‘He Could Be What The Market Is Looking For,’ – Heavyweights Weigh In On Stallion Trail

Whether you're a trainer, a pre-trainer, a breeder or just a general racing nut, it seems as though the Irish Stallion Trail was the place to be on Friday and Saturday. But how much can be gleaned from two days of stallion parades? Quite a lot, actually. 

Relationships have been forged and business has been done on the Trail and luminaries of the industry Johnny Murtagh, Dick Brabazon, Guillaume Vitse and Craig McCracken were left singing the praises of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing [ITM] for what proved to be another stellar weekend. 

Vitse was a notable force on the Trail. Breeder of Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, the master of Normandie Breeding was at Coolmore Stud on Friday where the Frenchman promised to make the most of his visit to Ireland.

Vitse said, “It was lovely to see Wootton Bassett. We tried to see him last year but obviously he wasn't here because he was in Australia. We also went to Rathbarry, Castlehyde, Coolmore and Ballylinch today. We are going to Yeomanstown, Kildangan, the Irish National Stud and Tally-Ho Stud on Saturday.”

He added, “I am a big fan of Blackbeard (Ire). He is a stunning horse. I really fancy him. He is just what my wife [Camille] and myself love in a horse. He's the perfect mover and he has everything. I love him. 

“I like quality horses and this guy, from my point of view, has so much quality. I really like Sottsass (Fr) as well. He's another really good mover. He has a short back and is very strong and was a champion racehorse as well. Sottsass and Blackbeard are very different horses but we like both of them.”

While France offers the Route des Etalons, the Irish Stallion Trail is a slightly newer phenomenon with over 30 stallion farms opening its doors to visitors across the two days and Vitse voiced his support of the initiative. 

He said, “This is my first time doing the Stallion Trail. It was pretty cool to go around and see the stallions. I think the Stallion Trail, just like the Route des Etalons, provides you with a good opportunity to meet a lot of people. I think it's a very good initiative and now we have a good idea about the stallions we like. When we get back home, we will discuss with our partners the right pick for our mares.”

Asked what stallions he was most looking forward to viewing on Sunday, Vitse added, “Mehmas (Ire). I am really looking forward to seeing him. I am looking forward to seeing Good Guess (GB) and Kodiac (GB) as well. It is probably the last few years we can use Kodiac so it will be good to see him.”

Leading Irish breeder Craig McCracken of McCracken Farms, top trainer Johnny Murtagh and renowned pre-trainer Dick Brabazon were others who reported to have gotten huge value from the two-day event. 

McCracken said, “I've been to Coolmore, Yeomanstown, Tally-Ho, Starfield and Kildangan. Of the cheaper stallions, I'd give Dubawi Legend (Ire) a chance. I have a breeding right in the horse but he did finish second in a Dewhurst and he is a son of Dubawi (Ire) so I can't see him not working. He has every chance at a price. Good Guess (GB) was one of the main takeouts of the weekend for me. He's a very slick horse, a lovely cross between Kodiac (GB) and Pivotal (GB). He could be what the market is looking for. He's a very obvious one for me. At our level, and of the stallions we can afford, I'd be weighing in behind Good Guess, Little Big Bear (Ire) and Native Trail (Ire). Those are the ones who have caught our imagination.”

He added, “I'd be a big fan of the weekend. I mean, in what other industry would you get it? Would the manager of your local football club get the opportunity to pick the brains of Pep Guardiola? The answer is no. Take Mrs Tally-Ho [Anne O'Callaghan] for example. That woman could run the country. For me to have the opportunity to run my thoughts through some of the best in the business, that has to be worth something, so the weekend is of huge value to me.”

It wasn't just the breeders who were out in force. Murtagh and Brabazon were other notable figures to be getting the miles in with the latter revealing the weekend provided a huge networking opportunity.

Brabazon said, “I have one mare and, while I am unlikely to be using some of the top stallions, my clients are using the stallions and it's very important for me to be able to talk to them and say that I have seen the stallions. That's what's important. You see the good points and the bad points and you're clued in to what traits they might pass on to their progeny. 

“Also, when you see horses on the racetrack, it's fascinating to see how they have developed as stallions. Paddington (GB) for example, he's a fine-looking horse but you can still see the racehorse in him, and I can't wait to go back and see him next year when you will see the stallion in him. The other thing I became very aware of is that Siyouni (Fr) is becoming a very important influence. You have Paddington and St Mark's Basilica (Fr) at Coolmore. If you went back a few years, he didn't exist. Now, he's a very important influence. We're slowly seeing the changeover from Galileo (Ire).”

He added, “I did quite a bit of small bits of business on the Trail. I bumped into clients at Ballylinch and we got to talk about their horses. It's an important networking opportunity and I think it's wonderful. We should open up the training yards, open up the studs, and open up the industry more going forward. We're building up the interest in the industry in the sport over those two days and that can't be a bad thing.

“The studs are great that way. I'll give an example, I was down at Coolmore and, the group in front of us, a lot of the visitors had special needs. There was nobody rushing them through or anything like that. They got the same treatment as everyone and it wasn't a case of Coolmore selling a breeding right or anything like that. I think that shows a bit of class from Coolmore and fair play to them for providing everyone on the tour with the same level of care and attention.”

Murtagh has won some of the best races around the world as a jockey. Think Sinndar (Ire), Yeats (Ire) and High Chaparral (Ire). In his role as a trainer, he was busy scouting some of the new kids on the block and he wasn't disappointed.

He said, “We have one mare here belonging to us and I just went down to Kildangan Stud to have a look at some of the stallions I never saw before. I never saw Blue Point (Ire) before and, given he had a phenomenal year, I was keen to see him. On the Friday of the tour, you probably get more of the breeders in attendance while the Saturday is more of a casual racing fan. But, listen, as trainers, we probably don't get around to see these wonderful stud farms as much as we'd like. There were a lot of nice horses on show and we'll probably go and see some of the stallions at the Irish National Stud on Saturday as well.”

Asked about his thoughts on some of the younger sires coming through, Murtagh said, “We've a King Of Change, an Arizona, an Earthlight and a few others by first-season sires. We try to buy a few first-season sires because you never know who is going to be the next superstar. We buy the yearlings on spec. We went last year to the sales with the idea of buying two-year-old types and we bought Havana Greys, Kodiacs, Mehmases, Ardads and Oasis Dreams. You know, we have two-year-old types and we go and buy as many as we can on spec then we try to sell them when we get back. It's a tough business and we put our own money up front but we buy the horses we like and you need to have those two-year-old types.”

 

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‘Blackbeard The One They Want To See’ – Young Sires Drive Stallion Trail Crowd

Whether it was Bayside Boy (Ire) at Ballylinch, Minzaal (Ire) at Derrinstown or King Of Change (GB) and Dubawi Legend (Ire) at Starfield, one of the main takeaways from this year's Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail was that the pedigree buffs and bloodstock fans love nothing more than getting a glimpse at the new stallions this country has to offer. 

“Don't dream of putting a picture of that lad up on Twitter otherwise I'll have Eddie O'Leary tweeting that it's not the only pig down in Ballyhane,” – Joe Foley.

Few young sires generated as much chat as Blackbeard (Ire), who will embark on his stallion career with Coolmore Stud at €25,000 and a lofty reputation to match that fee, being a dual Group 1-winning juvenile by No Nay Never.

If you hadn't been aware of Blackbeard's antics before his races last season, you could be forgiven for thinking he was a model pupil as he stood quietly in his stable while Coolmore's Mark Byrne explained how the majority of the 1,000 visitors to the stud on Friday and Saturday came to see the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. winner.

Byrne said, “Blackbeard is the horse that everyone wants to see. We've been open to the public today and yesterday and, of the 1,000 or so people who have visited us, most of them were particularly keen to see Blackbeard. He almost had a cult following on the track and it's easy to see why-he's a beautiful-looking horse, was an expensive foal, has a great walk and an excellent race record and pedigree. 

“It's a really important thing for every stud in the world to keep new stallions on the roster and thankfully we've got an exciting young sire by No Nay Never who I think is going to prove to be really good value.”

He added, “It's not only been Irish visitors over the past two days, we've also welcomed a lot of French and English people. It's kudos to everyone involved in the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail as it provided everyone a chance to get out and see these horses over the course of two days. A lot of business will be generated from the Trail, even if it is not carried out over the two days, as we had a lot of breeders here on the Trail. You also have people who are lifelong fans of different horses so they get the chance to meet their heroes as such. It's lovely to be a part of that.”

With one of the leading sires in Europe, a new Group 1-winning stallion prospect to add to the roster for 2023 and one of the best lunches going on the entire trail, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to see parking spaces at a premium at Ballylinch Stud. 

Similarly to what Byrne reported at Coolmore, Ballylinch was abuzz with the majority of the visitors keen to cast their eye over Bayside Boy, who Bloodstock and Nominations manager Eoin Fives revealed to be going down a bomb with breeders. 

He said, “We've been seeing the footfall here ever since we announced Bayside Boy. We've been mad busy showing the stallions here but in particular with Bayside Boy. Everyone is keen to see him. He has been very popular. We set aside a certain amount of shares to be sold and they have all gone. We've already got over 100 mares booked into him so we are delighted with where he is. We envisage him covering a nice big book. He will cover 15 of our best mares this year which will ensure he will get off to the best possible start.”

Fives added, “We've had a good mixture of people here over the past two days. There have been shareholders in stallions who are very tied into the Ballylinch model and we've sold nominations here today and yesterday as well. A lot of people have just come to see the stallions and it's great to have everyone and even better to have people engaging with this part of the industry because I suppose the breeding side of things can be a little bit esoteric for a lot of people.”

If bloodstock poses as a riddle wrapped into a mystery for some people, a trip down to Ballyhane Stud might do more harm than good, as the first beast to hog the limelight is not Dandy Man (Ire) or the up-and-coming Soldier's Call (GB), but a pig the size of a small car. 

“Don't dream of putting a picture of that lad up on Twitter otherwise I'll have Eddie O'Leary tweeting that it's not the only pig down in Ballyhane,” Joe Foley says, only half-joking. Of course, his request falls on deaf ears. 

The pig, who happens to be Dandy Man's best friend, set a high bar in terms of entertainment but the five stallions on the rock-solid Ballyhane roster for 2023 stole the show, in particular Soldier's Call. 

It was on Friday when the TDN Europe team visited Yeomanstown Stud, where Rob O'Callagahan was bullish about Invincible Army (Ire)'s claims for first-season sire honours, but Foley described himself as extremely happy with his own dog in that particular fight. 

He said, “We have the old stalwart Dandy Man, who has been such a friend to us down through the years, and he was the champion sire of sprinters in Europe yet again last year, as he was the year before. He's the pillar of our team here. We've got four younger horses here including Elzaam (Aus), who is doing great, and then the three younger horses–Soldier's Call, Sands Of Mali (Fr) and Space Traveller (GB).”

Foley added, “Soldier's Call has his first crop of 2-year-olds this year and we are very hopeful about them. He was a very fast horse himself and his stock looks to be very fast as well. We've got a bunch of them in pre-training and they are going really well. The first foals by Sands Of Mali were very well-received last autumn and the new recruit, Space Traveller, is the highest-rated Bated Breath (GB) and is out of a Galileo (Ire) mare who is out of a Kingmambo mare and is from a great family. He's a beautiful horse and has been wowing the crowds who have been here today and yesterday.”

Just a few fields away from Foley's Ballyhane base stands Jukebox Jury (Ire), Fascinating Rock (Ire) and Sea Moon (Ire) at Burgage Stud. All three have been making waves with their National Hunt runners, none more so than the Irish St Leger winner Jukebox Jury, who could have a big year ahead of him with his first Irish 4-year-olds set to run between the flags and under rules. 

Ger O'Neill's Castlefield Stud is a further 10 minutes away and offers a trio of accessible stallions for National Hunt and Flat breeders. Australian Group 1 winner Mirage Dancer (GB), who boasts a good Juddmonte pedigree, catches the eye and is joined by fellow National Hunt stallion Hunting Horn (Ire), best known for his Hampton Court success at Royal Ascot for Aidan O'Brien. 

But Alkumait (GB) could be the ace in the Castlefield Stud pack. A son of Showcasing, he confirmed himself a high-class 2-year-old when winning the Mill Reef S. and, being a half-brother to leading 2000 Guineas hope Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), his pedigree could be in lights later this spring.

Part owner of Alkumait, Jerry Horan, said, “The Stallion Trail was the bee's knees and it was noticeable how many people travelled over from England and even further afield. The Stallion Trail has become a date in people's diary. The team at Castlefield did a great job and the stallions looked fantastic. Alkumait was late coming to Castlefield last year because he wasn't long out of training when we got him but he has let down into a fine stallion now. It's lucky for the Alkumait syndicate that the Chaldean came along and, more recently, the half-sister made 1,000,000gns at the foal sales so the future is bright. It's a proper pedigree and we're very excited by him.”

Three stallions who caught the eye on the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail in 2023

First things first, like every good Irish wedding, let's acknowledge those who couldn't be with us, or in this case, those we didn't get to see. Of the 35 studs who opened their doors to the public, the TDN Europe team got to visit 11, and here are a few observations from those studs. 

Ghaiyyath (Ire). A beast. One look at Ghaiyyath and it's easy to see why his foals sold so well last autumn. A top-class racehorse, he has all the right attributes to make it as a stallion and one would venture that the team at Kildangan Stud are quietly optimistic about the future with this fellow. Although we didn't get the ruler out, Ghaiyyath could conceivably be 17hh, which is funny given he is a son of Dubawi (Ire) and his dam was the diminutive Nightime (Ire). Fellow Kildangan-based sire Earthlight (Ire) also catches the eye. A flashy chestnut, he boasts pure unadulterated power and adds to what is a strong roster at Kildangan Stud. 

Space Traveller. A horse who wasn't on the radar prior to visiting Ballyhane Stud, Space Traveller deserves consideration for his walk alone. The G3 Jersey S. and G2 Boomerang S. winner walks for fun and should be a big hit with breeders if passing that on to his stock. Fellow Ballyhane resident Soldier's Call does exactly what he says on the tin and should get fast horses which would stand him in good stead with a view towards the first-season sire championship. 

Jukebox Jury. If he's good enough for Colin Tizzard and John Nallen, who are understood to be big fans of the stallion, then Burgage Stud's Jukebox Jury is likely to make waves this year with his first crop of Irish 4-year-olds. To his credit, he has already made a splash with his runners thus far but the best should be yet to come from the Irish St Leger-winning stallion. Mirage Dancer is another interesting National Hunt sire and ticks a lot of boxes standing for just €3,500 at Castlefield Stud.

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Who’s Hot Ahead Of The Tattersalls December Foal Sale?

The insatiable demand for foals was evident in the figures recorded at Goffs last week with turnover rising 16% to €29,561,000 and the average climbing 16% to €40,110.

At the top end of the market, Kingman (GB) dominated with three foals by the Juddmonte-based stallion selling for a combined €1,540,000 and one of Europe's leading pinhookers Philipp Stauffenberg signing for the €550,000 top lot by the sire. 

Tally-Ho Stud may be best known for being sellers but they pipped Stauffenberg for the biggest spenders title by signing for 19 foals for €1,429,000. Juddmonte, Yeomanstown, BBA Ireland and Camas Park Stud were also on the front foot at Goffs. 

Away from the top end, there were interesting trends to emerge last week that could well impact how this week's December Foal Sale plays out at Tattersalls.

What first-season sires do the buyers want? Who are the emerging forces in the stallion ranks and where might the value lie at Tattersalls? We've examined all of that and more.

Stock In Mehmas And New Bay Is Booming

It's been a breakout year for Mehmas (Ire) and New Bay (GB), who have had their fees for 2023 hiked off the back of memorable campaigns for their respective progeny and, judging by how well their foals went down at Goffs, they can again be expected to play a leading role at Tattersalls.

Let's start with Mehmas, a horse who began his stud career at Tally-Ho in 2017 at a fee of €12,500 and has justified his bump to €60,000 after another memorable campaign, highlighted by Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal (Ire).

New Bay has done something similar at Ballylinch in that he has climbed the ranks the hard way. He also entered the stallion ranks in 2017, standing for €20,000, but has had his fee for 2023 increased to €75,000 from €37,500 with Bay Bridge (GB), Bayside Boy (Ire) and Saffron Beach (Ire) doing their bit to advertise their stallion's prowess at the highest level this season.

Nine New Bays sold at Goffs for an average of €80,750, headed by colts who sold for €145,000 and €140,000, while Mehmas enjoyed a similarly productive sale with 26 foals selling for an average of €62,455. Four foals by Mehmas broke the €100,000 mark with BBA Ireland going to €160,000 to secure a colt by the stallion.

What's clear about last week's results is that Mehmas and New Bay are the emerging forces in the European stallion ranks. There are 30 foals by Mehmas and 16 New Bays at Tattersalls this week and it will be interesting to see how they perform.

Sergei To Make A Splash?

The Whitsbury Manor Stud team got to dip their toe into the market with some of the first foals by Sergei Prokofiev (Can) going under the hammer at Goffs. How that will prepare an operation who excelled itself with leading first-season sire Havana Grey is hard to know given the amount of foals due to be sold by Sergei Profkofiev at Tattersalls this week. 

The Goffs offering went down well; one colt made €52,000 while the WH Bloodstock team paid €45,000 for another. Of the six foals that sold at Goffs, they averaged at €34,167. Not bad going for a stallion who stood at £6,500 in his first season at stud. 

Indeed, Sergei Prokofiev hails from that Scat Daddy line that is proving so popular. He was clearly quite the looker, too, given he fetched $1,100,000 as a yearling before carving out a decent career without managing to win a Group 1 for Aidan O'Brien. 

There are 60 foals by Sergei Prokofiev at Tattersalls this week. They should provide a better sample size into the standing in which he is held in with the buyers.

Najd Stud Snap Up Foals

We have become accustomed to Najd Stud playing a major role at the horses-in-training sales but it was interesting to see the Saudi Arabian-based outfit sign for four foals at Goffs. Is that a sign of things to come at Tattersalls this week?

Najd Stud didn't shoot the lights out, either, at Goffs. A Ghaiyyath (Ire) colt topped the total spend of €134,500 across five foals. Interestingly, a filly by Shadwell's Commonwealth Cup winner Eqtidaar (Ire), who has his first runners next year, was among the purchases at €36,000 as was a €3,500 Belardo (Ire) colt on the final day of the sale. 

Kildangan-Based Sires Come Up Trumps

Speaking of Ghaiyyath, the Kildangan-based freshman sire enjoyed a rock-solid start at Goffs with 11 of his first foals selling for €824,000 which averages out at €74,909.

Leading pinhookers Pier House Stud bought the top two colts by the stallion for €185,000 and €145,000 respectively and few would be surprised if the offerings by the four-time Group 1 winner go down well at Tattersalls as well. 

Of the 11 foals cataloged by Ghaiyyath at Tattersalls, a filly out of a sister to New York Girl (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and a half-brother to Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) stand out on paper at least.

Fellow Kildangan-based stallions Blue Point (Ire) and Earthlight (Ire) also performed well. Earthlight had 17 foals sell for €942,500 at an average of €55,441 with Tally-Ho, Lynn Lodge Stud, Peter and Ross Doyle among the significant buyers of his progeny.

Even more impressive were figures posted by Blue Point, who had 20 lots sell for €1,011,500 at an average of €56,194. Top of the pops were colts knocked down for €200,000 apiece to Camas Park Stud and Katsumi Yoshida.

Blue Point's yearlings were similarly well-received. Famous for winning the King's Stand and Diamond Jubilee S. in the same week at Royal Ascot in 2019, Blue Point will have his first two-year-olds hit the track in 2023, with yearlings by the sire averaging over €100,000 this year. 

His stats performed favourably against proven sires Dark Angel (Ire), Showcasing (GB), Kodiac (GB), Starspangledbanner (Aus) and Acclamation (GB) in terms of average for a similar number of lots through the ring at Goffs last week. It will be interesting to see if he can carry over that sort of momentum at Tattersalls. 

First-Season Sires

Next year's race to be crowned champion first-season sire is being billed as one of the most exciting renewals for a long time with Too Darn Hot (GB), Blue Point, Waldgeist (GB), Magna Grecia (Ire), Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Calyx (GB), Advertise (GB), Invincible Army (Ire), Land Force (Ire) and Soldier's Call (GB) having their first runners in 2023.

As mentioned above, Blue Point performed well at Goffs while a number of leading pinhookers got behind the progeny of a number of the first-season sires. 

Advertise was one who came out nicely on the figures from a relatively small sample size at Goffs and one would imagine that Tattersalls will provide a more accurate barometer given he has 19 foals there.

But the Goffs results read well. Six foals sold for an average of €32,167 which was more than Invincible Army [14 for €29,773], Ten Sovereigns [15 for €26,833] and Soldier's Call [14 for €26,417]. Those figures could well average out this week. Time will tell.

First Crops Of Note

Along with Ghaiyyath, Earthlight and Sergei Prokofiev, who we have already mentioned, a number of stallions had their first crop go under the hammer at Goffs. 

Some of the more interesting results were posted by Arizona (Ire), perhaps unsurprisingly given he is a son of the sire of the moment, No Nay Never, while King Of Change (GB), Mohaather (GB), Sottsass (Fr) and Without Parole (GB) caught the imagination. 

Peter Nolan paid €60,000 for an Arizona half-brother to Eldrickjones (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) while the Coolmore-based freshman sire, who stands for just €5,000, averaged a respectable €20,192 for 13 foals.

Sottsass was a classier racehorse than most of his first-crop rivals and it told in the figures at Goffs with the former Arc winner posting averages comparable with Mehmas, Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Dark Angel. There were 11 foals by Sottsass at Goffs and they sold for an average of €61,100 and a top price of €180,000. 

G1 Sussex S. winner Mohaather created a good impression with five foals selling for an average of €49,250 including a top lot of €95,000 while Without Parole had four foals sell for an average of €27,000 and a high of €70,000.

King Of Change was subject to a recent transfer after being snapped up by Starfield Stud from Derrinstown and it looks like it could prove to be a decent move given how his first foals performed. 

Peter and Ross Doyle paid €50,000 for a colt by the sire who averaged a solid €24,714 for seven foals sold. That's a good return for a Group 1-winning stallion who is set to stand for just €5,000 next year.

Coolmore Can Count On Wootton Bassett And No Nay Never

Wootton Bassett (GB) and No Nay Never flew the flag for Coolmore at Goffs while demand for the progeny of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) was evidently up off the back of an excellent autumn for the first-season sire. 

Wootton Bassett was bettered only by Kingman and Galileo, who between them accounted for just four foals at Goffs, for the highest averages posted. 

The sire of brilliant G1 National S. winner Al Riffa, Wootton Bassett clearly captured the imagination last week, with seven foals selling for €1,345,000 at an average of €224,167 which earned him a top-three finish in that particular table. 

No Nay Never enjoyed an eighth-place finish in averages posted on €134,800 and, while Saxon Warrior was down on that list at €52,263, he posted a chunky aggregate with 21 foals selling for €993,000. That was the seventh-highest aggregate recorded by any stallion. 

 

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Dark Angel’s Top Ranked New Group 1 Winner Down Under

Yeomanstown Stud's Dark Angel sired a new top-level winner overnight, his 13th, when Top Ranked (Ire) (known as Top Rank in the Northern Hemisphere), proved inseparable with Ellsberg (Aus) (Spill The Beans {Aus}) at the finish of the A$1.5-million Epsom H. over heavy ground at Randwick on Saturday. It was a neck back to Hinged (Aus) (Worthy Cause {Aus}) in third in the 1600-metre feature.

A winner of the G3 Superior Mile S. in England in 2020, the 6-year-old entire is out of the winning Countess Ferrama (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), a daughter of the dual Group 2 winner Madame Dubois (GB) (Legend Of France). Countess Ferrama is also a half-sister to G1 Gran Criterium winner Count Dubois (GB) (Zafonic), G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero Indian Haven (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), and the stakes-placed dam of group winners Imperial Stride (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) and High Pitched (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Dark Angel's good day was not limited to Top Ranked, as he also sired his 93rd stakes winner earlier in the day at Flemington, when Visinari (Fr), third in Newmarket's G2 July S. before being sold Down Under, claimed the Listed Paris Lane H.

Euro-breds also enjoyed a brace of near misses out of the highest drawer, with Le Don De Vie (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), bred like his paternal half-brother, the decorated Aussie Group 1 victor Zaaki (GB) by Kirsten Rausing, a nose back of No Compromise (NZ) (Pins {NZ}) in the Metropolitan H. at Randwick. The £460,000 Goffs London Sale alumni has joined the ranks of listed winners since switching to the Southern Hemisphere. Rausing has a great chance in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with her homebred Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) on Sunday. Juddmonte-bred Maximal (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), second in May's G1 Doomben Cup, earned his second Group 1 placing in Flemington's Turnbull S. for an ownership group, of which Juddmonte is part-owner.

Godolphin homebred Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {GB}), a two-time Australian Group 1 victor, added the G2 Peter Young S. to his ledger, as well on Saturday.

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