As previously announced, the dual Group 1 winner Mostahdaf (Ire) joins the roster for next year and will be introduced at a fee of £15,000. The son of Frankel (GB) is rated joint-second in the world rankings with Arc winner Ace Impact (Fr) on a mark of 128, just a pound lower than  Equinox (Jpn).

Shadwell's star turn Baaeed (GB), who was the top-rated turf horse in the world in 2022, remains at his opening fee of £80,000, having covered 162 mares in his first book. 

“Shadwell are delighted to welcome Mostahdaf to the stallion roster for 2024,” said Stephen Collins, Shadwell's European bloodstock manager. 

“He was an outstanding winner of both the G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes, where he was the highest-rated winner of the race since Dubai Millennium, and the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes: a remarkable historic double as only two horses have won both races in the same season in the last 50 years.

“Mostahdaf has a pedigree packed with natural speed, being closely related to champion sprinters Pastoral Pursuits and Goodricke, and he was a winner himself over seven furlongs on debut. He is a quality, well balanced, imposing individual with an athletic walk and, being a son of the remarkable Frankel, he should prove very popular with breeders.” 

Mohaather (GB), whose first runners will appear on the track next season, completes the line-up in England and will stand at a fee of £12,500, which is down from €15,000 this year when he covered 99 mares. Tasleet (GB) will not stand for Shadwell this year, with a new location for the sire of top sprinter Bradsell (GB) to be announced in due course.

Derrinstown Stud in Ireland is home to Minzaal (Ire), whose fee is unchanged in his second season and remains at €15,000. 

“Minzaal is the highest-rated son of both his sensational sire Mehmas and the best at stud of his grandsire Acclamation,” said Collins. “He covered 161 mares in his first season. As the highest-rated sprinter in Europe in 2022, we are expecting him to prove popular yet again.” 

Classic winner Awtaad (Ire), the sire of Group/Grade 1 winners Anmaat (Ire)  and Anisette (GB) in 2023, will remain at his fee of €5,000. 

Collins added, “Shadwell's stallion roster gives breeders the opportunity to use top-class stallions at affordable, commercially attractive prices. We recognise the prevailing market correction at the yearling sales this autumn and all our stallions will have special live foal concessions. We look forward to discussing your requirements for the 2024 breeding season.” 

Shadwell has also launched a new banner to unite the European arms of the operation: Beech House Stud and Nunnery Stud, Derrinstown Stud, and the racing operation. 

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It takes a good horse to win at Royal Ascot once, but a proper horse to return triumphant, dropped back in trip to the minimum and with a little to prove as his comeback from the injury that curtailed his juvenile season gathered momentum.

Watson will have dreaded the sound of stewards' klaxon not long after Bradsell passed the post in front after he drifted a little towards the runner-up and last season's crack sprinter Highfield Princess (Fr). The trainer had the 2021 Commonwealth Cup all but snatched from his clutches when Dragon Symbol (GB) bumped Campanelle (Ire) in running and was demoted to second. Tension was writ large on Watson's face as he awaited the outcome of a prolonged stewards' enquiry, already in the winner's circle but reluctant to say too much in interviews being conducted as if he had won. Just half an hour earlier, Watson, his stable jockey Hollie Doyle, and Shaikh Nasser had had to settle for second with Army Ethos (GB) in the Coventry, a great run in itself for the Shalaa (Ire) colt who had made just one previous winning start. 

Finally able to relax when it was confirmed that Bradsell had given him his third Royal Ascot victory and, more importantly, a second Group 1, he said, “I know we're seen as a big yard, but for a yard like us to be winning a Group 1 here is the best thing on the planet. There was dread when that bing-bong happened, especially having just been chinned in the Coventry.”

When Watson spoke to TDN last week, he was effusive in his praise of bloodstock agent Tom Biggs, the youngest member of the Blandford Bloodstock team with whom he has formed a strong partnership. Biggs, who appears far too self-effacing for his chosen profession, was another one blowing his cheeks out with relief as the trainer went to collect his trophy.

“We don't have huge budgets, we work hard at the sales and these days don't come along very often. He's just a very fast horse,” he said.

Biggs and Watson bought Bradsell, who became the first Group 1 winner for his Shadwell sire Tasleet (GB), from last year's Goffs UK Breeze-up Sale from Mark Grant for £47,000. He then changed hands privately following his nine-length debut success to make his first start in the Victorious Racing colours in the Coventry S. One run later a mid-race stumble in the Phoenix S. and subsequent leg fracture put paid to the rest of his juvenile campaign.

“It was quite a nasty injury but his temperament is so fantastic,” Biggs added. “When he breezed I loved his action and the way he got his head down and he got better the further he went. He's just a great horse to be involved with.”

Bradsell was bred by Deborah O'Brien, who has moved up two generations in the sire-line for this year's mating for his dam Russian Punch (GB) (Archipenko). The mare is now in foal to Oasis Dream (GB).

Bradsell's successor in the Coventry roll of honour, River Tiber (Ire), was a member of the final French crop of Wootton Bassett (GB) conceived at €40,000 before he joined the Coolmore ranks. It is hard to imagine that there are not bigger and better things to come from this stallion given the line-up of mares he has covered since moving to Coolmore, where his fee has jumped to €100,000 then €150,000. As an extra vote of confidence in Wootton Bassett, MV Magnier and Peter Brant paid 480,000gns last year for the subsequent Coventry winner at Tattersalls October Book 1. His breeder Ger Morrin of Pier House Stud would have been celebrating then, but this is where it's really at, and Morrin was all smiles as he accepted congratulations from the Coolmore camp and many others alongside the winner's circle.

“Fabulous,” he said. “He was always a fabulous-looking horse. He nearly died as a foal and thankfully we were able to save him. These are great people and he was good-looking yearling so they came and bought him.”

Morrin added that River Tiber's dam Transcendence (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}) is now back in foal to Wootton Bassett. 

The Tabor colours carried by River Tiber were soon back in action aboard Paddington (GB), who made it a memorable day for the group of Coolmore owners by handing out a comprehensive defeat to Juddmonte's Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the battle of the Guineas winners in the St James's Palace S. Relatively rarely for these two superpowers of the breeding world, neither colt is a homebred. 

For Aidan O'Brien, Paddington's victory was particularly significant as it took him past Sir Michael Stoute as the most successful trainer at Royal Ascot with 83 wins to his credit, nine of which have come in the St James's Palace S.

While Ryan Moore, with three winners on the day, stole the limelight from the retiring (eventually) Frankie Dettori, the leading owner-breeder honours unquestionably went to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum. His Triple Time (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) got the meeting off to a great start with victory in the Queen Anne S. for Kevin Ryan and Neil Callan, and a double was completed in the Wolferton with the Roger Varian-trained Royal Champion (Ire) (Shamardal).

The importance of a royal champion to British horseracing cannot be understated and it can only be hoped that the sport now has two. We have grown accustomed over many decades to the welcome message in the front of the racecard being in the name of 'Elizabeth R'. This year, for the first time, a joint message was signed 'Charles R' and 'Camilla R'. 

Significantly, the new King and Queen led the royal procession for the first day of the meeting and will do so throughout. Joining them in the carriages, perhaps symbolically, was Ralph Beckett, their first trainer back in 2008 of a homebred filly bred in the January after they married. Fittingly, she was a daughter of King's Best, named Royal Superlative (GB). The colours of the royal couple have changed now to those distinguished purple and red silks made famous in the modern era by the runners of Queen Elizabeth II. 

This year's royal welcome message was concluded by acknowledging the owners, breeders and trainers who make this meeting possible. The King and Queen said, “It is a huge and rare achievement to have a runner at Royal Ascot and we very much hope that you all enjoy the experience.”

Judging by the scenes of revelry around the bandstand and in the car parks post-racing, a good day was had by many. One down, four to go. 

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“I don't think it could be overstated how important Baaeed coming along, and the timing of it, was,” Gold told Brian Sheerin.

Baaeed's significance as a racehorse was exemplified by his recent ratification as the top-rated turf horse in the world in 2022, his mark of 135 making him the clear leader among the offspring of his sire Sea The Stars (Ire), ahead even of the former Horse of the Year Crystal Ocean (GB), who shared that accolade with Enable (GB) and Waldgeist (GB) in 2019 on a rating of 128. But when a colt retires to stud, the slate is in a sense wiped clean and he has it all to prove once more.

Baaeed will not be without support in this regard, however. It is perhaps no surprise to hear Will Wright, Shadwell's UK nominations and European marketing manager, say, “He has gone down exceptionally well.”

Since late November, breeders have been inspecting him, first at Beech House Stud during the December Sales, and later at his new base at Nunnery Stud's stallion unit, which was once home to his relations Nashwan, Unfuwain, and Nayef, with the latter still in residence in retirement. 

“It's a privilege to have a horse like Baaeed,” Wright continues. “From a Shadwell perspective, it has obviously been a wonderful journey right from moment one and his win at Leicester, and all the way through. All that excitement is now transferred to the Nunnery. Everyone here has got that buzz. To have a horse who was as good as him, bred in the Shadwell blue, and who traces all the way back to Height Of Fashion, it's a credit to Sheikh Hamdan and his family for all that work that he put in.”

Baaeed's dam, the French listed winner Aghareed (Kingmambo), had quite the year in 2022, and it was Baaeed's full-brother Hukum (GB) who who got the ball rolling for the 14-year-old mare with his victory last March in the G2 Dubai City of Gold at Meydan, a win naturally enjoyed by his owner Sheikha Hissa on her home turf. Hukum, now six, backed that up with his first Group 1 success in the Coronation Cup at Epsom, though his winning performance sadly came at a high price as he sustained an injury that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Baaeed in the meantime was diligently adding to the two Group 1 races he won as a three-year-old by bowling from race to race at four, winning the Lockinge in May, Queen Anne in June, Sussex in July, and then, stepping beyond a mile for the first time, adding the coveted Juddmonte International to his record at his trainer William Haggas's beloved York in August. As history relates, Baaeed's perfect ten remained just that, and he was defeated for the first time in his eleventh and final race on Ascot's Champions Day, where the previous year he had beaten Palace Pier (GB) in a thrilling renewal of the Queen Elizabeth II S.

That transpired to be the final occasion on which the late Queen attended her racecourse, making Baaeed, with his roots firmly in the royal broodmare band, a fitting winner of the race named in her honour. That same day, Shadwell's homebred filly Eshaada (GB) won the QIPCO British Champion Fillies & Mares S., and for her first cover this season the daughter of Muhaarar (GB) will be among Baaeed's smart first book, as will the dual Group 1 winner Nazeef (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

The hallmark of Baaeed's racing career, along with his obvious athletic talent, was his apparently rock-solid temperament, a facet of his nature which was referred to regularly by his jockey Jim Crowley. The buzz of the big days didn't bother him, and this laidback attitude has continued as Baaeed settles in to his new Norfolk home. 

“When he first came in we were actually a little worried that he was too relaxed, but that's just him,” Wright notes. “His temperament is something else and that's a sign of him being the complete package: the ability to listen to the handler, to the rider, and that has helped him settle in. He's not fussed over at all. He's just a relaxed horse and that makes everyone's life a lot easier.”

He adds, “We had our parade during the December Sales and my phone has not stopped ringing. Stephen Collins's phone has not stopped ringing. We had nominations being applied for from before he retired. It has to be a careful selection, and it's been incredibly difficult, but we've got an exceptional book of mares, and breeders that have seen him have not been disappointed.”

Baaeed may come with an obvious wow factor but he will still have to earn his laurels in the stallion yard along with his three fellow young residents. Farthest ahead in this regard is Tasleet (GB). One of two sons of Showcasing (GB) on the roster, he made an encouraging start with his first juveniles last season. Leading the pack was Bradsell (GB), winner of the G2 Coventry S. for Archie Watson and Bahrain-based Victorious Racing.

“We were gutted when [Bradsell] picked up a setback that knocked him out for the rest of the year. In the Coventry he defeated Blackbeard, Persian Force, Royal Scotsman, and did it in fine style. That shows us the mark of [Tasleet's] ability as a sire and that was recognised last year as he covered his biggest and best book yet. If they can replicate anywhere near what his two-year-olds did last year with the quantity that's going to be on the track, he'll be an incredibly hot prospect.”

Waiting in the wings with his first runners for the coming season is the imposing homebred Eqtidaar (Ire), winner of the G1 Commonwealth Cup and an Invincible Spirit (Ire) half-brother to the 2,000 Guineas runner-up Massaat (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}).

“He's the sort of horse who I think is flying under the radar but we could be telling a different story come May if he has a few early runners, and we've been hearing good things from from buyers and trainers alike,” says Wright.

Then there's Mohaather (GB), another son of Showcasing bred by Gaie Johnson Houghton from her classy family which includes the G1 Queen Anne S. winner Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}). His first foals caught the eye of many a good judge last November and that commercial popularity looks sure to carry through with the sleek dark brown Mohaather's first yearlings. 

“He was an incredibly talented racehorse. His Sussex Stakes win, when he defeated Circus Maximus, Kameko and Siskin, wasn't his only his day in the sun. He was a  group winner at two, three and four, winning the Horris Hillß at two, and the Greenham at three,” says Wright.

“The foal prices during the sales reached 110,000gns and we supported him ourselves. People are coming to him in the third year off the back of that.” 

Baaeed is not the only newcomer at Nunnery Stud as Will Wright only joined the Shadwell team last October, taking over the role of Tom Pennington.

“I have to pinch myself joining at this time,” he admits. “To have a horse like Baaeed on your doorstep along with an exceptionally exciting roster of stallions, you really can't ask for much more.”

If you missed seeing the Shadwell stallions in November but are in Newmarket for this week's February Sale, Eqtidaar, Mohaather and Tasleet will all be available for viewing at Shadwell's Beech House Stud, close to Tattersalls, on Thursday and Friday from 10am to 3pm.

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The aim of this exercise has been to show the average profit for stallions at each of four different levels of the market according to their yearling prices of last year. Those youngsters were of course conceived in 2020, and the table takes into account the stallions' fees at that time plus a general keep fee for the mare and foal/yearling as well as sundry costs and sales expenses of £20,000. Only stallions showing an average profit with five or more yearlings sold last year have featured in these tables and assessments have already been published for stallions standing at £50,000 and above, between £20,000 and £49,999, and earlier this week for those at £10,000 to £19,999.

Next week we will also consider the value among those sires who have not yet had yearlings at the sales, but for now we will deal with the end of the market that will particularly resonate with a wide range of smaller breeders, involving stallions who were standing at less than £10,000 in 2020.

We can sadly discount the name at the top of the list as Adlerflug (Ger) is no longer with us. The German champion died in April 2021, halfway through covering the mares who will have provided his small final crop. This penultimate crop was not large either, which tends to be the norm for Germany, but his yearling results reflect what was then Adlerflug's growing international status on the track. He was standing at his highest level when he died, but even then a €16,000 fee looked incredibly reasonable. With this class act no longer available we can look instead to his sons at stud, which include the brilliant Arc winner Torquator Tasso (Ger), who is about to embark on his first season at Gestut Auenquelle, and the German Derby winner In Swoop (Ire), who covered a large book at the Beeches Stud in Co Waterford and whose first foals are expected imminently. In Swoop's full-brother and fellow Group 1 winner Ito (Ger) was recently transferred from Germany to stand at Yorton Stud in Wales.

Still very much in active service and now flying high beyond this tier is Mehmas (Ire), a horse we've heard plenty about over the last few years and it is easy to imagine that will continue. The son of Acclamation (GB) actually stood at his lowest fee in 2020 of €7,500 in his fourth season but then his first runners woke everyone up to his prowess and he hasn't looked back, climbing to €25,000 then €50,000 and now €60,000. There will be no trouble encouraging mare owners to use him even at this level, and as our table shows, his first runners helped Mehmas's second crop of yearlings to sell for an average price which was 11.6 times his fee back then.

He will soon face competition from his own sons as three of them — Minzaal (Ire), Persian Force (Ire) and Caturra (Ire) — have already been retired to studs in Ireland and Britain and he can be regarded as one of the most exciting young stallions in Europe.

Ardad (Ire) was a year behind Mehmas in retiring to stud and the yearlings shown here represent his smallest crop of only 19. Once his first runners hit the track in 2021 and started winning early, the mares visiting him at Overbury Stud suddenly increased in number and he has 98 yearlings registered this year. In 2020, Ardad's fee had remained at his opening mark of £6,500 (it dropped to £4,000 in 2021 and is now £12,500) and, like Mehmas, they sold for an average price which was more than 11 times his fee. He too has been joined in the stallion ranks by one of his sons, the treble Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire). 

Ardad still looks good value at his adjusted fee, and the same can be said for Havana Grey (GB), who was also standing at £6,500 in 2020 but has risen to £18,500 on the back his first-season sires' championship laurels. The winners came thick and fast for the Whitsbury Manor Stud resident last year and it will be intriguing to see how they fare as three-year-olds. He trained on himself, from starting his campaign as an April juvenile and running eight times each at two and three before landing his Group 1 on Irish Champions Weekend in his second season. With a whopping 81 of last year's yearlings making on average nine times the fee for which they were conceived and showing average profit of £31,871, it was clearly a good move to be in the Havana Grey camp in his second year at stud.

As we can see, and for obvious reasons, not many of the stallions near the top of this table are still covering at fees within this tier, and that is the case for Kodi Bear (Ire), whose lowest fee of €6,000 came in 2019 and 2020 and is now €15,000, while Cotai Glory (GB), who brought more first-season sire glory to Tally-Ho Stud the year after Mehmas, is now €12,500, having previously been €5,000. The Platinum Queen (Ire) was the star for the latter last year and she subsequently fetched 1.2 million gns when sold to Katsumi Yoshida. That obviously doesn't figure in Cotai Glory's yearlings figures which were good nonetheless, at an average nine times his fee and average profit of £17,478 for 47 yearlings sold. That figure was just slightly below Rathbarry Stud's Kodi Bear, whose average profit was £18,247 for 32 sold.

Two sons of Invincible Spirit, Invincible Army (Ire) and Inns Of Court (Ire) have potentially exciting seasons ahead of them with their first runners. The vibes appeared to be very positive about Yeomanstown Stud's Invincible Army, who was dropped from a starting fee of €10,000 to €7,500, where he remains. Given that these yearlings were conceived off that higher opening mark, his average profit of £14,896 is decent from 72 yearlings sold and he is at a level which makes him very attractive if his first crop of runners deliver in the way which appears to be anticipated. 

Similar comments apply to Tally-Ho's Inns Of Court, who had a massive group of yearlings at the sales last year with 122 sold for average profit of £3,052. His fee has been kept at a lower level, dropping from an initial €7,500 to €5,000.

With these two stallions, as with Highclere Stud's Land Force (Ire), who also has his first runners this year, there is of course the chance for things to go very much in the breeeders' favour if they make a promising start and sustain it through to when their later crops are being offered at the sales. The risk involved is often reflected in dips in fees in the third and fourth seasons, though in Land Force's case he started an acceptable level of £6,500 for one year and had been £5,000 since then. Again, there were some favourable comments from yearling buyers, to the extent that 75 of his first-crop yearlings sold for an average price of £32,779, or five times his fee, at average profit of £6,279.

We'll see what the coming months bring for these young stallions as the eagerly anticipated early juvenile races get underway. One whose early results were encouraging on the track last year was Tasleet (GB), one of two sons of Showcasing (GB) to be standing at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud. Considering the increasing focus on success at Royal Ascot, a first-crop G2 Coventry S. winner is just what the doctor ordered for any budding sire, and that is exactly what Tasleet had in Bradsell (GB), one of 16 winners for the sire last season. The Archie Watson-trained colt went amiss when contesting the G1 Keeenland Phoenix S. but is reported to be on the comeback trail. Bradsell clearly has plenty of talent, so let's hope he is able to show that again this year.

Tasleet started out at £6,000 and has returned to that fee after two years at £5,000, but he remains competitively priced to give breeders a return on their investment. His average profit last year was £6,304 for 23 yearlings sold. 

Cheveley Park Stud's Twilight Son (GB) is another who has remained at an accessible price for breeders. He's still at his 2020 fee of £7,000, and his yearlings from that crop made on average five times that fee, with an average profit of £8,942. Both his sire and grandsire, Kyllachy (GB) and Pivotal (GB), were hugely dependable and successful members of the Cheveley Park Stud roster and there is no reason that this dual Group 1-winning sprinter can't develop into a similarly reliable sire capable of getting some fast and commercial offspring if granted enough support. 

VALUE PODIUM

Gold: Tasleet

It is an important year for him but his support is growing and he has been kept at an affordable level to give both him and those who use him a chance.

Silver: Cotai Glory 

Yes, his fee has now crept up into the next bracket but not by much and his star package The Platinum Queen was no fluke. There is some depth to his stakes horses from just two crops to race so far, and he can continue the solid work of his sire Exceed And Excel (Aus) as a dependable source of good sprinters. 

Bronze: Ardad 

He too is now in a higher fee bracket, but his fee remains sensible. This year's crop of juveniles is small, but he covered bigger and better books in the last two years, making it a reasonable proposition to use him now in anticipation of plenty more to come from his offspring on the track.

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Those earnings were propped up by big sales race winners Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and Eddie's Boy (GB), with the latter going on to bag a Group 3 before selling for 320,000gns at the Tattersalls horses-in-training sale in October.

Havana Grey had 36 winners for 76 runners this year and his progeny recorded total earnings of £1,074,697, which was almost £420,000 more than his nearest rival Sioux Nation could manage in what was a pulsating race for first-season sire bragging rights.

But with four stakes winners and 57 total wins achieved in 2022, Whitsbury Manor Stud's emerging force confirmed himself the undisputed top dog of the young sire brigade, and earned himself a fee rise from £6,000 to £18,500 in the process.

Joe Callan, head of Whitsbury's bloodstock and sales, said, “We knew Havana Grey was going to be popular after what his first runners achieved this season but the demand for him has been unprecedented. It's been crazy and it's got to a stage where we've stopped counting [the number of mares who have been put forward to visit the stallion next year]. You can see why people are so keen to use him. He's had a fantastic season with 13 stakes horses and is operating at 16% stakes horses to runners and almost 50% winners to runners in Britain and Ireland. He has big crops coming through over the next couple of years so he deserves the accolades that he is getting.”

Havana Grey was kept honest all year by Coolmore's Sioux Nation, who had an excellent campaign in his own right and earned a fee rise to €17,500 for 2023. By Scat Daddy, Sioux Nation ended the year with 29 individual winners from 65 runners and his progeny amassed £657,000 worth of total earnings in Britain and Ireland.

Matilda Picotte (Ire) was Sioux Nation's biggest earner having accounted for £124,667, highlighted by victory in the Listed “Bosra Sham” Fillies' S. at Newmarket in October.

That effort came off the back of a busy campaign with Kieran Cotter's star juvenile winning her maiden at the Curragh on debut in May, placing in two Group 2s and finishing runner-up in the valuable Ballyhane S. at Naas. Sydneyarms Chelsea (Ire) also secured Group 3 glory for Sioux Nation at Deauville in August for Charlie Hills.

Little separated Harry Angel (Ire) and Kessaar (Ire) in third and fourth, respectively. The Dalham Hall Stud-based Harry Angel had 21 individual winners from 45 runners and recorded £433,814 in earnings while Tally-Ho Stud's Kessaar made a similarly respectable start with 20 individual winners from three fewer runners and amassed £351,906 in prize-money.

Tally-Ho Stud has enjoyed top honours with Mehmas (Ire) and Cotai Glory (GB) in recent seasons and, while the early signs are that Kessaar is not on that trajectory, he has proven a solid addition to the ranks. A classy sprinter, Kessaar's progeny appear to stay further than he did, which is somewhat surprising, and it will be interesting to track their progression in 2023.

Cracksman (GB) came up trumps with Listed winner Dance In The Grass (GB) along with a host of promising youngsters with a view towards next season. He sired nine winners from 39 runners and one would expect his offspring to build on that next year.

The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf success of Victoria Road (Ire) obviously doesn't contribute towards the leading freshman sire championship in Britain and Ireland, but it's worth bearing in mind with a view to the results of Saxon Warrior (Jpn).

Coolmore's G1 2000 Guineas-winning son of Deep Impact (Jpn) went from strength to strength this year, building to that almighty crescendo in Keeneland with Victoria Road, but he also enjoyed some major triumphs domestically to finish fifth in the British and Irish first-season sire standings.

Saxon Warrior was responsible for 13 individual winners from 41 runners and £351,906 in prize-money. Joseph O'Brien's Lumiere Rock (Ire), winner of the G3 Staffordstown Stud S., and G2 Debutante S. third Thornbrook (Ire) flew the flag for the stallion in Ireland, while Jim Bolger's Gan Teorainn (Ire) enjoyed notable success on and off the track.

After winning her maiden impressively at Naas in August, Gan Teorainn carried the familiar Ennistown Stud silks to finish second in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac at ParisLongchamp.

That form ensured that one of Saxon Warrior's highest-rated daughters would be in high demand when selling at the December Mares Sale at Tattersalls and so it proved with BBA Ireland paying 1 million gns to secure the filly who is understood to have been bought to continue her career in Australia.

Despite being based in Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Coolmore's Justify enjoyed a notably good first season with runners in Britain and Ireland.

The unbeaten Statuette, successful in the G2 Airlie Stud S., and Group 3 scorer Aspen Grove put the US Triple Crown winner in lights in Ireland this year.

Meanwhile, it was just last week when the Willie Browne-trained Diamondsareforever (Ire) posted a taking debut victory at Dundalk, further solidifying the notion that Justify is a coming force on the international stage. Five winners from just 11 individual runners in Britain and Ireland including £146,963 in prize-money represented a strong start for Justify.

Fellow Coolmore-based US Navy Flag had eight individual winners from 35 runners. It should be noted that two of his best horses enjoyed listed success abroad; Ocean Vision (Ire) in France and Love Reigns (Ire) in America.

Tasleet (GB) is another freshman sire worthy of mention, not least because he sired the brilliant G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB). Set to stand for just £6,000 at Nunnery Stud next year, Tasleet had a solid 34% winners to runners, which was more than Saxon Warrior, Expert Eye (GB), US Navy Flag, Cracksman (GB) and more.

But the biggest surprise in the first-season stallion ranks came from the figures posted by the largely unheralded Rajasinghe (Ire), who is set to stand for just £3,000 at the National Stud next year.

Winner of the G2 Coventry S. in 2017 for Phil Cunningham, who has been a big supporter of the horse since he went to stud, Rajasinghe had eight individual winners from 10 runners which equates to a whopping 80% strike-rate.

All of this has been achieved with average mares which suggests Rajasinghe could have the makings of becoming a pretty decent sire if provided with the right ammunition.

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Sheikha Hissa described herself and her family to be “so proud” of Baaeed's achievements on the track and thanked trainer William Haggas for managing the career of one of the greatest horses of the modern era.

Although the fee at which Baaeed will stand for in his debut season has yet to be announced, Angus Gold, Shadwell's racing manager, told TDN Europe earlier this week that such a decision will have a huge impact on how the horse is received in his first few seasons at stud.

Gold said, “He's the new kid on the block so, hopefully, if we price him right, he will appeal for a considerable time to come.

“There's always a new horse around so that's where we've got to be careful. If we can set the fee correctly so that breeders can use this horse happily, they will use him not just next year, but going forward.

“To be honest, we're still discussing and obviously Sheikha Hissa and her family are involved in those talks, as is Stephen Collins [European bloodstock manager] in Ireland and several people here. We want to get it right and, for the horse's sake, it's important that we do.”

A Shadwell homebred, Baaeed won all six of his starts at three and went from strength to strength this season as a 4-year-old for trainer William Haggas. His triumphs in the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury, G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot and G1 Sussex S. at Glorious Goodwood were followed by a breathtaking performance on his first start over 10 furlongs in the G1 Juddmonte International at York.

His only defeat came on his swansong at British Champions Day at Ascot last Saturday when fourth behind Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) in the G1 Champion S.

Baaeed will stand alongside fellow Sussex S. victor Mohaather (GB), exciting first-season sire Tasleet (GB) and Group 1-winning sprinter Eqtidaar (Ire) at Nunnery Stud. His nomination fee will be announced in due course.

Sheikha Hissa said, “On behalf of my family, I am delighted to confirm that Baaeed has now been retired to stand at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud for the 2023 season, where he was born in 2018.

“We are all so proud of what Baaeed has achieved and count ourselves very fortunate to have shared his journey with him. I would like to thank everyone at William's for managing his career so expertly and the teams at Shadwell and Derrinstown for raising him to be the champion that he is.

“His regal pedigree and outstanding conformation will stand him in excellent stead at stud and hopefully attract the top breeders from around the world, so that together we can give Baaeed every chance to prove himself as exceptional a stallion as he was a racehorse.”

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Sent off favourite in that race, Bradsell stumbled leaving the stalls under Hollie Doyle and could only manage fourth behind the ultra-impressive Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never).

The injury was confirmed by the colt's trainer Archie Watson, who told the Racing Post, “Bradsell unfortunately sustained a season-ending injury in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday. 

“I would like to thank the team at Sycamore Lodge Equine Hospital for their excellent veterinary care and attention.”

He added, “I am naturally very disappointed for Victorious Racing and all the team at Saxon Gate but we look forward to having him back on the racecourse in 2023.”

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The royal meeting was sadly missing The Queen for all five days this year but, France's republican tendencies aside, there are few in the racing world who would deny that Doyle is now the queen of Chantilly after reaching yet another milestone to become the first woman to ride a Group 1 Classic winner in Europe.

Her great triumph came aboard Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for Imad Al Sagar, who was achieving an important landmark victory of his own with his first homebred Classic winner for his Blue Diamond Stud. It is now not even remarkable to see Doyle booked for top rides. She's so good at what she does, proving it day in and day out, from Group 1 showcase races to Class 6 handicaps, but there are not many of those top-class horses to go around.

For this observer, it was a punch-the-air moment when Doyle was announced as first jockey for Al Sagar three seasons ago. It felt important that a woman should be given a prominent retainership in the first place, and more symbolic that this offer was made by an Arab owner. It was an inspired and refreshing move on Al Sagar's part, and a thoroughly deserving position for Doyle. If she hadn't already, she has certainly repaid his faith in her now.

Doyle is five wins clear at the head of the jockeys' table for this calendar year. The nonsensical shortening of the jockeys' championship from the Guineas meeting to Champions Day means that a number of those 85 wins don't count, so she lies in fourth place in the 'championship', if we can call it that. Given the unwelcome publicity surrounding Oisin Murphy's behaviour and the conclusion to last year's jockeys' title, we could do with some better news in that regard, and one story that would guarantee more front-page, good-news headlines for racing would be the first female champion jockey. Doyle will get there one day, no doubt.

Al Sagar, as a breeder who has recently undertaken a significant restructuring of his two farms near Newmarket that comprise his Blue Diamond Stud operation, now finds himself in the happy position that his paddocks contain the dams of both female French Classic winners this season. As already noted in these pages, he bought Zotilla (Ire) (Zamindar), the dam of G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}), later in the year that her future Classic heroine was foaled. Nashwa's dam Princess Loulou (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) was bought as a yearling. 

Frankel's Classic Touch

Nashwa was of course only the second Group 1 winner of the week for her sire Frankel and trainers John and Thady Gosden, who also had last year's leading 2-year-old filly Inspiral (GB) primed to perfection for her return in the G1 Coronation S., which was arguably the race at Ascot with the greatest depth.

Her victory was vengeance for her dam Starscope (GB) (Selkirk), who had been second in both the Coronation and the 1,000 Guineas of 2012, and Inspiral, who was the fourth generation of her family to have been bred by Cheveley Park Stud, became their fourth Coronation S. winner after Exclusive (GB), Russian Rhythm and Nannina (GB). The Thompson family's operation also enjoyed some reflected glory at Ascot as the breeder of surprise Chesham S. winner Holloway Boy (GB) and Buckingham Palace S winner Inver Park (GB), whose victories would have been all the sweeter for the fact that they are by one of the stud's resident sires, Ulysses (Ire), and the late former star of the stallion yard, Pivotal (GB).

Frankel still has some way to go to peg back Dubawi (Ire) if he is to retain his champion sire title this year, but the season is not even halfway through yet. One of the notable absentees on the quick ground at Ascot was his daughter Homeless Songs (Ire), the sensational winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas. An eventual clash with Inspiral would be a mouth-watering prospect but, even without the filly, Moyglare Stud's 60th anniversary year continued in fine style with victory in the Gold Cup for another homebred, Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the rising star of the staying ranks. Never was a mare better named than his dam Polished Gem (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who has produced three Group 1 winners among her eight stakes winners. 

Frankel also featured as the damsire of the G3 Jersey S. winner Noble Truth (Fr), who is a son of his stud mate Kingman (GB).  It was a second major international winner for the family in less than a month as Noble Truth was bred by Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois from Speralita (Fr), an unraced sister of the six-time Group/Grade 1 winner Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), who took the Prix de Diane 13 years ago. As a broodmare Stacelita has plied her trade in Japan for Teruya Yoshida with great success, providing Frankel with his first Classic winner anywhere in the world when their daughter Soul Stirring (Jpn) won the GI Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks).

There has been further notable success for the Japanese wing of the family this season with Stars On Earth (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), who is a grand-daughter of Stacelita and won the GI Oka Sho (1,000 Guineas) on April 22 followed by the Yushun Himba on May 22. Her dam Southern Stars (Smart Strike) has a colt foal catalogued for the foal section of the JHRA Select Sale, which takes place on July 11 and 12.

Dubawi Wears the Crown

With five winners, including a one-two in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. with Naval Crown (GB) and Creative Force (Ire), Dubawi owns all the bragging rights among the sires represented at Royal Ascot. In fact, he is presently lording it over all-comers in Europe by just about every metric with 24 stakes winners led by four individual Group 1 winners this year.

One of the latter, Coroebus (Ire), followed up his 2,000 Guineas victory with a G1 St James's Palace S. success, to cement a memorable opening day for the Maktoum family following the procession of the unbeaten Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Queen Anne S.

Dubawi's son New Bay (GB) also deserves plenty of plaudits with two group winners at the meeting. His daughter Saffron Beach (Ire) returned to the winner's enclosure in imperious fashion in the G2 Duke of Cambridge S., while her stable-mate Claymore (Ire) landed his first group-race strike in the G3 Hampton Court S. We'll be hearing more about their trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam's love of New Bay in Wednesday's TDN.

And let's not forget Dubawi's French-based son Zarak (Fr), who continues to make giant strides in the second-season sires' table. It has to be said that he looks the stand-out of this intake at this stage, with La Parisienne (Fr) going close to giving him a first-crop Classic winner in the Prix de Diane when running Nashwa to a neck. 

Admittedly Churchill was first off the mark in that regard with the very impressive Prix du Jockey Club winner Vadeni (Fr), and it was exciting to hear that this Aga Khan-bred colt is under consideration to be supplemented for the G1 Coral-Eclipse next month. But Zarak leads the way with five black-type winners, which equates to 11 per cent of his runners, and he also had Times Square (Fr) placed in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

On With The Show

The sole appearance of Showcasing (GB) at Royal Ascot ended in ignominious defeat when he trailed in last of the 24 runners for the G1 Golden Jubilee S. But he has fared much better as a sire, notably with two G1 Commonwealth Cup winners in Quiet Reflection (GB) and Advertise (GB), while Soldier's Call (GB) won the Windsor Castle S. of 2018, and Tasleet (GB) and Cappella Sansevero (GB) finished runner-up in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and G2 Coventry S. respectively.

Showcasing was represented again this year by the smart G2 Queen Mary S. winner Dramatised (Ire), who provided a first major homebred success for Steve Parkin's Branton Court Stud. By that stage, the aforementioned Shadwell stallion Tasleet, whose first crop are now juveniles, was given a major boost by the G2 Coventry S. win of his son Bradsell (GB), who was sold as a breezer by Mark Grant to Tom Biggs and Archie Watson for £47,000, and presumably for many multiples of that after scorching to his nine-length maiden win on York's Knavesmire exactly a month after his appearance at Goffs UK.

Bradsell, bred by Deborah O'Brien, was one of two runners at Royal Ascot for the Bahrain-based Victorious Racing, the other being the Windsor Castle S. runner-up Rocket Rodney (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}). He too had been purchased after an impressive novice win, this time at Goodwood for George Scott.

Whitsbury Manor Stud, which has stood Showcasing for his entire 12-season stud career to date, will have taken plenty of encouragement from the results of the royal meeting. Not only did they breed Tasleet before selling him to Sheikh Hamdan, but another of their own young sires featured prominently among the juvenile races. 

Havana Grey (GB) is currently romping away with 18 winners from his first crop and is seven clear of his nearest pursuer in that category, Sioux Nation. Though he is yet to join Tasleet and James Garfield (Ire) with a stakes winner, Havana Grey does have four black-type horses to his name, with Maylandsea (GB) having finished second in Queen Mary and Eddie's Boy (GB) third in the Windsor Castle.

There was further success for Showcasing at Chantilly on Sunday where Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe homebred Belbek (Fr) landed the G3 Prix du Bois.

An Ascot for Everyone

As much as Royal Ascot represents some of the elite of European racing, the addition of handicaps in the first year of Covid has increased the potential for participation for owners and trainers, and the results reflected a broad spectrum of yards of all sizes.

George Boughey has been the up-and-coming name for the last couple of seasons and, with a Classic winner under his belt, he can now be considered to have truly arrived. His string is far from small on Newmarket Heath these days and he once again illustrated how adept he is in getting a great tune out of horses bought in training, usually in tandem with his great friend and ally Sam Haggas of Hurworth Bloodstock. Together they bought the Golden Gates H. winner Missed The Cut (Quality Road) for 40,000gns in February and, now with three wins from four runs under his belt, the 3-year-old looks a promising individual who had been an expensive foal purchase for Shadwell in America. 

Similar comments apply to Inver Park (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), who was already a decent dual winner for Mick Quinn when sold last October at Goffs UK for £35,000. He too has found a winning groove this spring, with his Buckingham Palace S. win being his third on the bounce. 

While Hollie Doyle is usually riding against her husband Tom Marquand, Hayley Turner is in the more agreeable position of riding for her partner Harry Eustace, the second-season trainer who bagged a Royal Ascot winner with his first ever runner at the meeting. Hopefully the much celebrated success of Latin Lover (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in the Palace of Holyroodhouse H. will put Eustace's name on the radar of more owners as he is currently enjoying a fantastic season on a strike-rate of 24 per cent winners to runners. 

It's true then. The louder you shout the faster they run. Latin Lover wins the last at Ascot on Day 4. #scenes pic.twitter.com/6bCiDsj3wj

— Harry Eustace (@H_Eustace) June 18, 2022

Huge credit must also go to Dave Evans for brining Rohaan (GB) (Mayson {GB}) back to Ascot in great shape to claim his second successive Wokingham S.

It was pleasing to hear the 4-year-old's co-owner Chris Kiely get his priorities right when saying after the race, “I've had two kids and got married, but this is the best moment of my life.” Let's just hope his wife and children weren't listening in.

Jane Chapple-Hyam put all her fellow trainers in the shade, however, when bringing three horses to the royal meeting and waltzing home with two group wins and a runner-up in the Royal Hunt Cup. As already mentioned, we will be reflecting more on the success of her Abington Place stable tomorrow.

A Royal Nod For Tattersalls

There's always plenty to take in during Ascot week so you may have missed the announcement of a small adjustment to the Tattersalls December Mare Sale. The four-day auction which follows hard on the heels of a day of yearlings and four days of foal sales at Park Paddocks will now feature a specifically labelled 'Sceptre Session' which takes its name from the star filly of the early 1900s and a former Tattersalls sale record-breaker.

To a degree, the Tuesday evening of the mare sale, when this select session of high-class broodmares and breeding prospects is set to take place, is already one of the high points in the sales calendar when it comes to drama. Quite frankly, if you're a bloodstock aficionado and you weren't playing your part in the mass game of Sardines in the Tatts ring when the likes of Dancing Rain (Ire) and Marsha (Ire) sold for millions, then where were you? 

Having up to 75 of the highest-profile offerings clearly labelled in one select session within a session makes a lot of sense, though it will make for an even more fraught couple of hours than usual for the weary bloodstock journalists on the hunt for quotes. A timely reminder to start getting into training for the sales season.

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Over the last fortnight 41 horses have been sent out by the trainer and 17 of them have returned home with a trophy to add to the cabinet. Most impressively, 10 of those victories have been in stakes races. Taking up where Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Lilac Road (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) left off the previous this week, the stable's runners over the last seven days have won a Group 1, Group 2 and four Listed races, headed of course by Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) trouncing some fairly fancy opposition in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and Maljoom (Ire) pilfering the G2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen (German 2,000 Guineas) to become the first Classic winner for his sire Caravaggio.

Haggas is also now the sole custodian in Britain and Ireland of horses in training for the Tsui family's Sunderland Holdings. Their five runners to have taken to the track so far this season have posted some impressive results. Last week alone the half-siblings My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) and My Astra (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) each won Listed races–the latter by a whopping 12 lengths at Ayr–and those successes followed the All-Weather Mile Championship win of the eldest of the clan, 5-year-old My Oberon (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). The latter also won last year's G3 Earl Of Sefton S. before being beaten only a neck when third in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan.

Their dam My Titania (Ire) holds a footnote in racing history as the first black-type winner for her illustrious sire and the Tsuis' pride and joy, Sea The Stars (Ire). He also featured as the sire of another of the Haggas/Sunderland Holdings stakes winners last week, Sea Silk Road (Ire), who was bred by Kildaragh Stud and landed  the Listed Height Of Fashion S.

It will come as a surprise to precisely no-one that Sea The Stars has the makings of a decent broodmare sire, and there has been a flurry of promising activity in this regard of late. He features in this category for the G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who is bred on the same cross as another from the Haggas stable, the Group 3 winner and G1 Queen Anne S. entrant Mohaafeth (Ire). Saturday's GIII Galorette S. winner Technical Analysis (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is also out of a Sea The Stars mare.

Currently flying up the broodmare sires' table, however, is Darley's Teofilo (GB), whose daughters have now produced three European Classic winners this season. Following the Guineas double in Newmarket of Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}), Maljoom added to the haul in Cologne.

Legendary Riders Remembered

William Haggas would certainly be the first to admit that his wife Maureen plays a key role in the success of their stable. Her father Lester Piggott was sadly not present to see the unveiling of his statue at the Curragh on Saturday, with Maureen's sister Tracy Piggott performing that honour as her father convalesces in hospital in Switzerland. 

She said of the legendary jockey in Sunday's Racing Post, “He's still constantly watching the racing and is getting a big kick out of seeing how my sister Maureen and William Haggas are flying along.”

Piggott, now 86, was at the Curragh for the opening of the new stand three years ago. His likeness in bronze now stands outside the weighing-room looking towards the track at his request. 

Thoughts also turned to Pat Smullen on Sunday, on the day he would have celebrated his 45th birthday. He, too, would have got a kick out of seeing a runaway Classic winner for Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner and Dermot Weld, whose stable Smullen was retained by for two decades. The trainer and jockey combined in the Irish 1,000 Guineas victory 16 years ago of Nightime (Ire), who became the first of many Classic winners for Galileo (Ire). 

Smullen rode his first British Classic winner, Refuse To Bend (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), in the Moyglare Stud colours and his long association with the Haefner family extended past his retirement from race riding in 2019 as he was appointed as an advisor to their operation. In the 60th anniversary year of Moyglare Stud there could have been no more fitting Irish 1,000 Guineas winner than Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), and Bucher-Haefner has a further shot at Classic glory as co-owner of the Moyglare-bred Cheshire Oaks winner Thoughts Of June (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is entered in the Oaks and the Irish Oaks.

Homeless Songs, bred on the same Frankel-Dubawi cross as last year's Derby winner Adayar (Ire), appears to be considered as a miler at most by her trainer, and she certainly exhibited a killer sprint kick in her five-and-a-half-length Guineas romp. Here's hoping she turns up at Royal Ascot to face Cachet and Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the Coronation S. Homeless Songs also provided a first proper Clasic success for Chris Hayes, who rode Moyglare Stud's Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in her first of two wins in the G1 Irish St Leger.

Appleby Wears The Crown

Triple Crown winners may not come along too often in this part of the world, but Charlie Appleby has designed a new Triple Crown all of his own in recording the extraordinary feat of winning the 2000 Guineas in Britain, France and Ireland with three different horses. 

For Godolphin, the Dubawi colts Coroebus (Ire) and Modern Games (Ire) would have been extra satisfying, being homebred sons of the operation's outstanding stallion. But of course Godolphin are also in the business of making stallions, and the Haras d'Haspel-bred Native Trail (GB), as a son of Oasis Dream (GB) from an excellent Juddmonte family, would be a worthy addition to any stallion barn. Moreover, it is always good to see the champion 2-year-old continue to be special at three. 

Havana Ball

When TDN visited Karl Burke in Middleham back in January 2018, Havana Grey (GB) was about a month shy of his third birthday but was delighting his trainer ahead of the season in which he would earn his Group 1 stripes in the Flying Five.
“Havana Grey is as hard as nails,” said Burke at the time. “He's a great character and he loves his work. Right from day one all he wanted to do was gallop…he's a real battler with a lot of natural speed.”

The son of Havana Gold (Ire) had by that stage already proved himself to be a hard-knocking 2-year-old, winning four of his eight juvenile starts, including the G3 Molecomb S., and finishing runner-up to his stable-mate Unfortunately (Ire) in the G1 Prix Morny. His early prowess is now being mirrored–and some–by members of his first crop.
Havana Grey, who stands at Whitsbury Manor Stud, has now streaked to the top of the freshman sires' table with 14 winners already to his credit. The most recent came on Sunday for Michael Bell and Middleham Park Racing with Maylandsea (GB), a grandson of Fiona Denniff's increasingly influential broodmare Hill Welcome (GB) (Most Welcome {GB}. He has also been represented by the highest number of runners, with 35 members of his first crop having already taken to the track, giving Havana Grey a strike-rate of 40% at this early stage of the year.
Another freshman off the mark this week was Cracksman (GB), with two winners coming in quick succession, and two of the first-crop sires are responsible for juveniles that have earned a coveted TDN Rising Star this season.
Following the performance of Tajalla (Ire), a son of Tally-Ho Stud's Kessaar (Ire), at Newmarket in April, a gold star went to the 2-year-old who has posted arguably the most impressive win of them all so far this season. Bradsell (GB), by Shadwell's Tasleet, scorched along the Knavesmire on Saturday to win by nine lengths for Archie Watson. Bred by Deborah O'Brien, who has had Bradsell's family for three generations, he was sold for 12,000gns as a yearling and then was brought back to the breeze-up sales by Mark Grant, who sold him for £47,000 to Tom Biggs at Goffs UK. Top hats are surely being readied by his owners, Primavera.

Trading Classics

While William Haggas was plundering a German Classic on Sunday, German trainer Markus Klug popped over to Rome and came home with the Derby Italiano trophy courtesy of Ardakan (GB). It would have been more appropriate for Ardakan to have won the Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen, the race named after the founding family of Gestut Rottgen, near Cologne, where he is trained and was bred, and where his sire Reliable Man (GB) stands.
This colt does not however bear the colours of Rottgen, which has had his family in its possession for a century. Ardakan was sold to Holger Faust on behalf of Darius Racing for €40,000 at the BBAG Yearling Sale and, clearly appreciating the 1m3f of the Italian Classic, he became the second black-type winner for his dam, the Listed winner Alaskakonigin (Ger) (Sternkoenig).
Klug also trains Ardakan's year-older half-sister Alaskasonne (Fr) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), who is already a Listed winner in her homeland and is entered for Tuesday's G2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud. 

Another Star For International Family

The brilliant racemare Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), a Group/Grade 1 winner in both France and America, provided Frankel with his first top-level winner and first Classic winner when their daughter Soul Stirring (Jpn) won the GI Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) in 2017. 

Five years later the same family was back in the spotlight for that same Classic when Stacelita's grand-daughter Stars On Earth (Jpn) took another step forward in her quest for the Fillies' Triple Crown after adding the Yushun Himba to her victory in the GI Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas). As well as both being bred by Shadai Farm, Soul Stirring and Stars On Earth are connected by their jockey, Frenchman Christophe Lemaire. 

Further enhancing the broad international range of the family, Stars On Earth's dam Southern Stars (GB), a daughter of the late Lane's End Farm stallion Smart Strike, was trained in Newmarket for Teruya Yoshida by John Gosden, and won a Sandown maiden.

In the meantime, the Frankel bandwagon has rolled on at pace and he is now the sire of 21 Group/Grade 1 winners in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Canada and Dubai.

No Squiggle For Sieglinde

When Timeform announced in October 2020 that its Racehorses annuals would no longer be published, outgoing publishing editor Geoff Greetham said, “When the history of the pandemic comes to be written, the demise of the Timeform annuals will merit no more than a footnote, but to the band of loyal readers and to the generations of writers and photographers who have worked on 'racing's bible' this will undoubtedly be a low point. Nothing lasts forever but the Timeform annuals have stood the test of time for longer than most and will still remain as a permanent written history of the sport.”

Indeed they will, and the annuals which date back to 1948 and are collectors' items, are already sorely missed.

Stepping into the breach, however, is Irish pedigree analyst and writer Dr Sieglinde McGee, who has recently published Best Racehorses of 2021. This is her second annual, containing essays, pedigree notes and breeding details of 220 of the top horses in Europe as well as a review of the season. It is a not only a true labour of love but also an incredibly valuable addition to the libraries of racing and breeding buffs. Copies can be ordered via Amazon. 

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Thomond O'Mara, under the Kilronan moniker, signed for the sale's top lot, a €29,000 yearling colt by first-crop sire Tasleet (GB) from Lumville Farm. The colt (lot 1372) is out of the Listed Dragon S. runner-up Ejaazah (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}).

Simon Kerins, chief executive officer of Tattersalls Ireland, said, “We concluded our sales calendar today with the November Flat Sale and it was great to see so many European buyers back on the ground. The gains we achieved across all our sales this year continued apace today with increases across the board. We extend our sincere thanks to every vendor and each purchaser for their support, as well as the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing for their assistance in getting so many overseas buyers on the ground.”

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