O’Callaghan Eyes Dubai Riches Before Moving To Purpose-Built Yard

Michael O'Callaghan is eyeing big-race riches in Dubai with half-brothers I Am Superman (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) and Fastnet Crown (Ire) (Hallowed Crown {Aus}) before making the move to a new purpose-built yard near the Curragh ahead of the turf season proper. 

However, the leading Irish trainer has said that he remains in the dark over his position with Amo Racing despite sending out Crypto Force (GB) (Time Test {GB}) to secure G2 Beresford S. glory for Kia Joorabchian's major ownership vehicle at the Curragh last season. 

Crypto Force joined the stable of John and Thady Gosden shortly after that triumph and O'Callaghan revealed that none of Amo Racing's horses, including Olivia Maralda (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Crispy Cat (GB) (Ardad {Ire}) and Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), have returned to his yard for the new season.

He explained, “They haven't arrived back yet. I'm not sure what the plans are with Amo. There was chat about Indestructible coming back but, with the way they move the balls around over the winter, I'll know more in the next few weeks.”

I Am Superman, who O'Callaghan sourced as a yearling and retains a share of, showed a high level of form for the trainer initially on home soil before being moved to Australia in search of better prize-money. 

Now in his second stint with O'Callaghan after returning home from Peter and Paul Snowden's, I Am Superman will be targeted at top-level races in Dubai and is reported to have settled in nicely at Meydan along with his stablemate and half-brother Fastnet Crown. 

O'Callaghan said, “I bought I Am Superman as a yearling. He won three races for us and ran well in the 2019 Irish 2,000 Guineas. I actually had him sold to Hong Kong later that year but he failed the vet for something obscure on an x-ray so we decided to keep him. 

“We brought him to Australia for the prize-money and decided to leave him out there with Peter and Paul Snowden. He'd been there for roughly two years where he racked up about a quarter of a million dollars in prize-money. 

“To be fair to the Snowdens, they felt they never really got the rub of the green with him either because, every time they felt they had him ready, the ground went against him. He was only beaten a short head in a Group 1 on his latest start out there and is from a family who progress a lot with age. I wanted to get a bit of mileage out of him myself before his form tapered off, which is why we got him back and are now aiming him at the big prize-money in Dubai.”

He added, “He's in great form. He got a break in Australia after his last run there. When he came back here, it was just a case of building him back up for Dubai. He's been to Dundalk for a racecourse gallop and he's ready to go. His first run will be in the Zabeel Mile and his main target will be the G1 Jebel Hatta on March 4. He may have a run in between but we'll get the Zabeel Mile out of the way first. If he got an invite for Dubai World Cup Night, we'd have to consider that as well.”

“Fastnet Crown is on the up and I've been wanting to step him up in trip for a while. He won his prep race at Dundalk last week and will start out over a-mile-and-a-furlong on Friday 13 and we'll take it from there. Both horses travelled over there well and they are in great form.”

Fastnet Crown will run in the colours of his owner-breeder Michael Smith, whose Fastnet Lady (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) is fast becoming a prolific broodmare. 

O'Callaghan said, “The two of them are out of Fastnet Lady, who Michael also bred. I bought I Am Superman off him and we got to know each other from there. He sent me Fastnet Crown, the half-brother, and we've a full-brother to I Am Superman here as well. The mare has been very lucky for him with her first two foals, I Am Superman rated 114 and Fastnet Crown rated 106, so she's a good mare and I understand that she's now in foal to Australia (GB). Michael has been to Royal Ascot, had a winner on Derby day at the Curragh and he's coming to Dubai as well. He's loving it and I'm delighted because he's a lovely man.”

Domestically, O'Callaghan has high hopes for Gozen (Ire) (Kuroshio {Aus}). A winner on debut at Punchestown last September, Gozen was possibly a shade unlucky not to win the G3 Staffordstown S. at the Curragh when forced to race wide. O'Callaghan has Classic aspirations for the filly who failed to sell at the breeze-ups. 

He said, “Gozen's first intended target will be the Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown over a mile, which we won with Now Or Never (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}). She's done very well over the winter and, I know it's a cliche but, everything she did last year, she'll improve on it because she's a big, raw filly. She's filled out very well over the winter so I'm really looking forward to her.”

Recalling how Gozen fell through the cracks at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale last year, O'Callaghan added, “To be fair to Eddie Ahern, who consigned her, he always felt she'd need time but he really liked her. He just let her do a nice canter in the breeze and, for people watching on, it probably left more questions than answers. I remember seeing her and I wrote in my catalogue, 'lovely action but she only cantered; is there an issue?' 

“Funnily enough, Michael Shefflin, who is involved with Eddie, rang me a few weeks later to ask if I would have any interest in taking her for a month to try her out. He told me that, if I liked her, I could buy her privately. That's how it all happened.”

Asked if he was tempted to sell Gozen at any stage last season, O'Callaghan said, “There was plenty of interest after she finished second in the Group 3. Her form stacks up very well and you could even say that she was a little unlucky at the Curragh not to win. She will improve for strengthening up and I'd imagine the mile will be her minimum this season. She has a lot of natural speed.”

Seven of O'Callaghan's 15 winners in Ireland last year were recorded with two-year-olds. The figure was 13 from 17 in 2021. Few operators concentrate as heavily on juveniles as O'Callaghan and he has high hopes for the next crop coming through at his new base in Brannoxstown near the Curragh.

He said, “We have a lovely Inns Of Court (Ire) filly-a lovely shape of a filly. She's actually a homebred. I also have a nice Mehmas (Ire) colt and a nice Sioux Nation filly. They look to be nice two-year-old types and I like them. They've done plenty and were all broken in August. “They cantered away and have built their way up as much as they were able for. They'd have quickened up a couple of furlongs just before Christmas before getting a little break and starting back on Monday morning.”

He added, “We'll be fully moved into the new yard by the end of January. It's been a slow process between buying the site, getting planning permission and then the building. The gallops are fully finished over two months now so they will be nicely settled by the time they have horses on them, which is good. We've built the place from scratch and are looking forward to getting going there fully this season.”

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Stradivarius Begins Stud Career at £10,000

The latest addition to the National Stud roster, seven-time Group 1-winning stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), will stand for an opening fee of £10,000.

He joins Time Test (GB), whose fee is unchanged at £15,000, while Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) will also remain at his fee of £8,500 as he embarks on his second season at stud.

Rajasinghe (Ire), who has a strike-rate of 67% winners to runners from his first crop of juveniles this year, is also unchanged at £3,000.

“Time Test has had a steady stream of high-quality winners throughout the year, his biggest and best quality books are still to come and we are very excited about what the future for him,” said the National Stud's head of bloodstock Joe Bradley.

“Lope Y Fernandez was very well received by breeders covering a stellar first book of 134 mares in his first season. As the only son of Lope De Vega standing in the UK, he provides access to one of the best international sire lines at a very attractive price. The partnership involved has such faith in the horse and we are now very excited to see his first foals in 2023.”

He added, “It is a privilege to welcome Stradivarius to The National Stud's roster for 2023. His exhilarating turn of foot, soundness and will to win all combined to make him a true icon of the modern racing era.”

 

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Observations On The Stallion Scene

It is a question that has long fixated the bloodstock industry: which stallion can be caught as he rises to the top?

As we know, those good stallions can be hard to find. Opportunity is naturally a key element to early success, but a stallion still needs to make the most of the chances afforded to him and for every one that lives up to expectations, there will be also be plenty who flop. As often said, horses are a great leveller and with that in mind, there is also the heartwarming aspect that a stallion, if good enough, can literally emerge from anywhere. Wootton Bassett (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), for all he retired to a leading French farm in Haras d'Etreham, is a case in point having made his name off small early crops. And those with the foresight to latch on as he embarked on his rapid rise have been handsomely rewarded since.

Right now, there appears to be a similar momentum behind Rathasker Stud's Coulsty (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). Priced at only €4,000, he covered over 100 mares last season off the back of a bright start with his first 2-year-olds and has again caught the attention of a number of shrewd breeders this year following a season in 2021 highlighted by the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup heroine Shantisara (Ire). Coulsty doesn't have many 2-year-olds or yearlings on the ground, but he will be interesting to watch come 2024 when that first big crop hits the track.

More immediately, there are several stallions for whom the stars are aligning for a big year. For the 2019 season, No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) and Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) hit a fee of €100,000 for the first time. Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was also raised to £75,000, but such was the depth and volume of his book that he may as well have been standing for six figures.

Today, each of these stallions can be classed as elite and are priced as such, with those 2019 figures firmly in the rear-view mirror as they ascend the fee ladder. Each was represented by an outstanding performer in 2021–Kingman as the sire of Palace Pier (GB), No Nay Never as the sire of Alcohol Free (Ire), and Siyouni as the sire of St Mark's Basilica (Ire)–and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that further Group 1 successes are likely to be forthcoming over the next few months. Instead, the question is how much further these stallions might rise now they have the firepower from their 2019 books to aid them.

No Nay Never was handed a particularly significant fee increase that year, rising from €25,000 to €100,000 as the champion first-crop sire of 2018. By that stage, the industry was well attuned to the strengths of Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), notably as an excellent source of juvenile talent. No Nay Never, as an exceptionally fast Group 1-winning son, offered hope of a legitimate Irish-based heir and when his first crop of 2-year-olds yielded G1 Middle Park S. winner Ten Sovereigns (Ire) as well as the high-class speedster Land Force (Ire), he duly became one of the hottest young sires in Europe.

His subsequent crops conceived from 2016 to 2018, when he was priced between €17,500 and €25,000, are also responsible for 17 stakes winners including Alcohol Free and last season's Group-winning 2-year-olds Zain Claudette (Ire) and Armor (GB).

However, with approximately 130 2-year-olds bred off €100,000 to run for him this season, 2022 could well mark another turning point in his career.

His yearlings returned an average of almost 200,000gns last autumn, led by a half-sister to Grade I winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) bought by Al Shira'aa Farms for 925,000gns and a sister to G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) bought by Cheveley Park Stud for 825,000gns.

The pair provides a snapshot of the quality of his 2019 book, which overall contained 50 stakes winners and another 18 Group 1 producers. Naturally, many of them are in top hands, and given the line's propensity to come to hand early, he should be quick to make an impact this season.

As for Kingman, he has no fewer than 194 2-year-olds to run for him bred off a fee of £75,000. As a brilliant miler from one of Juddmonte's finest families, Kingman has obviously never lacked for opportunity. But such support was rewarded immediately as one classy first-crop juvenile after another emerged during that 2018 season, ranging from Calyx (GB), winner of the G2 Coventry S., to Persian King (Ire), who ended his juvenile season by defeating Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Autumn S.

Come the end of the season and it was blatantly obvious that the majority of Kingman's better progeny–of which there were plenty–had inherited his turn of foot. It is that attribute and ability to act on quick ground that has also come to stand him in good stead in the U.S., where he has been represented by the graded stakes winners Domestic Spending (GB), Public Sector (GB), Serve The King (GB) and Technical Analysis (Ire), the latter arguably his best filly to date.

Kingman has obviously consolidated his place as one of Europe's elite stallions since then, notably as the sire of Palace Pier from his second crop and the top Japanese miler Schnell Meister (Ger) out of his third. But a fifth crop that contains the progeny of 24 Group or Grade 1 winners, including the Classic winners Finsceal Beo (Ire), Ghanaati, Great Heavens (GB), Nightime (Ire), Sariska (GB) and Sky Lantern (Ire), alongside 20 Group or Grade 1 producers suggests the likelihood of a serious further uptick in riches to come.

The secret has been out on Siyouni for several years now and, indeed, 2021 was the year in which the Aga Khan's flagship stallion landed his second French champion sires' title. It is worth remembering that the bulk of his success has been achieved off fees ranging from €7,000 to €30,000, while St Mark's Basilica was the product of a seventh crop bred off €45,000. So what might he achieve now he has his first €100,000 crop running for him?

The next chapter of the Siyouni story is also being written with heavy investment being made in his sons at stud, in particular Coolmore as the home of both St Mark's Basilica and Sottsass (Fr). However, he is already becoming a broodmare sire of note, as illustrated by last year's Group 1-placed pair Times Square (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) and Dr Zempf (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) also has his most expensive crop of 2-year-olds on the ground, bred in this instance off a fee of €80,000. By 2019, the horse had undergone five consecutive years of fee increases as he became ever more successful, and today is one of the most popular stallions in Europe at €125,000. A 2-year-old crop that includes the progeny of 83 stakes winners, as well as yearlings that sold for up to 725,000gns, lends confidence to the idea that he will remain on a firm upward trajectory.

New Bay Maintaining Momentum…

These are stallions, however, who are now priced at a level out of reach for many breeders. Instead, the art for plenty of investors, especially those who are more commercially minded, lies in catching such horses as they rise from a lower level.

Breeders have understandably decided that New Bay (GB) is one such horse. As reported in TDN earlier in the year by Emma Berry, New Bay was the first stallion at Ballylinch Stud to fill for this season, despite a fee increase of 87.5% to €37,500. A Prix du Jockey Club winner by Dubawi (Ire) from the family of Kingman and Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert), New Bay possessed a number of enticing attributes when he retired to stud alongside the backing of a powerful ownership group. As such, the deck was stacked in his favour and he is delivering, with G1 Sun Chariot S. winner Saffron Beach (Ire) and the exciting Bay Bridge (GB) leading the way among his first crop, and G2 Champagne S. scorer Bayside Boy (Ire) and wide-margin German Group 3 winner Sea Bay (Ger) among his second. Each of the above is in training for 2022, thereby laying the foundations for a potentially big season to come.

Another popular Irish-based horse with first 4-year-olds, Rathbarry Stud's Kodi Bear (Ire), has also been quick to attract supporters at his new fee of €15,000, up from €6,000. One of a growing number of successful sire sons by Kodiac (GB), he has gained a reputation for throwing tough, sound stock, thereby making him a popular option with trainers. It helps that a number also possess a measure of class: think last season's Group 2-winning juvenile Go Bears Go (Ire) and G1 Oaks runner-up Mystery Angel (Ire). The sire of ten stakes horses overall in two medium-sized crops of racing age to date, it doesn't take too much imagination to envisage him sailing further up the ladder sooner rather than later.

Dubawi's Sons All The Rage…

Dubawi's legacy has arguably never been in a stronger position given that in addition to the likes of Night Of Thunder (Ire) and New Bay, his band of sons at stud also include the hugely popular pair Time Test (GB) and Zarak (Fr).

Both Group 1 performers with exceptional pedigrees, in particular Zarak as a son of Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar), they were nevertheless both priced affordably when they retired to stud in 2018.

At €12,000, Zarak was the more expensive of the pair. He was popular as well, with his first crop containing 86 foals, of which 23 are so far winners. A pair of Listed winners head the group but crucially, it also includes another two Group 1 performers in Times Square (Fr) and Purplepay (Fr). For a horse that only ran once at two himself (when successful at Deauville), it's a start that marks him down as another success story for the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval in Normandy.

The National Stud, meanwhile, installed Time Test at a fee of £8,500, off which they were able to attract a good base of early support. So far, he has responded with 11 first-crop winners although they include no fewer than five stakes horses led by the Group 3 scorers Romantic Time (GB) and Rocchigiani (GB). Another representative, Sunset Shiraz (Ire), was third in the G1 Moyglare Stud S.

All of which has made Time Test hot property, with yearlings selling for up to 400,000gns and his book having reportedly filled fast for 2022. He will have to arguably do more than continue that momentum to satisfy the market hype, but he has plenty to go to war with and remains sensibly priced at £15,000, a figure that gives breeders a chance.

While much of the market chatter continues to centre upon Time Test, it would be foolish to disregard the National Stud's other second-crop stallion Aclaim (Ire). The Group 1-winning son of Acclamation (GB) ran only once at two, when successful at Kempton, before going on to thrive at three and four years. Yet he managed to sire 27 2-year-old winners in his first crop last year, among them the tough Group-placed filly Cachet (Ire); only Cotai Glory (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Profitable (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) sired more.

Tally-Ho Stud's Cotai Glory leads the way among that crop in terms of 2-year-old winners (35) and black-type performers (8) and has enjoyed a productive winter with his progeny on the all-weather to suggest that they are still progressing into their 3-year-old year.

Yet two of the real talking points from last season emerged out of the success of Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Galileo Gold (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}), both of whom were quick to sire first-crop Group 1 winners. Neither has ever stood for a fortune–Ardad stood his first season at Overbury Stud for £6,500 while Galileo Gold was priced by Tally-Ho Stud at €15,000-so they can be credited as doing smaller breeders a good turn.

The question now is whether they can maintain that momentum. It doesn't help that both have smaller crops of 2-year-olds running for them this year (Ardad has 43 and Galileo Gold has 64). However, it will be disappointing if Ardad isn't far from the action, given that he has G1 Prix Morny and Middle Park S. hero Perfect Power (Ire) to represent him alongside G3 winner Eve Lodge (GB) and a number of promising minor winners.

As for Galileo Gold, G1 Phoenix S. winner Ebro River (Ire) tops a list of eight first-crop black-type performers that also includes the tough Group 3 winner Oscula (Ire) and Maglev (Ire), who could assume high order within the Californian turf division judging by his recent success in the Baffle S. at Santa Anita. With all that in mind, Galileo Gold looks an interesting play at €7,000 this season.

For a horse with 20 first-crop winners to his credit, a fee of £10,000 for Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) also looks potentially good value. Don't forget that here is a horse who didn't break his own maiden until May of his 3-year-old season and after capturing the G3 Gordon S., flourished at four when successful in the G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Juddmonte International. He has been extremely well supported at stud by the Niarchos family, who have been rewarded so far as the breeder of G3 Eyrefield S. runner-up Piz Badile and Yarmouth debut winner Aeonian (Ire), and Cheveley Park Stud, who feature as the breeders of no fewer than 11 of his winners to date in addition to the Listed-placed maiden Gwan So (GB).

Everything points to the stock of Ulysses, a beautifully-bred horse, progressing well at three.

French Hopes…

Recent weeks, meanwhile, have been kind to Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), notably as the sire of a pair of impressive Chantilly maiden winners in Point Of Fact (GB) and Lassaut (Fr). A champion on the track, the Haras d'Etreham resident is another who has been extremely well supported at stud, and having sired nine 2-year-old winners in 2021, including the Group 3-placed Queen Trezy, recent results have placed him on a stronger footing going forward. As it is, he is going well in New Zealand where his first runners include recent G1 Sistema S. runner-up Dynastic and G2-placed Andalus.

Finally, it is is hard not to be taken by the early results fired in by Haras de Bouquetot's Zelzal (Fr). A quicker son of Sea The Stars (Ire) who captured the 2016 Prix Jean Prat, Zelzal is bred on the same Kingmambo cross as his sire's fellow Group 1 winners Baeed (GB) and Cloth Of Stars (Ire), and is doing his bit to enhance his legacy as an influential sire of sires on the Flat at a time when a number of his better sons are standing within the jumps sphere.

With 57 3-year-olds bred off €8,000, Zelzal doesn't possess the firepower of some of his contemporaries. However, his first crop already includes three stakes-winning fillies in Zelda (Fr), a Listed winner at two, alongside Dolce Zel (Fr) and Ouraika (Fr), between them winners of the GIII Florida Oaks and GIII Sweet Life S. in the US this year.

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Time Test Breeding Right Tops Goffs Online Sale

A breeding right to young National Stud stallion Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was last year's leading European first-season sire by black-type winners with four, topped the Goffs Online Sale of Stallion Breeding Rights when fetching a bid of £100,000 from Dash Grange Stud.

A breeding right to last year's champion European first-season sire Cotai Glory (GB) was purchased by Paul Harley Bloodstock for €40,000, while Joseph Burke purchased a breeding right to Profitable (Ire) for €35,000. Burke, who brokered the deal for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners to purchase Profitable's G2 Queen Mary S. winner Quick Suzy (Ire) last year, said, “All my clients and partners keep our mares at Oghill House Stud where Hugh Hyland has always been a big believer in Profitable. Sure enough, two of the sire's three stakes-winning 2-year-olds thus far have been produced at Oghill–Quick Suzy and Mr Professor– so we hope to emulate that success once again.

“I was fortunate enough to be able to secure Goffs graduate Quick Suzy privately on behalf of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners prior to her winning the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, a day we'll never forget, so I'm a big fan. Considering Profitable didn't win a group race until he was four, he has made a hugely encouraging start to his career and we think he has a very bright future.”

Breeding rights to Territories (Ire) and Belardo (Ire) sold for £18,000 and €16,500, respectively.

Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, “Today's online sale completes a successful week for Goffs and marks a first for the company–selling horses in a traditional, physical sale and also in an online only auction in the same week. It demonstrates the ever-growing capabilities and ongoing innovation of Goffs to be able to conduct auctions in both spheres and it has been very pleasing to see all five of the breeding rights sell. The sale has provided a solid platform on which we can grow and we look forward to expanding our online sales offer in the future.”

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