Cover image courtesy of Coolmore Australia
Fastnet Rock’s prowess as a broodmare sire is hardly a secret, but his remarkable record in that sphere was thrust into the spotlight yet again this week courtesy of Warm Heart's (Ire) gutsy success at York on Thursday.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained filly had already shown her abundant class with a devastating performance in the G2 Ribblesdale S. at Royal Ascot in June, and a return to fast ground saw her bounce back to winning ways in tenacious fashion, claiming the scalp of some talented fillies and mares in the process.
Warm Heart’s dam, Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock), was a terrific racemare herself, winning the G1 Manikato S., G1 Doomben 10,000 and G1 BTC Cup during a glittering career on the track, one which earned her a move to Coolmore’s base in Ireland to visit the late great Galileo (Ire) at the culmination of her racing days.
Sea Siren winning the G1 Manikato S. | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
A half-sister to no less than three stakes winners, including blue-hen Kiwi mare Lady Dehere (Dehere {USA}), Sea Siren was mated exclusively with Coolmore’s multiple Champion Sire up until 2021, when the decision was made to send her back to Australia in foal to Galileo’s barnmate Camelot (GB), who had already enjoyed Group 1 success on these shores courtesy of the late Sir Dragonet (Ire) and the now Widden Stud-based stallion Russian Camelot (Ire).
That mating has resulted in a cracking colt according to Kennedy, who revealed that Sea Siren was sent back Down Under with the aim of helping to kickstart the careers of some of Coolmore Australia’s newest stallion recruits.
“Sea Siren was actually raised here at Coolmore and prepared for the yearling sales, and then we ended up buying back into her,” Kennedy recalled.
“She’s your typical Fastnet Rock mare. She’s got plenty of strength and size about her, a great nature and she’s a great mother. She’s really producing the goods and she’ll be a serious addition to what we’re trying to build on down here in Australia going forward.
“She’s (Sea Siren) got plenty of strength and size about her, a great nature and she’s a great mother. She’s really producing the goods and she’ll be a serious addition to what we’re trying to build on down here in Australia going forward.” - John Kennedy
“She’s a mare who obviously had her chances in Europe with Galileo and it’s worked out very well for her in Europe, but we decided to bring her back here to support some of the younger stallions on the roster, so we opted to support her with a Southern Hemisphere cover.
“Camelot was so successful down here that we thought she’d be a nice mare for him. His stats are very good and he had another Group winner last weekend. He’s definitely in demand and we just felt that it was a limited edition product to bring down to the market here.”
Kennedy is relishing the prospect of offering Sea Siren’s Camelot colt at auction next year, and he is similarly effusive in his praise of Sea Siren’s latest foal, a recently born colt by Coolmore’s dual Group 1-winning sprinter Home Affairs.
John Kennedy | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“The Camelot colt is going to go to one of the yearling sales next year, either Easter or Magics,” Kennedy revealed. “We’ve just had the sales companies round the farms so we’ll discuss that in the coming weeks.
“He has a lot of quality about him and is a great mover. He’s a typical Camelot in that he’s very light on his feet and athletic, and he’s going to tick the boxes for those looking for a nice, well-bred middle-distance colt for down here in Australia.
“With him being born we decided we’d send her to Home Affairs last year because she was a nice, proven mare to go to him, and the resultant foal is lovely.
“... We decided we’d send her (Sea Siren) to Home Affairs last year because she was a nice, proven mare to go to him, and the resultant foal is lovely.” - John Kennedy
“He was born about a week ago and we’re very happy with him. He’s a lovely, lovely foal and he’s really in the mould of what we expect to see from the Home Affairs foals. He’s got plenty of strength and shape and we’re very happy with the result.”
In light of her proven record at stud, Sea Siren is set to be mated with another of Coolmore’s exciting young stallions this year in the shape of St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), the five-time Group 1-winning son of European sire sensation Siyouni (Fr) who was crowned European Champion 2-Year-Old, World Champion 3-Year-Old and Cartier Horse of the Year during his glittering career on the track.
St Mark’s Basilica covered 159 mares during his first foray to Australia last year and, given that he looks set to be equally well-supported this season, Kennedy is particularly bullish about his prospects as a sire.
“Obviously, Siyouni doesn’t need any introduction, he’s had such a good year with Paddington,” he said.
“He’s probably had limited opportunities down here in Australia, but he has really made his presence felt, and we just thought that St Mark’s Basilica was going to be the perfect fit for us as an outcross going down to Australia. He’s got great 2-year-old form and he was a high-class 3-year-old.
“His first foals have just started to arrive and we’ve got a couple of very nice ones on the farm. He’s been very well supported and we have some nice mares booked into him, so he’s a stallion with an exciting future.”
St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) | Standing at Coolmore
One of many
Sea Siren is far from the only Fastnet Rock mare whose progeny are making waves overseas, with fellow Australian Group 1 winner Amicus unearthing a promising looking colt at Leopardstown earlier this month.
The colt in question, Chief Little Rock (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), was bred by Coolmore and retained to race, a decision which could pay a handsome dividend should the exciting 2-year-old triumph in any of the stakes races for which he holds entries in the coming weeks.
Out of a half-sister to Coolmore’s shuttle stallion Starspangledbanner, the regally bred Amicus is another who was mated exclusively to the late Galileo up until the decision was made to send her back to Australia, with her most recent cover coming courtesy of Galileo’s best son Frankel (GB) to Southern Hemisphere time.
His older brother Okita Soushi (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Amicus’ first foal, has already shown a high level of form for his trainer Joseph O’Brien and is reportedly being aimed at both the G1 Caulfield Cup and G1 Melbourne Cup later this year, having landed the Duke Of Edinburgh S. on his penultimate start at Royal Ascot back in June.
Much to Kennedy’s excitement, Amicus is due to foal any day and, like Sea Siren, is pencilled in to visit champion racehorse St Mark’s Basilica during the upcoming Southern Hemisphere breeding season.
“Amicus was some racemare,” Kennedy said. “She’s carrying an exciting cover to Frankel and she’s a lovely mare for us to have on the farm down here.
“Chief Little Rock is an exciting colt and he’s definitely highly regarded. He has some nice entries coming up down the line.
“There was talk of Okita Soushi coming down here himself and that was part of the thinking behind bringing Amicus down here.”
Beginning to Rock
With both Amicus and Sea Siren back in their native Australia, the pair have joined a host of other Fastnet Rock mares in Coolmore’s broodmare band that have already set about producing the goods at stud.
Look no further than Ennis Hill, the beautifully bred daughter of blue-hen mare Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) who has already produced gun Group 2-winning juvenile Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}), as well as a $1.75 million yearling filly by Pierro who narrowly missed out on topping this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Then there is the likes of Avantage, Te Akau’s nine-time Group 1 winner whom Coolmore purchased for an eye-watering NZ$4.1 million online on Gavelhouse Plus after she was retired from the track in September 2021.
Avantage, who has what Kennedy describes as a “beautiful” yearling filly by sire of the moment Wootton Bassett (GB) heading to the sales next year, is a perfect example of how strong the demand is for daughters of Fastnet Rock, and Kennedy feels it is easy to see why.
“Fastnet Rock is having such an influence on the breed down here in Australia with his daughters, they’re really hitting the mark at stud,” he said.
Avantage | Image courtesy of Gavelhouse Plus
“They’re great mothers and have all the credentials you need to shape into serious broodmares. You couldn’t have enough of them.
“Fastnet has been so successful for us and it’s a no brainer for us to be breeding out of his daughters because we know them inside out.”
As one of the most successful shuttle stallions of his generation, Fastnet Rock’s impact on the breed is being felt far and wide, with his daughters now having produced Group 1 winners on four different continents.
Fastnet Rock | Standing at Coolmore
On the domestic front, last season’s star juveniles Learning To Fly, Veight (Grunt {NZ}) and Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar) are all out of mares by Fastnet Rock, giving every indication that the surface is only just being scratched.
Kennedy was in no mood to hide his adoration for the son of Danehill (USA), and paid him the ultimate compliment by mentioning him in the same breath as the great Galileo - himself one of the greatest modern day influences on the breed.
“I don’t want to tempt fate, but I’d say the best is yet to come,” Kennedy said. “We have some lovely Fastnet Rock mares here in our broodmare band and I'd say they’re only just getting going.
“... I’d say the best is yet to come. We have some lovely Fastnet Rock mares here in our broodmare band and I'd say they’re only just getting going.” - John Kennedy
“He’s my favourite broodmare sire by far to be perfectly honest. They’re like hen’s teeth trying to get your hands on them at the moment.
“He’s the Galileo of the Southern Hemisphere when it comes to broodmare sires.”
The place to be
The Coolmore name is a regular fixture among the top 10 lots at the broodmare sales, with a member of the Coolmore Australia team signing the docket for the top lot at either the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale or the Inglis Chairman’s Sale every year since the latter adopted its current format in 2019.
That level of investment, combined with the decision to shuttle its top young stallion prospects like Justify (USA), Wootton Bassett and St Mark’s Basilica, demonstrates a huge show of confidence in the Australian industry, and with the likes of Sea Siren and Amicus coming back home to continue their broodmare careers, Kennedy wouldn’t rule out a filly like Warm Heart joining them Down Under in her future career as a broodmare, such is the scale of progress at Coolmore Australia.
“The reason why we have mares like Sea Siren and Amicus down here is because of the commitment that Coolmore has to the breeding industry in Australia,” Kennedy said.
“The reason why we have mares like Sea Siren and Amicus down here is because of the commitment that Coolmore has to the breeding industry in Australia.” - John Kennedy
“Australia has become a huge influence in the Coolmore portfolio and they really want to start supporting the industry down here with some proper mares. That’s why we’ve been shopping for the best and bringing down the best from Europe over the last couple of years.
“Now the expensive mares that we’re buying at auction in Australia are staying here, because we want to support our own stallions and build on what we’re doing every year. That’s part of the jigsaw, keeping these good mares on the farm and trying to improve what we’re producing every year.
“We have some serious mares down here on the farm now and that’s only going to get stronger as the years go on. Things are going forward in great leaps and it’s a testament to how strong the racing and breeding industry has become in Australia.”
