Cover image courtesy of Coolmore
When the Coolmore shuttle stallions have settled in to their temporary residence in the Hunter Valley, breeders will be confronted with an array of sires representing some of the best bloodlines in Europe, America and Japan.
The Galileo influence
The team this year includes two sons of the recently departed Galileo (Ire) in the English and Irish 2000 Guineas winner Churchill (Ire) and the globetrotting seven-time Group 1 winner Highland Reel (Ire), who will stand again at Swettenham Stud this season.
Churchill (Ire) | Standing at Coolmore
Churchill was one of the earlier examples of Coolmore mixing the middle-distance elements of supersire Galileo with some faster mares, which the operation has done with increasingly notable success. In Churchill’s case, his dam Meow (Ire), a daughter of Storm Cat (USA), ran only at two but was a decent sprinter, winning the Listed Grangecon Stud S. at The Curragh over 1000 metres. Her speed was no surprise as she is a daughter of the top-class Airwave (GB) (Air Express {Ire}), whose own four-season career saw her beat subsequent 1000 Guineas winner Russian Rhythm (USA) in the G1 Cheveley Park S. at two and win five stakes races from 1000 to 1600 metres. She was also only narrowly beaten when second to Choisir in the G1 Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot.
At the time of writing, Churchill has been represented by 13 first-crop winners in Europe, including the Listed victrix Ladies Church (GB). Another real eye-catcher among his early winners was Encountered (Ire), who was trained in Newmarket by Marco Botti but will soon be en route to Hong Kong following the prowess shown in his 4l victory on his second start at Doncaster in June. The trainer is understandably sorry to lose him.
“He came straight to us after he was bought as a yearling and he has always been really straightforward,” said Botti.
“From day one he showed the class you see in nice horses and from the minute we got him on the canter he was light on his feet and a good mover. He’s actually quite a big horse but he has always been very athletic and when he stepped up to fast work he worked all over the other horses.
"You don’t know until they run and the first time he was a little bit green but ran on well once the penny dropped. Then when he ran at Doncaster he won with plenty left in hand. Everything he was doing with us suggested he could be a black-type horse.”
Early signs from Churchill's second crop through the sales are promising with his filly out of Beagling (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), selling to Hubert Guy for €230,000 (AU$368,000) at the Arqana August Yearling Sale.
Lot 143 - Churchill (Ire) x Beagling (Fr) | Image courtesy of ARQANA
Reeling in the accolades
Highland Reel of course boasts a pedigree that is instantly familiar to Australasian breeders as a grandson of the influential Circles Of Gold (Marscay) and out of a sister to Elvstroem and half-sister to Haradasun. He is returning again to Swettenham Stud for his fourth season.
The value of this family was to the fore at the Arqana August Yearling Sale, where a Siyouni (Fr) colt from Highland's Reel's sister, Cercle De La Vie (Ire) sold for €1.5 million (AU$2.4 million) to Oliver St Lawrence.
Highland Reel was no slouch at two, winning two of his three outings, and he developed into a high-class and durable middle-distance performer who took his connections to many of the most prestigious races around the world. Second in the French Derby, he claimed his first international success when winning the G1 Secretariat S. at Arlington Park in the US, before notching top-flight wins at Ascot, Epsom, Sha Tin and Santa Anita.
Appropriately, his first of two winners to date was named Highland Premiere (GB), and he has now struck twice for trainer Mark Johnston.
Bloodstock agent Liam Norris, pinhooker of Shalaa (Ire) and purchaser of the dual Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), was among those who bought first-crop Highland Reel yearlings, signing for two last October.
He said, “I was always loved Highland Reel in his racing days. He was a good 2-year-old himself, winning the G2 Vintage S. at Glorious Goodwood and of course he raced on for another three seasons and picked up Group 1s all around the world.
"I love to see that hardiness of mind and body in a horse and I looked at quite a lot of his first yearlings last season. They had balance and great movement, just like him really.”
High praise for Saxon
Another of the 2000 Guineas winners in the Coolmore stallion barn is Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who has Galileo as his damsire but also brings the potent blood of his sire Deep Impact (Jpn) to Australia. It’s a cross that has been seen in another British Classic winner this season, the sensational dual Oaks winner Snowfall (Jpn), who won by 16l at Epsom and then took the Irish Oaks by 8.5l at The Curragh.
Saxon Warrior (Jpn) x Archangel Gabriel (USA) (filly) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Saxon Warrior has been used by a wide range of leading European breeders including the Niarchos family, Kirsten Rausing, and Cheveley Park Stud, and his first yearlings are about to come on the market in Europe. The notably successful pinhooker Philipp Stauffenberg signed for the most expensive of his foals last year, a filly out of Archangel Gabriel (USA) (Arch {USA}) for 280,000 gns (AU$552,720) last December. She is returning to Tattersalls in October for Book 1 of the October Sale.
“She’s an outstanding individual, a very good mover,” Stauffenberg noted. "She’s quite tall, as you would expect from the Deep Impact sireline.
"She was a very good-looking foal and a good physical and she has progressed steadily and is well balanced. She’s very light on her feet on the lunge and for me she is a stunner.
"She was expensive because I had to outbid the Coolmore gang. I knew I would have to go to the bitter end but I was prepared for that. It’s no harm to see a filly like Snowfall do so well this year as well.”
Saxon Warrior's first yearlings hit the European sales this year and he had a top price at the Arqana August Sale of €370,000 (AU$592,000) for a colt out of Listed winner Artistic Jewel (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}).
Flying the Flag
Saxon Warrior’s studmate U S Navy Flag (USA) represents the cross of War Front (USA) and Galileo and, though trained in Ireland, he showed a notable love of Newmarket, where he won the G1 Middle Park S. and G1 Dewhurst S. at two before returning to land the G1 July Cup as a 3-year-old.
He stands at The Oaks Stud in New Zealand in 2021, having previously stood at Valachi Downs.
Philipp Stauffenberg | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Unsurprisingly, he too has been well supported by an array of commercial breeders and owner/breeders, and his first yearlings are being sold in Europe, with a top price of €200,000 (AU$320,000) for one of his fillies at Arqana.
One who is bound to garner plenty of attention is the half-sister to this season’s 2000 Guineas and G1 St James’s Palace S. winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), who heads to the Goffs Orby Sale in late September.
Tapping into Invincible Spirit
The Invincible Spirit (Ire) line is represented by another two members of the Coolmore shuttle team in his Classic-winning son Magna Grecia (Ire) and smart grandson Calyx (GB), a son of Juddmonte’s in-demand young stallion Kingman (GB).
Calyx (GB) | Standing at Coolmore
Magna Grecia did his bit to fly the flag for Australia as he was bred by Bob Scarborough’s Woodnook Farm.
He too is out of a mare by Galileo and his family has been enhanced again since Magna Grecia retired to stud as his dam, Cabaret (Ire), is also responsible for the top-rated 3-year-old in Europe this year in the dual French Classic winner St Mark’s Basilica (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}).
Among the breeders who have some of his first foals on the ground is Nick Pocock, best known internationally as the breeder of G1 Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}).
He said, “I have two fillies by him this year and they are both pretty racey types with a good attitude to life. The stallion is such a good-looking horse and he was our pick at Coolmore that year. I’ve used him twice more this year.”
“I have two fillies by him (Magna Grecia) this year and they are both pretty racey types with a good attitude to life." - Nick Pocock
The fast and well-made Calyx was one of the early stars for his sire Kingman, whose rising profile was enough to convince Coolmore to invest in his son when Calyx retired from racing.
Amid the long list of breeders who sent him more than 160 mares in his first season is Con Marnane, who is now the proud breeder of a Calyx half-sister to this season’s French Listed winner Hastalavistababy (Fr) (Dandy Man {Ire}).
“She’s a class filly,” said Marnane.
“I have the mare here and she has bred some good horses, including Hastalavistababy, but this is an exceptionally good foal. She’s a very substantial filly with a good temperament but she’s a bit of a boss in the field, which is always a good sign.”
