G1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Daumier was an undeniably precocious horse, and the hope is he has stamped the same into his first yearlings, who head to the yearling sales in 2026.
Olly Tait at Daumier’s home of Twin Hills Stud has the faith that the young stallion can deliver, and a second crop colt out of Firebird Flyer (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) demonstrates that the quality Daumier put into his first crop isn’t a fluke.
The mould of their father
“You’ll never, ever come across a person who stands a stallion who hasn't been impressed by the quality of that stallion’s first foals,” said Tait. What he has observed is that the quality has maintained in Daumier’s second crop.
“They're in their mould of their father, who was an incredibly talented 2-year-old, and they seem to have his muscle and his strength, they have his bone, they have his nice head, and they're good movers. That's what we can say so far.”
“They're in their mould of their father (Daumier), who was an incredibly talented 2-year-old, and they seem to have his muscle and his strength.” - Olly Tait
The colt, who was born in late October, is the sixth foal out of Firebird Flyer who was a dual city winner as a 3-year-old when trained by Chris Waller. Firebird Flyer is a half-sister to Listed Tauranga Classic victress Sanibel (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) and boasts 12-time winner and G1 International Stakes scorer Veloce Bella (NZ) (Volksraad {GB}) as a close relation - with her dam being a half-sister.
Gallery: Daumier x Firebird Flyer (NZ) colt, born at Twin Hills Stud
Firebird Flyer has mostly patronised Twin Hills’ own stallions Smart Missile and Peltzer - as well as Daumier - but occasionally she has ventured further afield, resulting her Capitalist colt Phoenix Legend bringing $200,000 when offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2023.
“She was one of the first mares we bought when we started Twin Hills,” Tait said. “She gets nice stock, but this is a particularly nice foal. I would say he’s in the top few of all the foals we've had at Twin Hills this season.
“I would say he’s (Daumier x Firebird Flyer '25) in the top few of all the foals we've had at Twin Hills this season.” - Olly Tait
“She’s done a good job for us. Her progeny haven’t set the world on fire yet, but maybe this will be the one to turn a corner.”
Olly Tait | Image courtesy of Twin Hills Stud
The market’s assessment
Not just any Blue Diamond winner, Daumier was also the winner of the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (colts & geldings) at his first start, and went on to run fourth in both the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes and the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes in the same autumn.
A total of 88 mares visited him in his first year, resulting in 60 foals with seven heading to the Gold Coast in January. Twin Hills will offer five of that number, four of which are in Book 1 of the sale.
“He’s a horse that we own a large proportion of ourselves and we have supported him heavily with the mares that we own,” said Tait. “We've got a lot invested in him because we believe in him. It'll be nice to present the first yearlings to the market in the Magic Millions, and hopefully, the market agrees with my assessment of him.”
“We've got a lot invested in him (Daumier) because we believe in him.” - Olly Tait
The feedback has been positive from those who have attended on farm parades for Twin Hills and seen the cream of his crop before they head to the Gold Coast.
“People are interested in him because he’s a 2-year-old Group 1 winner, and they (his yearlings) have been very well received so far,” Tait said. “Hopefully they can fulfil that promise.”
Daumier | Standing at Twin Hills Stud
Eight more of Daumier’s offspring will head to the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, and six head south in March to the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. Tait believes that the stallion has the credentials to attract attention with his first crop, particularly given his high level precocity.
“Over the next four months in Australia, people are going to spend tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars on trying to find the colts that can win the 2-year-old Group 1 races, and this horse was the only colt in his year that won a 2-year-old Group 1,” he said.
“Over the next four months in Australia, people are going to spend tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars on trying to find the colts that can win the 2-year-old Group 1 races.” - Olly Tait
“He was a horse of the highest quality, and he is the youngest horse ever to win the Blue Diamond - he is the only November foal to ever win it. He was super talented, so naturally we hope that he can transmit that into his offspring, but we will know that in about two years’ time.”
Born on the 26th of November to Illustrate (Street Cry {Ire}) by Epaulette and bred by Godolphin, Daumier ran five times as a juvenile and never finished further back than fourth. He sandwiched a third in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (colts & geldings) between his two juvenile stakes wins. In a year dominated by fillies - in particular, Fireburn (Rebel Dane) and She’s Extreme (Extreme Choice) - he was awarded co-Champion 2YO Colt in recognition of his performances.
Daumier winning the 2022 G1 Blue Diamond Stakes | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The right support
Daumier covered similar numbers in his second year and, while there has been a dip as anticipated in his third season covers, the stallion’s syndicate of owners have continued to support him strongly with a quality broodmare band. His fee has remained steady at $16,500 (inc GST), making him amongst one of the most accessible Group 1 winners to enter stud in 2023.
“We've got a good syndicate of people who are shareholders in him, who have supported him with their mares, and we again have supported him with a lot of our mares this year,” said Tait.
“His offspring have to do it on the track now, and hopefully after his first yearling sales, we will see his numbers go up again.”
