It's that time of year: with just weeks to go to the start of the turf season, thoughts are turning to which of this year's freshman sires will be making a splash with their first runners. With 26 European first-crop stallions to consider, we have asked the views of those who have seen a good range of young stock at the sales. First in the hot seat is bloodstock agent Ross Doyle.
He says, “We have a system where we see every single horse at the foal sales and the yearling sales amongst our team, so we get a very good overview on what stallions are throwing, and types and temperaments. Obviously we buy for other people but when we're buying for Richard Hannon, we're often buying horses on spec, so our budget is limited to a point.
“So we are able to take a bit of a gamble on a physical by a stallion that we like the look of, where other agents might be tied down a bit to instructions, or an owner wanting a specific established stallion. And we've been lucky over the years with first-season sires—and don't get me wrong, it's a big gamble—but Mehmas's sire Acclamation (GB) is a good example. From the first crop of Acclamation I think we bought seven yearlings. Thinking back, at the time, they weren't expensive horses—[dual listed winner and Group 3-placed] Cake (Ire) was £13,000, and that's the way we roll, we have to take a punt on certain horses every year.
“We bought close to 100 yearlings last year and that includes four by Ribchester (Ire), four by Profitable (Ire), three or four by Ardad (Ire), a couple by Aclaim (Ire), and a couple by Churchill (Ire). As far as physicals go, all those horses were stamping their stock in their own way, and in the way you'd like them to. They are all getting a consistent type of horses that we liked.
“I see there are an awful lot of Ardads in the breeze-ups, which is interesting. The breeze-up men must have liked the look of them. As a racehorse, he was hard-knocking all year long at a very good level, and he's a good-looking horse with a good pedigree, by one of the outstanding sires in Europe in many years. It would also be no surprise if Aclaim did well—he's by Acclamation with a very good pedigree, from Montjeu's family. He got a very nice type and I really liked the way the Aclaims improved with time, even from the foal sales to yearlings. I think that's a great sign in young stock. They were grand types as foals but they really came back as very good yearlings.
“It's the first time in a good couple of years that we have really seen five or six horses that potentially have a solid chance on the types they are getting or on how they're bred. That makes it an extremely competitive first-season sire list. If I was to tip one, I think Ribchester has a good chance on the types he got, and I know the feedback coming from Hannon's and other places that have them is that they've got lovely temperaments and they carry themselves well. They seem to be showing all the right signs. Churchill is probably going to be a slower burner but we liked his stock as well.”
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