jockey Club and Arc winner at an almost brand new stallion operation, the time to strike is when he is unbeaten and his last sensational run is still emblazoned on breeders' memories.

In contrast, we saw plenty of Modern Games (Ire), who holds that rare bragging right of being a Group 1 winner at two, three and four, and a dual Breeders' Cup winner to boot. He's a proper miler, a Classic-winning one, and it'll cost £30,000 to send him a mare, but good luck if you've been dawdling as it was reported at Darley's open morning on Tuesday that he was full before Christmas.

It's not hard to see why as Modern Games is a lovely individual with balance and scope, who joins his sire Dubawi (Ire) on the Dalham Hall Stud roster. His family is one which is increasingly repaying Sheikh Mohammed, who bought his granddam Epitome (Ire) (Nashwan) from her breeder Gerald Leigh. She has given the Godolphin operation the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Ultra (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}) among her 10 winning offspring. Modern Ideals (GB) (New Approach (Ire) did not make that list of winners, running only twice unsuccessfully in France, but she has more than atoned in her second job as the dam of not just Modern Games but also his fellow Classic winner Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Listed winner Modern News (GB) (Shamardal).

Son has also followed father in the case of Chaldean (GB), who is now at Banstead Manor Stud alongside Frankel (GB) and, like his sire, won the 2,000 Guineas and G1 Dewhurst S. If there were two buzz names during the December Sales among those touring the stallion studs of Newmarket then they were Chaldean and Shaquille (GB), whom we will come on to a bit later. Chaldean is at £25,000, which is significantly more that two other sons of Frankel retiring to Newmarket studs with higher ratings this year but, as Patrick Cooper pointed out in yesterday's TDN, he has plenty going for him on the commercial front. Chaldean was a relatively early two-year-old, carrying decent form through wins at Newbury then the G3 Acomb S., G2 Champagne S. and finally that year's Dewhurst before claiming his Classic laurels on his return to Newmarket.

We wait to see what his Group 2-winning half-brother Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) can achieve with his first runners this year, but certainly Chaldean's family has been much in the news for his breeder Whitsbury Manor Stud. Five of his dam's offspring have now earned black type, including the Group 1-placed Get Ahead (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who sold for 2.5 million gns at Tattersalls in December. It's a family going places, and Juddmonte will doubtless lend the might of its broodmare band to help Chaldean get off to the best possible start at stud.

France Blessed with Enticing Names

Had Vadeni (Fr), who was featured last week, been retired after his impressive three-year-old season, it is easy to imagine that he would be standing for more than €18,000 but that is his opening mark now at Haras de Bonneval which could well represent value about a horse who romped to victory in the “stallion-making” Prix du Jockey Club before also landing the Eclipse against his elders.

His fellow Aga Khan Studs newcomer Erevann (Fr) can't match Vadeni on performance but he can on pedigree and this son of two Classic winners, with a good helping of 'rizz', really does look excellent value at €8,000.

France is not short of new and enticing stallion prospects this year and three worthy of mention here are Mishriff (Ire) at €17,500, Onesto at €12,500 and Bay Bridge (GB) at €6,000.

In some respects Mishriff is both fortunate and unfortunate. A badly-placed kick to the wall of his stable last winter meant that he missed all of what should have been his debut covering season. His price has been trimmed from what was his planned opening fee of €20,000, and you get an awful lot of performance and physique for the price he is now. He was a terrific racehorse who moves like a dream. Then of course there's his family, which includes those not insignificant stallions Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Kodiac (GB). Go and have another look at Mishriff at Haras de Montfort & Preaux if you're in France for the Route des Etalons. You won't be disappointed, especially as that extra year of letting down before embarking on his stud duties means that he now looks like a man among boys when compared to fellow new recruits.

Onesto is a new Frankel for France at Haras d'Etreham. A compact horse whose breeze-up fractions at Ocala belied his middle-distance pedigree, he sent agent Hubert Guy into a similar rush to buy him for $535,000 and bring him back to Europe where he duly won the G1 Grand Prix de Paris.

After winning the G1 Champion S. of 2022, Bay Bridge had a frustrating time of it last year. He did win the G3 September S. to bring his tally to seven victories from 16 starts, giving a solidity to his record, which included a close second to Luxembourg (Ire) in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. A later-maturing and powerful individual, the son of New Bay (GB) joins Haras du Mesnil, a stud with an excellent track record. He really should be given some consideration at his bargain fee.

Your Guess is as Good as Ours

If Mehmas (Ire) is the next Kodiac for Tally-Ho Stud, then who will be the next Mehmas? Could it be a son of Kodiac in the farm's latest stallion, Good Guess (GB)? His trainer Fabrice Chappet thought plenty of him from his earliest days in training, and it wasn't just because he was an expensive yearling at 420,000gns. He won his first two races as a juvenile but it wasn't until his three-year-old season that we really saw him flourish when Good Guess won the G1 Prix Jean Prat and G3 Prix Djebel, both over seven furlongs. Bred by Cheveley Park Stud, he's a grandson of their 1,000 Guineas winner Russian Rhythm (Kingmambo) and he's a well-made individual. At €17,500, he will have the Tally-Ho faithful, not to mention a decent number of the home mares, in his corner.

Triple Time (Ire) very nearly made the podium below, but I'm only allowed three spots and it was a competitive field in this division. At £10,000, he has been fairly priced for his opening season at Dalham Hall Stud. Like Chaldean, he is a Group 1-winning miler by Frankel from a family that is clearly going places. Triple Time, winner of the Queen Anne S. last season, was actually rated 2lbs higher than Chaldean but his significantly lower fee reflects the fact that his top-level win didn't come until he was a four-year-old, though he was a Listed winner at two. He was lightly raced, making only two appearances in each of his last two seasons, but he was clearly no slouch and is one of two Group 1 winners from his dam Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), who has so far produced seven black-type runners. The family could be boosted further still this year by Classic prospect Rosallion (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}).

Like Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland, England's Whitsbury Manor Stud has a loyal following of commercial clientele along with its own sizeable band of mostly speedily-bred broodmares. With Showcasing and Havana Grey (GB) the stud has had two of the most talked-about stallions in Britain in recent years, which is why one can't overlook the farm's latest recruit Dragon Symbol (GB), who was also bred at Whitsbury Manor. By Cable Bay, he appeared to be a Group 1 winner for a few agonising moments when finishing first past the post in the Commonwealth Cup. The race was awarded to Campanelle (Ire) in the stewards' room and he was demoted to second. Dragon Symbol has won five sprints in total as well as finishing second in the G1 July Cup and third in the G1 Nunthorpe. Could this bridesmaid become the bride, or even better the groom, in his next career, which he starts at a fee of £8,000?

There has been a lot going on at the National Stud stallion yard in recent years with the arrival of Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) in 2022 being followed the next year by Stradivarius (Ire). Now comes the Shadwell-bred Mutasaabeq (GB), a son of Invincible Spirit from a solid stallion family which includes Nashwan, Unfuwain and Deep Impact (Jpn), with Baaeed (GB) in the wings. Mutasaabeq, a treble Group 2 winner whose pedigree was discussed in more detail in these pages recently, is introduced at a very reasonable £6,500.

The shuffling of the pack which has brought Soldier's Call (GB) to Dullingham Park for his first season in England has meant that there was room for another son of Showcasing at Ballyhane Stud in Ireland. Step forward Asymmetric (Ire), the G2 Richmond S. winner and Morny third of 2021, who returned from a stint in America to win a Listed contest at Deauville last year on the same card that his half-brother Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) claimed his first stakes victory. Speed is what it says on his tin, and there will doubtless be plenty of breeders signing up for that at €7,000.

TDN Value Podium

Bronze: Mostahdaf (Ire), Beech House Stud, £15,000

As a good-looking winner of both the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and G1 Juddmonte International and a well-bred son of Frankel, it's hard not to think that Mostahdaf is a snip at £15,000. His dam Handassa (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a Listed winner who has already bred another dual Group 1-winning miler in Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) while granddam Starstone (GB) (Diktat {GB}) is a half-sister to Goodricke (GB) and Pastoral Pursuits (GB), who were both Group 1-winning sprinters by Bahamian Bounty (GB). It's a classy pedigree which really should be pretty commercial.

Perhaps the fact that Mostahdaf didn't race at two has moderated his fee, and he was undoubtedly at his best at five, but if durability and soundness count against horses these days then we are in the fast lane of the highway to disaster.

Silver: Angel Bleu (Fr), Sumbe, €9,000

Sumbe has a trio of Group 1-winning newcomers, with the aforementioned Mishriff as well as Belbek (Fr), who should not be overlooked at €7,000. But Angel Bleu at his opening price of €9,000 really smacks of value. On the track he was an extremely likeable individual. Fast, early, but most importantly, hardy. He ran eight times at two for five wins from five furlongs to a mile, including the G2 Vintage S., G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and G1 Criterium International. He may have been written off when a setback curtailed his three-year-old season, but the son of Dark Angel (Ire) was back at four to win the G2 Celebration Mile and Listed Spring Trophy.

He's a strong and bonny individual with an international pedigree of broad appeal. His dam, by Galileo, is a sister to Group 1 winners Highland Reel (Ire) and Idaho (Ire), while the achievements of his Australian third dam Circles Of Gold (Aus) (Marscay {Aus}), on the racecourse and at stud, are worthy of their own book.

Gold: Shaquille (GB), Dullingham Park, £15,000

Of course none of this matters until we can see what their runners are capable of, but it was hard not to fall for Shaquille when he sauntered out to the new stallion showing ring at Dullingham Park during the December Sales. He was one of the talking points of that week, with many favourable comments from a range of breeders from all over Europe and he thus receives our first gold medal of this series.

Shaquille doesn't really look like a sprinter, but that's what he was, and a very good one at that, winning the G1 Commonwealth Cup and then downing the colours of his older rivals in the G1 July Cup. He too can call on Galileo as his broodmare sire, and he is by a long way the best son of Charm Spirit (Ire), who was a multiple Group 1-winning miler himself. Grand-dam Danehurst (GB) (Danehill) was more than useful for Cheveley Park Stud and also very fast, as was the G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Hooray (GB) who is from the same family and, being by Invincible Spirit, bred on a similar pattern.

If Shaquille's youngsters look and move like him then he'll be off to a good start in the sales ring, and that, as we know, is a first important marker which can then determine his level of support down the line.

The post Value Sires for 2024 Part I: New Stallions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Rafha’s Influence Prevails Through Her Dominant Sons

It has been a basic tenet of bloodstock since the early days that Classic form is to be respected when a colt or a filly retires to stud. Some Classic results stand out, with the 1984 Prix du Jockey-Club often cited thanks to Darshaan (GB) leading home Sadler's Wells and Rainbow Quest in a trifecta of future superstar sires. As regards fillies, the 1990 Prix de Diane takes some beating, with Rafha (GB) coming home ahead of Moon Cactus (GB) and Colour Chart. All three ended up breeding at least one Group/Grade 1 winner, but ultimately the significance of the result goes way beyond merely first-generation success.

Rafha and Moon Cactus were both daughters of Kris (GB) (Sharpen Up), an outstanding miler who became champion sire of Great Britain and Ireland in 1985 when his oldest offspring were 3-year-olds, thanks largely to the terrific season enjoyed by Britain's Fillies' Triple Crown heroine Oh So Sharp (GB). Oh So Sharp became an excellent broodmare, responsible for Rosefinch (Blushing Groom {Fr}) who edged out Dancing Brave's full-sister Jolypha in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary in 1992. Rafha and Moon Cactus, though, did even more to advertise Kris's talent as a sire of broodmares.

Moon Cactus bred four stakes winners including the 1995 G1 Oaks heroine Moonshell (Sadler's Wells) and her younger full-brother Doyen, who excelled on firm ground in the summer of 2004 when firstly breaking Ascot's 12-furlong track record in the G2 Hardwicke S. at the Royal Meeting and then following up over course and distance five weeks later with a superb win in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S.

Ultimately, though, Rafha has proved the most influential of these eminent matrons. Her legacy continues to expand, 33 years after her Prix de Diane triumph, and she is now even more revered than she was on that glorious summer's afternoon when she galloped to Classic glory at Chantilly.

It is not unfair to say that Rafha did not produce a racehorse of the distinction of either Moonshell or Doyen (or, indeed, of Colour Chart's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies-winning daughter Tempera), but four of the seven black-type performers whom she produced were stakes winners. Easily the pick of these was Invincible Spirit (Ire) (Green Desert). Trained, as his mother had been, for owner/breeder Prince AA Faisal by John Dunlop, Invincible Spirit was a tough sprinter who raced for four seasons, winning a listed race as a 2-year-old and at Group 3 level at four before enjoying his best campaign as a 5-year-old in 2002, taking the G3 Duke of York S. over six furlongs in the spring and the G1 Haydock Park Sprint Cup over the same distance in the autumn, putting in his best performance on the 17th and final start of his career.

A first-season stud fee of €10,000 was fair for Invincible Spirit when he started out at the Irish National Stud as a 6-year-old in 2003. He had maybe lacked some of the precocity that a lot of the breeders who patronise sprinting stallions like to see, but he was a Group 1-winning sprinter and had shown himself to be a durable one at that. Furthermore, it helped that he was a son of Green Desert (Danzig) who was very popular at the time, buoyed in part by his superb son Oasis Dream (GB), who had been an outstanding 2-year-old in 2002, most notably breaking Newmarket's six-furlong juvenile track record when winning the G1 Middle Park S.

Green Desert, himself formerly an outstanding sprinter, was already on the way to being respected as a sire of sires, not least because his Group 1-winning son Cape Cross (Ire) was starting to do well. Curiously, Cape Cross ultimately became best known for his Derby and Oaks winner Sea The Stars (Ire), Golden Horn (GB) and Ouija Board (GB) but that slight anomaly shouldn't deflect attention away from the fact that Green Desert was a terrific conduit of Danzig's speed. Oasis Dream has been much more typical of the Green Desert line, becoming an absolute stalwart of the ranks of British-based sprinting sires over an extended period, just as his father was before him.

Invincible Spirit was an immediate success as a stallion. He had his first runners in 2006 and got off to a flying start when his first runner Spoof Master (Ire) won Britain's first 2-year-old feature of the new season, the Brocklesby S. Invincible Spirit continued to churn out winners as the year went on, so much so that his fee rose from €10,000 to €35,000 for the 2007 season.

Invincible Spirit's position was further consolidated in 2007 when his first 3-year-olds included the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club hero Lawman (Fr), whose Classic triumph was instrumental in Invincible Spirit's fee shooting up again to €75,000 in 2008. Also running for Invincible Spirit in 2007 was the very fast 2-year-old filly Fleeting Spirit (GB), winner of the G3 Molecomb S. and G2 Flying Childers S. as well as being runner-up in the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G2 Lowther S. She subsequently developed into a wonderful sprinting mare, arguably her sire's second-best daughter behind Moonlight Cloud (GB), and her finest hour came when she won the G1 July Cup as a 4-year-old. With his career thus heading onwards and upwards, Invincible Spirit ultimately had his fee peaking between 2016 and 2019, when his nominations cost €120,000.

The six seasons 2015 to 2020 inclusive were particularly good ones for Rafha with both Kodiac and Invincible Spirit featuring in the top ten every year.

Although Rafha ended up as the dam of four stakes winners, her second most-distinguished child was not one of them. Kodiac (GB) can be described as a three-parts brother to Invincible Spirit, as each is by a son of Danzig, Kodiac being by Danehill. Like Invincible Spirit, Kodiac was a tough sprinter, but unlike his superior sibling, he couldn't quite manage to score in stakes company, his four wins (from 20 starts) consisting of a maiden-race success and three triumphs in handicap company. He did at least manage a couple of minor placings in stakes company, finishing second in the G3 Hackwood S. over six furlongs at Newbury and fourth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest over 1300m at Deauville as a 5-year-old in 2006.

Under normal circumstances, Kodiac's achievements would perhaps not have been enough to secure him a place at stud. However, there's nothing quite like being in the right place at the right time. As the 2006 racing season drew to a close, it was clear that Invincible Spirit was about to be priced out of reach of many of the Irish small breeders who had used him so satisfactorily in his early years. At the time Danehill was at the peak of his popularity as a sire of sires, so it made sense for Tally-Ho Stud to take a chance that Invincible Spirit's fast three-parts brother by Danehill might appeal to many breeders and might become a successful sire.

That was the theory and, happily, it proved to be a sound one. Kodiac started out at a fee of €5,000 in 2007 (which had to be lowered to €4,000 a couple of years later), but once he began to have runners in 2010, he soon started to pay back many of those who had put their faith in him. He quickly established himself as an ultra-reliable source of tough, precocious and very fast horses, both colts and fillies. In a pleasing piece of symmetry, 10 years after retiring to stud, he was standing at a fee 10 times higher than it had been at the outset. The price subsequently continued to rise after that and, now aged 22, he is still churning out fast, precocious horses such as 2023 G2 Lowther S. heroine Relief Rally (Ire), who recently sold for 800,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

It is frequently noted that the 1993 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Urban Sea (Miswaki) usually has two sons in the top five of the General Sires' Table of Great Britain and Ireland. The 2019 season was her piece de resistance, as her two Derby-winning children Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Sea The Stars (Ire) occupied the first two places in the championship. Under the circumstances, the fanfare justly directed at Urban Sea possibly takes some of the spotlight away from Rafha, whose feat of also having two sons consistently in the upper echelons of the sires' championship should not be underestimated.

The six seasons 2015 to 2020 inclusive were particularly good ones for Rafha with both Kodiac and Invincible Spirit featuring in the top 10 every year. Kodiac in particular has been remarkably consistent. He first broke into the top10 of the sires' table in 2015, having finished 15th in 2014 (in which year Invincible Spirit achieved his best position, finishing second to Galileo). From 2015 until this current season Kodiac has never been out of the top 10, and he regularly tops the table for the most number of winners in a season.

In one sense, Rafha's sons merit even greater respect than do Urban Sea's stars. Galileo and Sea The Stars were Derby winners who started out covering high-class mares from the outset but Invincible Spirit and Kodiac did not have that luxury, having instead had to 'make their own luck' as stallions. Despite these relatively humble beginnings at stud, the influence of both Invincible Spirit and Kodiac will not end when they cease to have runners because they have already started to establish their own sire lines.

Just as Lawman was Invincible Spirit's first headline-maker as a racehorse, so he was his first successful son at stud. Lawman's first crop included G1 St James's Palace S. winner Most Improved (Ire) and the star of his second crop was G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G2 Rockfel S. winner Just The Judge (Ire). G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Marcel (Ire) and G1 St Leger winner Harbour Law (Ire) followed, although–disappointingly–Lawman seems subsequently to have fallen out of commercial favour, notwithstanding that he is still in action at Haras du Mazet in France (having started out in Ireland at Ballylinch, where his fee peaked at €25,000).

The popularity of Invincible Spirit's best son Kingman (GB), winner of four consecutive Group 1 mile races as a 3-year-old in the summer of 2014, shows no sign of waning. An immediate hit at stud with his first-crop son Calyx (Ire) winning the G2 Coventry S. in June 2018, Kingman has gone from strength to strength and consistently posts eye-catching statistics when measured by totals of individual stakes winners or black-type ratios. With, to name but three sons, Calyx at Coolmore, four-time Group 1 winner Palace Pier (GB) at Dalham Hall and three-time Group 1 winner Persian King (Ire) at Haras d'Etreham, Kingman could well become a notable sire of sires.

Calyx currently lies in third place in the 2023 first-season sires' table for Britain and Ireland. Invincible Spirit's grandson thus sits ahead of three sons of Invincible Spirit with their first juveniles this year: Inns Of Court (fourth), Invincible Army (eighth) and 2019 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia (12th). All have a chance to become established as long-term residents of the stallion ranks in this part of the world, joining their elders Territories (Ire) and Mayson (GB) and Swiss Spirit (GB).

The 2011 crop which featured Kingman also contained Charm Spirit (Ire), winner of three Group 1 mile races during the 2014 season. He, too is currently in vogue thanks to his very fast son Shaquille (GB), winner during the summer of the G1 Commonwealth Cup and the G1 July Cup. Shaquille looks sure to be popular at Dullingham Park, where he will have a first-season fee in 2024 of £15,000. Another likely future flag-bearer for Invincible Spirit's line is his three-time Group 2-winning son Mutasaabeq (GB) who starts off at the National Stud in 2024 at a fee of £6,500.

Kodiac, too, is well represented by sons and grandsons at stud. As was the case with their father, Ardad (Ire), Kodi Bear (Ire), Prince Of Lir (Ire) and Coulsty (Ire) all started out without any significant blaze of publicity. Each has done plenty to raise his profile since starting to have runners, while Ardad's three-time Group 1-winning first-crop son Perfect Power (Ire) is about to stand his second season at Dalham Hall Stud. The one drawback for the furtherance of the line is that Prince Of Lir's fastest son, G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Live In The Dream (Ire), is a gelding.

Being represented by a 2,000 Guineas winner at the age of 27 would be unusual, but for the redoubtable Invincible Spirit it may well happen.

Sons of Kodiac who have yet to have runners include the dual Group 1-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain (Fr), G2 Coventry S. winner Nando Parrado (GB) and G2 Flying Childers S. winner Ubettabelieveit (Ire). Furthermore, this year's G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess (GB) will join his father on the Tally-Ho roster in 2024 at a fee of €17,500.

Elsewhere, Best Solution (Ire) had his first 2-year-old runners this year in Germany, in which country he recorded two of his three Group 1 victories (at, untypically for the progeny of Kodiac, 2400m). International stud success for stallions sired by Rafha's sons is, of course, commonplace. Most notably, Invincible Spirit briefly shuttled to Australia early in his career and there produced the tough sprinter I Am Invincible (Aus) who has become astonishingly prolific sire of stakes winners of all ages. He deservedly became Australia's champion sire in 2021/22, retained the title last term, is currently leading the standings this season, and is already respected as a sire of sires. The Invincible Spirit horses Cable Bay (Ire), National Defense (GB) and Shalaa (Ire) have all enjoyed success at stud in both hemispheres, while Cable Bay is about to get under way as a sire of sires with his fast son Dragon Symbol (GB) retiring to Whitsbury Manor Stud.

Invincible Spirit's G1 King's Stand S.-winning son Profitable (Ire) has headed out to Turkey ahead of the 2024 season, notwithstanding that he started out well on the Darley roster in Ireland with his first crop of juveniles containing 2021 G2 Queen Mary S. heroine Quick Suzy (Ire). Looking to spread Rafha's influence even farther afield will be the Invincible Spirit horse Digital Age (Ire), a Grade I winner in the USA in 2020 of the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. over nine furlongs on a firm turf track at Churchill Downs. Digital Age stands in South Africa at Mauritzfontein Stud. It should also be mentioned that the treble Group 1 winner Mishriff (Ire), a great grandson of Rafha through his female line, and successful on turf and dirt, is about to make his belated debut at Sumbe in France.

To return to Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, their success at stud has been one of the most heartening bloodstock stories of the 21st century to date. The sire-sons of each look set to ensure that this story will run and run, not to mention that each has plenty of good racehorses still to come. Most obviously, Invincible Spirit's unbeaten 2-year-old son Ghostwriter (Ire) stamped himself as a serious Classic prospect for 2024 when he extended his winning run in the G2 Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket at the end of September. Being represented by a 2000 Guineas winner at the age of 27 would be unusual, but for the redoubtable Invincible Spirit, it may well happen.

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