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Mr Prospector Line Boosted Among Europe’s Busiest Stallions

Covering numbers are more an indication of fashion than of success but, this being, as we so often hear, “a numbers game”, it is worth having a closer look at the Flat stallions in Britain and Ireland who have been gifted books into three figures this year. We will also be looking in more depth at the French covering numbers in the coming days.

According to the statistics recently published by Weatherbys in the annual Return of Mares, there were 62 stallions who covered 100 or more mares in 2022, and that is not taking into account sires such as Crystal Ocean (GB), who covered 338 mares and can legitimately be considered a Flat sire (as can so many in his bracket) but is advertised on the Coolmore National Hunt roster.

As the accompanying table (below) shows, no Flat sires breached the 300-mark, but the four busiest, all standing in Ireland, reached around 250. In Britain, last year's leading first-season sire in that country, Ardad (Ire), was the only horse to pass 200. He covered 205 mares at Overbury Stud, having been sent only 26 mares in 2020. His first set of juveniles were swift enough out of the blocks for him to have a surge of late bookings in 2021, when his book numbered 146.

But how do these numbers break down into sire-lines within sire-lines? It is of course hard to get away from Northern Dancer, whose sons have been so dominant that they now possess their own strong branches within that division. Among these sires tabled, and there are of course other representatives with smaller books, only 10 of the 62 do not have Northern Dancer as a male-line ancestor.

The Mr Prospector line, always far more celebrated in America, has been given a massive boost in this part of the world largely thanks to his great grandson Dubawi (Ire), who will be champion sire in Britain and Ireland for the first time in 2022 and features on this list along with six of his sons – Time Test (GB), Night Of Thunder (Ire), New Bay (GB), Ghaiyyath (Ire), Too Darn Hot (GB), and Space Blues (Ire). It was Mr Prospector's son Seeking The Gold who was responsible for Dubawi's sire Dubai Millennium (GB), while another two sons of Mr P, Machiavellian and Gone West, lead us, eventually, to two names near the very top of this list, newcomer Starman (GB) – a crack sprinter who interestingly has Montjeu (Ire) as his damsire – and Wootton Bassett (GB), who stand at Tally-Ho Stud and Coolmore, respectively.

The only outlier among the group of 62 is Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who, along with Study Of Man (Ire), was one of only two sons of Deep Impact (Jpn) standing in Britain and Ireland. That number has now increased by one with the news that Tosen Stardom (Jpn) is to shuttle from Australia to stand at Ireland's Lemongrove Stud. Saxon Warrior was himself recently represented by a first-crop Grade I winner at the Breeders' Cup in Victoria Road (Ire), and Deep Impact's son Auguste Rodin (Ire) had his trainer Aidan O'Brien and the media ablaze following his victory in the G1 Vertem Futurity. The Sunday Silence line, so dominant in Japan, may yet take root in Europe.

To cover Northern Dancer's influence, in this group at least, we must break it down into five of his sons: Danzig, Sadler's Wells, Try My Best, Storm Bird, and Nureyev.

Of those, the name packing the biggest punch is Danzig, chiefly through his dominant sons Green Desert and Danehill. Sixteen of these busy sires listed here stem from Green Desert and 11 from Danehill.

Notably, from each of those two spring the veteran half-brothers Invincible Spirit (Ire), who has six sons and a grandson on this list, and Kodiac (GB), who has four sons. Arguably, their extraordinary Classic-winning dam Rafha (GB) must take much of the credit for this pair, along with a dynasty which includes new Sumbe recruit Mishriff (GB), but their longevity is also remarkable, with Invincible Spirit listed as having covered 106 mares at the age of 25 this year, while the 21-year-old Kodiac covered 63.

Think Danzig and your mind generally wanders towards speed, but he is also responsible for the Derby winners Sea The Stars (Ire) and Golden Horn (GB), the two best sons of his late grandson Cape Cross (Ire), who is of course also the sire of the recently deceased brilliant dual Oaks winner Ouija Board (GB). That fact in turn makes Cape Cross the damsire of another Derby winner, Australia (GB). All three of those had covering numbers in excess of 150, though Golden Horn had a strong National Hunt contingent in his 2022 book and he has since moved from Dalham Hall Stud to Overbury Stud, where that trend will continue.

Almost half of the stallions on this list – 28 in total – stem from Danzig, and that is surely owing to the speed and precocity more generally associated with this line, which is so much in demand from breeders these days. These include newcomers Palace Pier (GB), A'Ali (Ire), Soldier's Call (GB), Mohaather (GB), Alkumait (GB) and Nando Parrado (GB).

Conversely, the Sadler's Wells/Galileo (Ire) axis is more usually associated with middle-distance performers, though we do have a notable exception in this area at the moment in Europe's leading first-season sire, the G1 Flying Five S. winner Havana Grey (GB), who is the sire of 42 winners and five stakes winners this year and is a great grandson of Galileo. In total, seven of the 10 representatives of the Sadler's Wells line tabled here descend via Galileo, with the other three including Kitten's Joy's son Kameko.

The expanding influence of the Storm Bird/Storm Cat line in this part of the world, chiefly through the latter's sons Giant's Causeway and Hennessy, is highlighted by the fact that nine make this list, with Lope De Vega (Ire), Lucky Vega (Ire), Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), Pinatubo (Ire) and Blue Point (Ire) all representing Giant's Causeway through Shamardal. (Earthlight {Ire} is just bubbling under with a book of 92). No Nay Never, by Hennessy's son Scat Daddy, is becoming increasingly widely represented, but Scat Daddy's Sioux Nation was narrowly the busiest of all this year. No Nay Never will have six sons at stud in Europe in 2023, including Ten Sovereigns. Sergei Prokofiev, the only Scat Daddy stallion in Britain, has been well supported and stands alongside Havana Grey at Whitsbury Manor Stud.

Nureyev's line is hanging in there through Pivotal (GB), whose son Farhh (GB) has compromised fertility, which is a shame as he looks as though he could have made far greater inroads in the stallion tables if he had been able to cover the numbers required to compete these days. His son Far Above (GB) covered a three-figure book in his first year, while of course Pivotal's greatest sire son, Siyouni (Fr), is arguably the most popular stallion in France. Because of his location, his full book is not listed in the Return of Mares for Britain and Ireland, but he is reported by the Aga Khan Studs to have covered 132 mares this year, while his two Coolmore-based sons Sottsass (Fr) and St Mark's Basilica (Fr) covered 126 and 176, respectively.

Finally, Try My Best's branch, via the perhaps unlikely source of the former Coolmore then Shadai resident Waajib (Ire) and his son Royal Applause (GB), has started to flourish through Acclamation (GB). Though the latter, now 23, was just shy of 100 mares himself this year, his sons Mehmas (Ire) and Dark Angel (Ire) covered 249 and 193 mares, while Mehmas's son Supremacy (Ire) was also high on the list with 187.

As the record-breaking first-season sire of 2020, and having backed that up last year by leading the second-crop sires' list, Mehmas's popularity continues to be in the ascendant and not just via his male offspring. In the last few weeks, his daughter Malavath (Ire) topped the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale at €3.2 million, while another, the Grade I winner Going Global (Ire), sold for $2.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in Kentucky.

With Supremacy one year ahead of them, three more young sons of Mehmas join the ranks for 2023: G1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner Minzaal (Ire) is on Shadwell's Derrinstown roster, with Persian Force (Ire) retiring to stand alongside his sire at Tally-Ho Stud, and Caturra (Ire) becoming the first to stand in England, at Overbury Stud.

As we have seen in the recent past with such notable examples as Kendargent (Fr) and Wootton Bassett, starting out with small books of mares does not preclude success, and in fact it can be a breeder's worst nightmare to have one of many of a stallion's offspring if the fickle market suddenly turns its back. But as a guide to who's hot and who's not in the eyes of the commercial sector, the figures in the Return of Mares are always fascinating to peruse. And for those breeders simply with an eye on the racecourse with no sale-ring concerns in between, there are still plenty of options when it comes to well-bred and well-performed stallions which require simply the courage of your own convictions. Blood will out.

British and Irish Flat stallions with three-figure books in 2022

Name No. Mares (Sire)

Sioux Nation 255 (Scat Daddy)

Starman (GB) 254 (Dutch Art (GB))

Mehmas (Ire) 249 (Acclamation (GB))

Wootton Bassett (GB) 249 (Iffraaj (GB))

Ardad (Ire) 205 (Kodiac (GB))

Starspangledbanner (Aus) 202 (Choisir (Aus))

Saxon Warrior (Jpn) 199 (Deep Impact (Jpn))

Kodi Bear (Ire) 194 (Kodiac (GB))

Dark Angel (Ire) 193 (Acclamation (GB))

New Bay (GB) 193 (Dubawi (Ire))

Frankel (GB) 188 (Galileo (Ire))

Supremacy (Ire) 187 (Mehmas (Ire))

Time Test (GB) 181 (Dubawi (Ire))

Night Of Thunder (Ire) (180 Dubawi (Ire))

No Nay Never 178 (Scat Daddy)

St Mark's Basilica (Fr) 176 (Siyouni (Fr))

Cotai Glory (GB) 176 (Exceed And Excel (Aus))

Ten Sovereigns (Ire) 173 (No Nay Never)

Australia (GB 173 (Galileo (Ire))

Lope De Vega (Ire) 168 (Shamardal)

Havana Grey (GB) 166 (Havana Gold (Ire))

Dubawi (Ire) 165 (Dubai Millennium (GB))

Too Darn Hot (GB) 164 (Dubawi (Ire))

Galileo Gold (GB) 163 (Paco Boy (Ire))

Sea The Stars (Ire) 161 (Cape Cross (Ire))

Ghaiyyath (Ire) 161 (Dubawi (Ire))

Space Blues (Ire) 160 (Dubawi (Ire))

Camelot (GB) 159 (Montjeu (Ire))

Pinatubo (Ire) 159 (Shamardal)

Coulsty (Ire) 158 (Kodiac (GB))

Gleneagles (Ire) 155 (Galileo (Ire))

Palace Pier (GB) 154 (Kingman (GB))

Elzaam (Aus) 153 (Redoute's Choice (Aus))

Golden Horn (GB) 152 (Cape Cross (Ire))

Lucky Vega (Ire) 152 (Lope De Vega (Ire))

Sea The Moon (Ger) 152 (Sea The Stars (Ire))

Kingman (GB) 150 (Invincible Spirit (Ire))

Showcasing (GB) 150 (Oasis Dream (GB))

Sergei Prokofiev 150 (Scat Daddy)

U S Navy Flag 144 (War Front)

Ulysses (Ire) 143 (Galileo (Ire))

Blue Point (Ire) 142 (Shamardal)

Inns Of Court (Ire) 141 (Invincible Spirit (Ire))

Invincible Army (Ire) 138 (Invincible Spirit (Ire))

Dandy Man (Ire) 137 (Mozart (Ire))

Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) 134 (Lope De Vega (Ire))

Nathaniel (Ire) 133 (Galileo (Ire))

Nando Parrado (GB) 130 (Kodiac (GB))

Sottsass (Fr) 126 (Siyouni (Fr))

Oasis Dream (GB) 125 (Green Desert)

Magna Grecia (Ire) 120 (Invincible Spirit (Ire))

Profitable (Ire) 118 (Invincible Spirit (Ire))

Far Above (GB) 117 (Farhh (GB))

Bated Breath (GB) 115 (Dansili (GB))

Bungle Inthejungle (GB) 115 (Exceed And Excel (Aus))

Waldgeist (GB) 115 (Galileo (Ire))

A'Ali (Ire) 114 (Society Rock (Ire))

Soldier's Call (GB) 112 (Showcasing (GB))

Churchill (Ire) 108 (Galileo (Ire))

Mohaather (GB) 108 (Showcasing (GB))

Invincible Spirit (Ire) 106 (Green Desert)

Alkumait 105 (Showcasing (GB))

Kameko 102 (Kitten's Joy)

The post Mr Prospector Line Boosted Among Europe’s Busiest Stallions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Coolmore Fees: No Nay Never Up To 175k and Blackbeard To Start At 25k

Off the back of a star-studded season, No Nay Never will stand for €175,000 in 2023, which represents a €50,000 rise, while his dual Group 1-winning son Blackbeard (Ire) will join him on the Coolmore roster next year at a price of €25,000.

No Nay Never has had an exceptional year. Older filly Alcohol Free (Ire) landed the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, but it has been his Coolmore-owned and Aidan O'Brien-trained juveniles that have set tongues wagging this term.

Like his father, Blackbeard landed the G1 Prix Morny in Deauville before doubling his tally at the highest level in the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket.

While he was prematurely retired due to a training injury, Group 1 scorers Little Big Bear (Ire) and Meditate (Ire) sit at the head of the ante-post markets for the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas respectively.

Coolmore's director of sales, David O'Loughlin said, “No Nay Never has had an unbelievable year. The quality of the mares he got off the back of his success has really been shining through and, to have three individual Group 1-winning two-year-olds in the one year, he has caught the attention of a lot of people.

“It has been another big week for him with Meditate winning the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and she is now a leading fancy for the 1,000 Guineas. Little Big Bear is favourite for the 2,000 Guineas, so No Nay Never has a big chance for the first two Classics of the season. That means a lot for us because we are trying to win the Classics.”

Sioux Nation hails from the same sire line being a son of Scat Daddy, and enjoyed a terrific debut season at stud at Coolmore with 43 winners. He will have his fee increased from €10,000 to 17,500 next year. Blackbeard is being backed to make a similar splash in his debut season by O'Loughlin.

He said, “To get a horse like Blackbeard on the roster is hugely exciting as well. Breeders love fast horses and he proved himself of the highest quality this season and was reminiscent of his father when winning the G1 Prix Morny is some style before following up in the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket. That was the icing on the cake of another big season.

“Blackbeard is very like his father-the same colour, shape and he has the movement. Everything a breeder wants, he has. He's also out of a very fast mare who Eddie Lynam trained [Muirin (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire})] so I think a lot of people will be keen to use him.”

O'Loughlin added, “Commercially, what is driving the market is international appeal. When the international market zones in on a particular sire line, it puts a lot of value on that, much more than the domestic market can. No Nay Never is a good example of that as he has international appeal.

“Take Justify as another example, he has had two Group winners in Europe and three stakes winners in America. It's obvious that he is working both sides of the Atlantic-he has the dirt horses and horses who can do it in Europe as well. For breeders, it will help when they use Arizona, Blackbeard and Sioux Nation because they all hail from that exceptional Scat Daddy line. It's all the one line.”

Like Sioux Nation, Coolmore's Saxon Warrior (Jpn) made a big impression with his first crop of runners. As well as having the highly-touted Auguste Rodin (Ire) to look forward to this season, Saxon Warrior came up trumps with Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road (Ire), one of 21 international winners in his first season.

O'Loughlin said, “Saxon Warrior had an exceptional year. Again, he's a horse with international appeal being a son of Deep Impact (Jpn), who was the best horse to stand in Japan. Auguste Rodin is a very special horse and Victoria Road crowned a remarkable year with his victory in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf.

“It's remarkable because Saxon Warrior wasn't the most precocious of horses and, for him to be getting all of these top-class two-year-olds is a big statement. He has some very good two-year-olds and who's to say that Greenland (Ire) won't be the best of them all. I know that a lot of people think he is a high-class horse to look forward to next year. Some big breeders have latched on to him after his debut season and I even sold a nomination to him out here in Keeneland the other day. They think the horse is great value at €35,000.”

Wootton Bassett will stand for €150,000, St Mark's Basilica's 2023 fee is €65,000, and Camelot (GB) is at €60,000. Churchill (Ire), the sire of dual Group 1 winner Vadeni (Fr), has had his fee increased to €30,000, Starspangledbanner (Aus) will stand for €50,000, Australia (GB) and Sottsass (Fr) for €25,000 and Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and Gleneagles (Ire) for €17,500.

Footstepsinthesand, Circus Maximus, Calyx and US Navy Flag are set at €10,000, Arizona (Ire) is €5,000 and Gustav Klimt (Ire) will be available at €4,000.

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Sioux Nation Filly Popular At Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale

The two-day Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale concluded on Thursday with a filly by Sioux Nation heading the final session at €72,000.

Consigned by Noel O'Callaghan's Mountarmstrong Stud, lot 663 is a granddaughter of the G3 Prix du Bois winner Ela Merici (Fr) (Beaudelaire {Fr}) and was bought by the father-and-son team of Con and Neil Sands of Bronson Racing. The filly will be trained by Joseph O'Brien, who currently trains Bronson Racing's 92-rated winning juvenile Goa Gajah (Bay A Bali {Brz}).

A Mehmas (Ire) colt (lot 481) and a filly by his sire Acclamation (GB) (lot 609) each made €70,000. Oghill House Stud consigned the former, who caught the eye of Bobby O'Ryan. His great granddam was Dead Certain (GB) (Absolom {GB}), the winner of the 1989 G1 Cheveley Park S.

Lot 609, out of a Smart Strike half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Hootenanny (Quality Road), was purchased by Jack Davison Racing from the Rathbarry Stud draft.

Thursday's trade resulted in 199 sold (76%) from 263 offered for a gross of €1,863,000. The average was €9,362 (-30%) and the median was €5,500 (-45%). Overall, 394 yearlings (77%) sold from 512 offered for a gross of €3,705,400. The average was €9,405 (-33%) and the median dropped to €5,500 (-39%), but it should be noted that the 2021 edition of the sale included a dispersal from Derrinstown Stud following the death of Shadwell's Sheikh Hamdan.

BBA Ireland was the leading buyer by gross over the two-day stand just like last year, and purchased 24 head for €264,300. Clare Manning's Boherguy Stud edged out David Cox's Baroda Stud for leading consignor, with 18 sold for €290,500 versus 26 sold for €236,500.

Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, “You're only as good as your last sale” is an oft used adage when analysing bloodstock sales and we are all guilty of only measuring against the immediate predecessor.

“Twelve months ago the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale benefited from a large dispersal from Derrinstown Stud following the sad passing of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum who was such a valued and revered supporter of Goffs. That draft accounted for a quarter of the turnover with eight of the top 10 prices and propelled the sale to record breaking levels headed by a top price of €180,000.

“Those lofty heights were always going to be out of reach and so it is that the statistics from the last two days are well behind 2021. However we are far from despondent when reviewing this year's renewal as it has finished ahead of every other incarnation of the Open/Autumn Yearling Sale since its inception in 2010 with a second-best turnover, average and median flowing from a reasonable clearance rate of 77%. Whilst some of these figures do not necessarily point to massive returns for breeders, they do demonstrate a vibrancy to the proceedings and those that appealed most had plenty of admirers.

“Demand over the two days has been driven by a truly international buying bench with a flood of overseas buyers headed by a large group from Italy who accounted for nigh on 100 yearlings and another strong contingent from Eastern Europe who bought over 50 with a further 20 plus heading for China. There were also significant parties from Scandinavia, Germany, the Gulf Region, Libya, USA and France taking on spirited bidders from the UK and Ireland. All of these international visitors were attracted to Kildare Paddocks by the reputation of Irish breeders and their world class bloodlines which allow our passionate Purchaser Attraction Team, working in tandem with our network of international agents and the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, to trumpet their attributes on the global stage. How lucky we are to have the assistance of the latter group as they provide an invaluable and unique service to those who choose to sell here whilst the superb IRE Incentive is a real plus for sellers in Ireland.

“As the sale closes we can reflect on vibrant, strong and positive renewals of all three parts of the Irish National Yearling Sale, each of which graphically makes our case that Irish breeders can sell, and sell extremely well, to the world at Goffs as highlighted by the Orby sale topper of €2.6M which proved to be the world's top-priced yearling filly of 2022 and a high of €300,000 at Sportsman's, the highest priced yearling ever sold in Ireland outside the Orby Sale.”

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Sioux Nation Busiest Flat Stallion; Foal Crop Rises

Coolmore's Sioux Nation topped the charts of the busiest Flat stallions in Britain and Ireland in 2022, with 255 mares covered, just head of Tally-Ho Stud's new recruit Starman (GB) on 254.

Weatherbys' recently published Return of Mares shows that Starman's stable-mate Mehmas (Ire) was sent 249 mares, the same number as Coolmore resident Wootton Bassett (GB), while the most active sire in Britain was Overbury Stud's Ardad (Ire), who covered 205. The only other British-based stallion in the top ten on numbers was the champion sire Frankel (GB), who was sent 188 mares.

The number of foals born in Britain and Ireland in 2022 has again risen slightly, according to figures published by Weatherbys including returns to September 30. The number of live foals registered to that date is 13,275, compared to 12,920 in 2021 and 12,778 in 2020.

That figure breaks down to 4,518 foals born in Britain, which is a rise of 6% from 4,282 in 2021. Ten years ago the British crop had dropped to 4,227, but it had climbed gradually to a recent high of 4,726 in 2018.

In Ireland, 8,757 foals were registered, a 1% rise from 8,638 last year, from a 2017 high point of 9,044.

The number of broodmares at stud rose accordingly, with 22,832 registered in 2022. In Britain, 6,610 mares were covered (82% of those reported at stud), while in Ireland that number was 11,398 (77%).

The numbers of stallions standing in Ireland has remained constant at 187, while in Britain there were 14 fewer in 2022, with a total of 125 at stud. Some of the National Hunt brigade traditionally cover large books and the busiest stallion overall was the Whytemount Stud resident Affinisea (Ire), a Sea The Stars (Ire) half-brother to Soldier Of Fortune (Ire), who covered 374 mares. Another son of Sea The Stars standing under the National Hunt banner, Crystal Ocean (GB), covered 338.

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