Cover image courtesy of Coolmore
The grey son of Danehill Dancer (Ire), a four-time Group 1 winner and Champion 2-Year-Old, died of a suspected heart attack at age 15, having completed 11 seasons at stud in Ireland. He started his international shuttling career at Windsor Park Stud in 2010, completing four seasons, proving very popular with an average book of 125 mares, before he then shuttled to both Argentina and Chile.
He enjoyed considerable success as a stallion from his home base in Ireland, producing 51 stakes winners, including seven Group 1 winners, while his Southern Hemisphere success in New Zealand and South America has seen him sire another 31 stakes winners, including nine Group 1 winners.
Among the top horses he produced from Windsor Park were dual Group 1-winning mare Danzdanzdance, G1 Thorndon Mile winner The Auld Floozie (NZ), G1 New Zealand S. winner Saint Emilion (NZ) and G1 Herbie Dyke S. victress Valley Girl (NZ).,
Windsor Park General Manager Steve Till told TDN AusNZ that Mastercraftsman was a stallion who made quite a considerable impression in his four seasons.
"He was a lovely horse to do anything with. He was very straightforward. He was a big, robust type and stood over a lot of ground. He had a very good temperament about him," Till said.
"He (Mastercraftsman) was a lovely horse to do anything with. He was very straightforward. He was a big, robust type and stood over a lot of ground. He had a very good temperament about him." - Steve Till
"He was a correctly made horse, had a very good hind leg on him and he was a Champion 2-Year-Old who was very well-credentialled and was very well-supported by New Zealand breeders in the time he shuttled down to us."
Mastercraftsman produced 94 winners from 163 runners in New Zealand, among them 10 stakes winners and a further 11 of which were stakes performed. He had 64 winners in Australia, including five stakes winners, among them G2 Wakeful S.-winning pair Luvaluva (NZ) and Thunder Lady (NZ).
His progeny were also well-received in the sales ring, selling up to NZ$250,000, with a peak average of NZ$50,467 in the 2014 sales season.
Leaving his mark
Till recalls a stallion who made his mark on his progeny, although he wasn't a dominant stallion in terms of type.
"He wasn't physically overly dominant. There were certain characteristics that would come through," he said.
"He (Mastercraftsman) wasn't physically overly dominant. There were certain characteristics that would come through." - Steve Till
"They were generally good-tempered and good-natured horses. He could throw some bigger style of horses and yet some of them were more tidy. He probably suited a tidy sort of mare with a bit of quality. He could put that leg into his progeny.
"He was such a well-bred horse and was one of the best sons of a very good stallion in Danehill Dancer. He probably physically threw more to his damsire, and the female line of his pedigree. He got his colouring from that side of the family."
Bred by Lynch Bages, Mastercraftsman was the fifth foal out of Starlight Dreams (USA) (Black Tie Affair {Ire}), who would go on to produce Grade 3 winner Genuine Devotion (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and G1 Moyglare Stud S. runner-up Famous (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).
Mastercraftsman would win seven of his 12 starts for Aidan O'Brien, including a G1 Phoenix S. and G1 National S. as a 2-year-old and then a G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S. as a 3-year-old.
Till said that when it became clear he would be on offer to shuttle to New Zealand having retired at the end of his 3-year-old season, there was no hesitation in snapping him up, especially after it became apparent that previous Windsor Park resident High Chaparral (Ire) would instead shuttle to Australia in 2010.
The late Mastercraftsman (Ire) | Image courtesy of Coolmore
"The reason we put our hand up for him was obviously that he had been top class at two and three, but he had trained on after that dominant 2-year-old season and that was a major factor as well," he said. "When the opportunity arose, we jumped at it, at the time."
Mastercraftsman, who attracted a book of 180 mares in that first season, is one of a long line of Coolmore stallions that Windsor Park has stood successfully.
"The first one we shuttled was Tale Of The Cat. We went from there to Montjeu then High Chaparral and then Mastercraftsman. Circus Maximus is the latest of them this year," he said.
"We have had a great response to him, similar to Mastercraftsman, and he is now fully booked. He arrived last weekend."
While Mastercraftsman is yet to make a mark as a sire of sires, his daughters are making an ongoing impact as broodmares in both hemispheres. He has had three stakes winners as a broodmare sire headed by dual Group 1-winning Australian mare, Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible), who is out of his stakes-placed daughter Maastricht (NZ).
Loving Gaby (white and orange silks)
Maastricht sold for $2.25 million at the 2019 Inglis Chairman's Sale, while her now 2-year-old daughter by I Am Invincible sold for $1.2 million at this year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Danzdanzdance, his most highly credentialled Southern Hemisphere-bred daughter on the track, is embarking on her breeding career this year having been sold to Fernrigg Farm for $475,000 at this year's Inglis Chairman's Sale.
