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JAPAN Key to Germany’s future?
Hopes are high in Germany that the son of Galileo will fill the vacuum at the top of the country's stallion roster.
Adrien Cugnasse speaks with Etzean’s stud director Ralf Kredel
EVERY NEWCOMER to the stallion ranks is special but in Germany there are particularly high expectations of Japan, who is regarded as the best new stallion to retire to stud in the country in a very long time. It is perhaps not an overstatement to say that something of the future of the country’s industry rests on his shoulders.
As ever is thus the first six months of this year’s Flat season has seen a number of good horses produced from German dam lines.
In France there has been likes of the Prix de Diane (G1) winner Sparking Plenty and the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier (G2) victor Sevenna’s Knight, who is targeting the Melbourne Cup.
In Britain and Ireland, the Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner Rashabah is from a Gestüt Schlenderhan family, as is Truly Enchanting, winner of the Airlie Stud Stakes (G2) and Los Angeles, winner of the Irish Derby (G1).
As we go to press, the most recent impressive example has been the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) winner Goliath.
All have been produced by German breeders – the small, but quality, German broodmare band such an asset.
However, there is something of a crisis underfoot and although the saying goes in Germany that “you need two generations of three-year-olds to really judge a young stallion” and taking time, if you can afford it, is a rewarding strategy wherever you are racing and breeding horses, the German industry is currently in something of a hurry.
There is an urgent need for new top quality sires – sadly, the country’s previous leading sires Soldier Hollow, Adlerflug and Lord Of England are no longer with us, while many small-scale breeders have not survived due to falls in prize-money; just the larger farms are still in existence.
And those breeders still lucky enough to be able to produce horses are on a quest for excellence – if they don’t produce Group horses on a regular basis they will probably be out of the game sooner rather than later.
It is the reason many have been unable to give massive support to local young sires and instead tend to use proven stallions standing in Ireland and England.
In this year’s Deutsches Derby only nine of the 18 runners were conceived by a German-based stallion. It’s not many, but it’s still an improvement on the previous year when only six of the 20 Derby starters were by sires from Germany
The sense of urgency is real among German breeders and over the last few years many have tried their best to secure stallions with desirable profiles, hoping one will go on to become a high achiever.
The obsession for speed and precocity in Britain and Ireland has, to a certain extent, “helped” studs from continental Europe “catch” middle-distance prospects, horses whom they simply could not have afforded 10 or 20 years’ ago.
Japan, who stands at Gestut Etzean, is a very good example of the current situation. A Group winner as a juvenile, he won two Group 1 races at three with success in the Grand Prix de Paris and the International Stakes. He was still competitive at Group level as a five-year-old.
Bred by Newsells Park Stud, as a yearling he was bought at Tattersalls for 1.3 million guineas by the Coolmore team, a price which speaks volumes not only about his conformation and movement, but also his pedigree – he is by Galileo and out of the famed mare Shastye, the black-type performer and dam of five Group horses.
His second dam Saganeca was responsible for Sagamix, winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) and Sagacity, who finished third in the same race three years later.
Etzean’s stud director Ralf Kredel has much experience producing stallions and the farm used to stand Lord Of England, Dashing Blade, as well as the undervalued Jukebox Jury, Sholokhov and Areion.
“Japan is a horse I have really liked since the beginning,” says Kredel. “It was a hard battle to secure him, but we finally managed to do so and I do believe it’s a massive chance for the German industry.
“I don’t believe we have had an athlete of such a calibre, with such a pedigree, coming directly from the racetrack to the breeding shed in Germany for some time.
"We have had high-class horses in the past coming from abroad to stand in Germany, but they had been tried elsewhere.
“We have big hopes with Japan. Success for him as a sire would be extremely important for us as the stud is completely reliant on selling nominations and yearlings.”
Between 50 and 70 mares are based at Etzean with around half of those boarding for clients. The farm has to be self-financing as there is no wealthy owner-breeder to fund the operation.
Nearly 60 Group winners have been raised on the Etzean acres and many yearling buyers would not hesitate to nominate Etzean as one of the best studs in Germany. It is an unofficial accolade, of course, but the farm is a true high achiever, especially if considering the farm’s budget is far from unlimited.
Under the Kredels’ guidance, Ralf having taken over the position from his father Gerhard, who is now stud manager, a long list of very good horses have been raised since the late 1960s when the former cattle farm was converted into a thoroughbred nursery.
Those good horses include a Deutsches Derby winner (Isfahan), four winners of the Preis der Diana (G1) and several international stars, such as the champion Manduro, who was produced on behalf of Rolf Brunner.
The latest example is Tamfana (Soldier Hollow), who finished an eye-catching fourth in the 1,000 Guineas before going on to finish third in the Prix de Diane (G1).
Her ambitious, British-based trainer David Menuisier is sure that the filly has a “big race in her ”.
The horses are raised at Etzean “the hard way”. The local climate is testing – on the other side of the valley is a skiing resort, and the horses spend their winters from foals to yearlings on the snow.
Just like his father before him, Kredel is a director of the stud, but he manages it with the same care as if it was his own property.
There are no “spreadsheet stud directors” in Germany everybody is really hands on, so hands in fact that, just before this interview, Kredel was sat on his tractor and cutting hay.
Describing the support Etzean has provided to Japan, Kredel explains: “We sent him our best mares to give him the best possible chance and the farm has had between eight and ten foals by him each year.
“He also received good support from other leading German breeders. Last year he covered 70 mares and this year it was 60. That is a very high figure by local standards for an unproven sire and, in the German context, he has been given a very good chance to succeed.
“There should be between 20 to 25 yearlings by Japan at the BBAG Premier Yearling Sale, and we will see how the market reacts.
“His first two crops of foals are stock of good size, athletic individuals, not too heavy.
“But, really, he is a Classic-distance staying horse and that’s what German breeders are looking for. They want
to win the Derby and do accept they need to give time to their young horses in order to try to achieve this goal.
“However, Japan was far from being a late individual – he raced three times in the autumn of his two-yearold season, but he was clearly not a very precocious horse either.
“Even just a few years ago we could not have secured such a good prospect, but, as there are so many Galileos standing in Ireland, it has provided us a massive chance.
“In Japan’s pedigree, you can find two prominent Schlenderhan families with Allegretta and Schönbrunn, the Sadler’s Wells line did very well in Germany and I was also very keen on breeding to his dam sire Danehill. The Galileo on Danehill mating has provided some exceptional sires, such a Frankel, and also consistent stallions such as Intello and Galiway.”
In the Etzean’s broodmare band, there are obviously the 1m2f and 1m4f mares you expect to find in Germany and Japan’s books have included the Preis der Diana (G1)winner Palmas, Stex, who landed the Premio Federico Tesio (G2), as well as the dam of Preis der Diana victor Miss Yoda.
But there are also daughters and granddaughters of speed influences such as Dashing Blade and his son Areion, who have provided valuable diversity to the young sire’s roster.
They include Lancade, winner of the German 1,000 Guineas (G2), and other mile Group winners such as No Limit Credit or Whispering Angel, as well as the dam of Claymore, winner of the Hampton Court Stakes (G2) and runner-up in the Craven Stakes (G3).
Kredel says: “Obviously, we are not talking of speed in the ‘English’ way, there are no very early mares here in Germany!
“But, if you take a close look at Japan’s pedigree, it is not 100 per cent stamina and in his dam line there are a significant number of horses who achieved Group performances as two-year-olds.”
In today’s German bloodstock industry a sire can’t be launched without the support of a syndicate.
One of Japan’s major shareholders is the Gestüt Fährhof’s Andreas Jacobs, breeder of the stallion under his former ownership of Newsells Park Stud. This year Jacobs, via Gestüt Fahrhof, has enjoyed success as breeder of the 2024 Deutsches Derby winner Palladium and Path Wind, the dam of Palladium, had a foal by Japan this spring.
Also amongst Japan shareholders is the a long-lasting Etzean client Bernhard Matusche, and although the stud has the biggest share of the young stallion, Coolmore has retained a 25 per cent share.
With these big hitters on board the sire has every chance to get to the top of the German stallion ranks, and the son of Galileo could take the country’s industry along with him
