By Emma Berry
It is very early days to be judging the quality of the first-crop sires in Europe but it’s hard to overlook the fact that the stallion who supplied this year’s Golden Slipper winner also appears to be making a promising start to his stud career in the Northern Hemisphere.
Step forward Sidestep, former resident of Darley’s Kelvinside in NSW, with France’s Haras du Logis his base for three shuttle stints, and now based with Telemon Thoroughbreds in Queensland.
The former champion juvenile is a son of Exceed And Excel, whose success in both hemispheres is renowned and who was responsible for last season’s prolific European freshman sire, Bungle Inthejungle (Ire).
Sidestep has been quick off the mark in his adopted home with two early winners, both of whom are being aimed at Royal Ascot.
Sidestep
While this may seem an ambitious plan, both race for the team headed by noted breeze-up pinhooker Con Marnane, who pulled off a similar feat two years ago with the G3 Albany S. winner Different League (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}).
“I bought five yearlings by Sidestep last year because they looked forward types and they were nice, solid bays,” Marnane said. “I’ve been extremely happy with them. They are lovely horses and the biggest thing for me is their temperaments. Right from when we started breaking them in they were just so willing and so easy to work with.”
"Right from when we started breaking them in they were just so willing and so easy to work with." - Con Marnane
The precocity of some of Sidestep’s stock was underlined when Real Appeal (Ger) became his first northern hemisphere winner on debut at Chantilly on April 24, just a month into the European turf season.
The colt reinforced that early promise with a second victory, stepping up from 1000 metres to 1200 metres, just 11 days later.
That same day Wheels On Fire (Fr) also graced the winner’s enclosure in Theresa Marnane’s colours at Bordeaux Le Bouscat. He too had made is debut on April 24, finishing second.
Marnane said, “Both of them are Ascot-bound. I’m not sure whether they will have one more run before then but that’s where they are headed. We know what it takes to get one ready for Royal Ascot and we believe that both of these colts are good enough to go there.”
"We know what it takes to get one ready for Royal Ascot and we believe that both of these colts are good enough to go there.” - Con Marnane
Based at Bansha House Stables in Ireland, Marnane has his French team of horses trained at Maisons-Laffitte by Matthieu Palussiere, and the duo has also sent out Sidetep filly Timeoftheessence (Fr) to make a promising debut last week, with Mind Your Step (Fr) still to run.
Amy and Con Marnane with Matthieu Palussiere
Furthermore, with his sales hat on, Marnane is consigning a smartly-bred son of Sidestep to next week’s Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale in Ireland. The colt (lot 195) is out of the G2 German 1000 Guineas winner Dakhla Oasis (Ire) (Night Shift {USA}) and is a half-brother to the Group 3-placed Zafeen Speed (GB) (Zafeen {Fr}).
He is not the only Sidestep colt in the sale as Katie Walsh offers the first foal of Shamazing (GB) (Makfi {GB}), a half-sister to G3 Princess Margaret S. winner African Skies (GB) (Johannesburg {USA}), through her Greenhills Farm as lot 99. Meanwhile, last week in Deauville, three Sidestep juveniles returned an average price of €64,667 at the Arqana Breeze-up Sale, not a bad return for a stallion who stood his three seasons in France for a bargain fee of €4,000, covering 105 mares in 2016, then reduced books of 48 and 23.
“I take my hat off to Julian Ince who did a great job of promoting him in France,” Marnane added. “I know he didn't come back this year but if he comes back to France I’d definitely be sending him a mare or two.”
Marnane is not alone in expressing such sentiments, according to Haras du Logis owner Julian Ince, co-owner and breeder of Melbourne Cup starter Tiberian (Fr) (Tiberius Caesar {Fr}), who also supported the stallion with a number of his own mares.
“This is a tough business and his books in France pretty much emulated those in Australia, with around 100 the first year and dropping each year after that,” said Ince, who has a colt of his own in training with Christopher Head, named Beside (Fr).
“I didn’t think it was worth shuttling him again in what would have been his most difficult year but there is a lot of positive talk about his 2-year-olds from trainers, owners and breeders and plenty of people would like to see him come back to France if he carries on getting the winners.”
