stallion retirement | Horse Racing Free Tips

Former Australian champion sire and influential shuttle stallion Exceed And Excel (Aus) (Danehill), described as “an amazing horse from day dot”, has been retired from stud duties by Darley at the age of 23.

The announcement came on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the sprinter's victory in the G1 Newmarket H. at Flemington. After that win for owners Nick Moraitis and Alan Osburg, he was bought by Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum as a stallion prospect and made one final start for Tim Martin in the July Cup in the UK. Exceed And Excel was crowned champion sprinter in Australia in 2003/04, with seven wins from 11 career starts, six of which came at Group level, including the G2 Todman S.

Since those days he has compiled a comprehensive record at stud both in his native Australia and during shuttle stints at both Dalham Hall Stud in England and Kildangan Stud in Ireland.

“We priced him at A$50,000 in his first season (at stud) and that was aggressive back then. He was immediately very popular, he covered a really good book first year and they sold very well,” said Darley Australia's Head of Stallions Alastair Pulford.

“His first crop was absolutely outstanding so he really announced himself as a stallion immediately. Exceedingly Good won the first two-year-old race of the season at Flemington and we thought, 'We're in business here'.

“A few months later he quinellaed both the divisions of the Blue Diamond Preludes. He got the Blue Diamond winner in his second crop, Reward For Effort, who went on to a career at stud himself.

“His sixth crop was an exceptional crop; we sent a lot of high-class mares of our own to him that year. The level of mares he was getting was high and that crop included the Golden Slipper winner Overreach, Guelph and Sidestep.”

One of the few reverse shuttlers to properly make a mark in Europe, Exceed And Excel's northern hemisphere Group/Grade 1 winners include Margot Did (GB), Excelebration (Ire), Outstrip (GB) and Mischief Magic (Ire). Most recently he was represented by a British Classic winner when the homebred Mawj (Ire) won last year's 1,000 Guineas for Godolphin and Saeed Bin Suroor. He is also the broodmare sire of Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and, through Outstrip, features as the grandsire of Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip (Fr).

Bred by the Ascot Breeding Partnership, Exceed And Excel is a son of Patrona (Lomond) and was bought for A$375,000 at the 2002 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

As he embarks on his retirement he is the sire of 18 Group/Grade 1 winners worldwide and is the only Australian-bred horse to have sired more than 200 stakes winners.The elite group of seven stallions to have achieved that feat is completed by his own sire Danehill, Sadler's Wells, Galileo (Ire), Dubawi (Ire), More Than Ready and Deep Impact (Jpn).

Along with the aforementioned Anthony Van Dyck, Exceed And Excel's record as a broodmare sire in Europe is extended by the Group 1 winners Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}). His sons remaining at stud in Ireland include Cotai Glory (GB), Bungle Inthejungle (GB) and Kuroshio (Aus).

Godolphin Australia's bloodstock manager Jason Walsh also paid tribute to the horse. He said, “He's been the most reliable source of early speed for so many seasons in both hemispheres, and his effect on the breed, and certainly on our organisation, globally has been profound.

“The other thing that makes him remarkable is the number of seasons he would have shuttled consecutively, just amazing.”

“He's been a pleasure to have around, from a personality perspective he's a true gentleman and has been a statesman in our stallion complex for so long. He's got some outstanding young stock coming through from some of our best-performed young mares.”

The post Exceed And Excel Retires After ‘Journey of Excellence’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Klaravich Stables, Inc.’s Complexity (Maclean’s Music) will stand stud at Brereton and Elizabeth Jones’s Airdrie Stud upon his retirement from racing, the farm announced Thursday.

Trained throughout his career by Chad Brown, Complexity was a dominant winner of his most recent start, the GII Kelso H. at Belmont, where he defeated multiple Grade I winner Code of Honor (Noble Mission) by two lengths in a time of 1:33 4/5, earning a 110 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest number earned by any horse at a mile or longer in 2020. The Daily Racing Form currently lists him as the favorite for both the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Complexity was named a TDN Rising Star in his six-furlong two-year-old debut at Saratoga when drawing off to win by 4 ¼ lengths in 1:09 3/5. Made the favorite for the Grade I Champagne S. in his second start, Complexity led every step of the way through fractions of :22 2/5, :45 1/5 and 1:09 2/5 en route to a three-length victory. His final time of 1:34 3/5 trails only Uncle Mo (by .12 seconds) in the last 35 runnings of race, better than Jackie’s Warrior, Tiz the Law, Scat Daddy, Daredevil, Union Rags, Maria’s Mon, First Samurai, Dehere, Easy Goer and Forty Niner amongst more recent winners.

While a quarter crack partially derailed his sophomore campaign, Complexity still managed to run one of the fastest Ragozin numbers of his three-year-old crop when earning a 3 in a dominant 7 ¼ length win against older horses at Aqueduct. As a four-year-old in 2020, Complexity has again returned to top form. Following an impressive allowance victory over the Win Win Win (Hat Trick {Jpn}) at Belmont, Complexity laid down fractions of :44 3/5 and 1:08 4/5 amidst a blinding rainstorm in Saratoga’s GI 1 Forego S. before being caught in the last few jumps by Win Win Win.

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Holdings, LLC, Complexity is out of the Yes It’s True mare Goldfield, who has produced three black-type horses from five to race including Valadorna, winner of the Grade III Doubledogdare S. and a narrow second in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. A $375,000 September yearling purchase by Mike Ryan, Complexity was the most expensive yearling from any of the early crops of Maclean’s Music.

Said his trainer Chad Brown, “”Complexity is a very rare horse that has been number one at every stage of his life. He was the most expensive yearling by his sire, the most highly regarded two-year-old at Stonestreet and, by far, our stable’s best colt of his crop. He’s an exceptional talent.”

Added Airdrie’s Bret Jones; “We are extremely grateful to Seth Klarman and Chad Brown for the opportunity to stand Complexity. His resume is that of a sensational stallion prospect. He was a brilliantly precocious Champagne winner that has trained on to run the highest speed figure of any horse in America at a mile or more. He’s by a truly ascendant sire that looks to have every chance to be important. He’s from a top-class Stonestreet female family, he was purchased by one of the all-time great judges in Mike Ryan and his talents are revered by one of the all-time great trainers in Chad Brown. Our hope is that he will be Mr. Klarman’s next Breeders’ Cup winner and we are committed to giving him tremendous mare support in working to make him a great Airdrie stallion.”

Complexity will stand for $12,500 S&N for any contract signed and returned before this year’s Breeders’ Cup.

Airdrie also announced the entirety of its 2021 fees. Said Bret Jones, “In keeping with what should always be the goal of any stallion farm, we feel we have priced our stallions where breeders have the opportunity to profit in the sales ring and help their mare produce Saturday horses. We are extremely proud of our young roster that includes Cairo Prince, the leading third-crop sire by stakes winners, stakes horses, graded stakes winners and graded stakes horses; Upstart, who is currently the number one first-crop sire in America by winners and is equaled only by Maclean’s Music with his four 80+ Beyer performances by his two-year-olds amongst all stallions; and Summer Front, who is outpaced only by American Pharoah and Constitution with three graded stakes winners from his first crop of 3-year-olds. All three of these leading young stallions began their stallion careers at a fee of $10,000 and we feel demonstrate the success that comes from the tremendous support they receive from Airdrie and our incredible, loyal breeders. Our Grade I sires Creative Cause and Include have come from similarly humble beginnings to become successful, proven stallions and we could not be more bullish on our young roster that includes Collected, Preservationist, McCraken, American Freedom, Divisidero and, of course, our new stallion, Complexity. As always, we look forward to the upcoming season and helping the wonderful breeders that make our sport happen in any way we can.”

Their 2021 Roster & Fees (all fees on Stands & Nurses terms*) is as follows:

American Freedom, $6,000
Cairo Prince, $15,000
Collected, $17,500
Complexity, $12,500
Creative Cause, $7,500
Divisidero, $5,000
Include, $5,000
McCraken, $6,000
Preservationist, $10,000
Summer Front, $10,000
Upstart, $10,000

*5% discount applies for payment by Nov 1 of year bred, on LF terms

**New for 2021

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