Rising sires

On an upward curve

Jocelyn de Moubray spots 14 “rising sires” who stand for less than €/£10,000, but who are more than outperforming that price bracket

THE EUROPEAN STALLION MARKET is ever-more focused on a small group of super sires. In 2021 there were 20 sires in Europe, 18 in Ireland and two in Britain, who covered 168 Flat mares or more, and these 20 covered 3,800 mares between them.

This concentration has been progressing steadily in recent years. Ten years ago the 20th most popular Flat sire in Europe covered only 145 mares, and the top 20 covered 3,200 mares between them, so some 20 per cent fewer than was the case in 2021.

Of the foals to be born this year in Britain, Ireland and France around 30 per cent will be by one of the 20 most popular sires, and half by one of 37 who covered 150 mares or more.

This is an “about” as there are only estimates as to the proportion of foals born in each country who are destined for Flat racing as opposed to jump racing.

The overall foal crop in Britain, Ireland and France grew through the years from 2012 and the 2019, the most recent for which statistics are available, from around 12,000 to 13,000.

The number of foals rose by about eight per cent, while the number by one of the 20 most popular sires rose by 19 per cent.

The consequences of this concentration in the stallion market are the subject for a different article, but one very obvious conclusion is that there are plenty of stallions who never get the opportunity to realise their potential.

If 37 stallions cover half of the Flat mares available, the other 650 sires officially at stud have to compete for the remaining mares.

This article looks at 14 sires standing in 2022 in England, Ireland, France and Germany for less than £10,000, who are still relatively young, they retired to stud in 2014 or later, and who have, in one way or another, shown above average ability as sires.

And yet for the time being due to bad luck, human mistakes or any one of the many other possible explanations have yet to gain a place among the elite.

For the older sires among them it is the fact that they have not only produced some high-class performers, but more importantly they have repeated above average returns for more than one season. For the younger sires, who have had only one or two crops to race, it is even more speculative, but black-type and stakes performers are not the only way, or even necessarily the best way, to estimate the ability of young sires.

Cityscape

Cityscape has a similar profile to Reliable Man. A top racehorse with a RPR of 126, a Group performer at two, three, four, five and six, with a strong maternal family, he is a successful southern-hemisphere stallion with four Group 1 winners and three Group 2 winners in Argentina.

However, despite the success of his first crop in the northern-hemisphere, the son of Selkirk has struggled to attract enough support to be able to express his true ability.

There were 54 named foals in Cityscape’s first crop, seven of whom went on to be Group or stakes race performers headed by Ka Ying Star, the winner of four races and more than £2 million in Hong Kong where he has been Group 1-placed several times after winning three of his four starts in England.

This first crop also included the Group 3-winning fillies Give And Take and Dan’s Dream.

The best horse in his second crop was Urban Icon, a Listed winner who competed against the best of his age at around a mile at two, three and four in England.

His third crop included Avenue De France, who is a US stakes winner having been exported from France after winning his first two starts, and the Spanish-trained Hardpia. She was third in a Group 3 in France after winning several big races in Spain.

His fifth crop, who are three-year-olds of 2022, include the colt Chili Flag, second in a Listed race in Chantilly at two.

Avenue De France, Hardpia and Chili Flag were all sold as young horses for less than €10,000, and when a stallion’s progeny is initially lowly rated by the market, it is rare that they are given every chance as racehorses, and even rarer that they get a chance to compete at Europe’s top racecourses. Their achievements are notable.

Reliable Man

Reliable Man won the Group 1 Prix du Jockey-Club and Group 2 Prix Niel as a three-year-old in France, and looked better again when winning the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over 2000m at Randwick at five, beating Dundeel and several other Group 1 winners.

The son of Dalakhani suffered a career-ending injury during his most impressive victory and retired to Westbury Stud in New Zealand and in 2014 joined the Gestüt Röttgen roster in Germany. His five crops to race in the southern-hemisphere include three Group 1 and three Group 2 winners. He has had plenty of success in Hong Kong with five winners from nine runners, including the Group 2 winner Reliable Team as well as Packing Victory, the winner of four of his six starts to date.

In the northern-hemisphere, Reliable Man has never received the support on the same scale and quality. From his first five crops to race, his fifth crop are three-year-olds of 2022, Reliable Man has produced five Group winners, all of whom were bred by Gestüt Röttgen.

Two juvenile Group winners from his first crop, Erasmus and Narella, should have been enough to launch his career, but in 2018 he was moved to the Haras du Thenney in France where he received only four mares from outside German breeders.

Several stallions have stood between France, England and Germany in recent years and none have been a huge success.

Coulsty: the Rathasker Stud-based son of Kodiac is sire of October’s 9f Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Shantisara

At the end of the day breeders may follow Group 1s all over Europe, but most are far more impressed by races which take place at home and a good winner at Baden-Baden or Toulouse doesn’t do much for a horses standing in Normandy or Newmarket.

Reliable Man returned to Röttgen for the 2021 season. His three-year-olds already include two Group performers and several prominent in ante-post betting for the German Classics.

The colts Ardakan, a Group winner in Italy, and Ariolo, beaten a nose in a Group 3 in Germany, are among the Derby favourites, while the filly Lathraea is one of the top three in market for the Oaks.

Anodin

A full-brother to the great champion Goldikova, Anodin was a high-class miler and finished placed in Group 1s in France, England and the US.

He was retired to stud at the Haras du Quesnay and his first two crops showed plenty of promise, but with only limited support in his third and fourth years at stud he has dropped out of view and has only 35 three-year-olds to run for him in 2022.

However, his early success meant that the son of Anabaa covered a large book in 2019 and has 81 two-year-olds for 2022.

Anodin’s first crop included the Group 1-placed Anodor, as well as Savy Nine, a Group winner in Hong Kong.

His second crop produced eight black-type horses – 12 per cent of 68 named foals putting him among the best 15 sires in Europe.

Directa was a Group winner in France, Niege Blanche a Graded stakes winner in California, while Bolivar was a useful stakes horse in Ireland.

Anodin’s small 2019 crop includes two useful winners in Anobe and Saramouche and there is every chance he will enjoy a revival with his large fifth crop.

Anodin’s progeny tend to stay further than he did, their average winning distance being 9.4f, and he has produced several very tough stakes performers such as Harmless, Roquemont and Richmont, who are still racing as six and have won 26 races between them so far. Anodin moved to the Haras de Haie Neuve for the 2022 season.

Bungle Inthejungle

Bungle Inthejungle was a high-class two-year-old sprinter who won the Molecomb Stakes and the Cornwallis Stakes both over 5f.

His progeny tend to take after him in their aptitude and have an average winning distance of 6f. The son of Exceed And Excel’s stud career has followed the pattern of most commercial sires – after proving popular and covering 120 mares in his first year at stud, the number he covered dropped to 53 and then he saw only 21 mares in his third year.

However, Bungle Inthejungle has produced a Group winner in each of his first three crops and his third crop of only 14-named foals included the Group 1-winning sprinter Winter Power, as well as the stakes winner Acapulco Gold, who was also fourth in the Group 1 Prix Morny.

Two black-type winners or 14 per cent of his 14 named foals puts Bungle Inthejungle among the top ten sires in Europe for the 2018 crop.

Bungle Inthejungle’s early success did not go unnoticed and he has averaged 100 mares

a year over the last three covering seasons and so has every chance of establishing a long-term position among sprinting sires.

Anodin’s small 2019 crop includes two useful winners in Anobe and Saramouche and there is every chance he will enjoy a revival with his large fifth crop

Cable Bay

Cable Bay was a high-class 7f performer at two, three and four, finishing second in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at two and then winning a Group 2 on his final start as a four-year-old over the same 7f course at Newmarket.

The son of Invincible Spirit was strongly supported in his first two seasons at stud and his first two crops returned impressive figures of ten black-type horses (10 per cent) from the 97 foals in the first and a further six (eight per cent) from the 71 in his second.

His best winner is the Group 2 Temple Stakes victor Liberty Beach, but he has produced five other horses rated 110 or higher and his best two progeny by ratings come from his second crop and have yet to win a black-type race.

Dragon Symbol finished second in two Group 1s and was first in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot only to be placed second by the stewards. Laneqash is lightly raced, but looked like a potential top horse when second in a Group 2 at Newbury last August. Cable Bay may have a few quiet years as he did not cover so many mares in 2018 and 2019, but he covered more than a 100 mares

again in 2020 and so is likely to be successful again before 2024 when the offspring of this year’s covering will be offered for sale.

His progeny have an average winning distance of 6f100yds.

Belardo

The final two sires whose first crop were three-year-olds of 2021 are on a similar, if opposite, trend.

Darley’s Irish-based sire Belardo looked to be on the verge of securing a place among the elite with the rare achievement of three juvenile Group winners in his first crop. It was an achievement which then attracted 182 mares for the 2021 covering season, however, the son of Lope De Vega had a disappointing season in 2021 as these Group winners only managed a Listed win between them as three-year-olds and no other top horses emerged.

Belardo, himself, had a disappointing three-year-old career, but was a top Group 1 winner at both two and four and so it is far too soon to consider his early success a fluke. His second crop of two-year-olds did not include any Group winners, but some promising looking horses nevertheless, including My Little Tip, Fearless Angel and Purple Dawn.

Coulsty

In a way Coulsty is perhaps not a typical son of his sire Kodiac, who has made his reputation as a sire of two-year-olds and of successful two-year-old sires such as Ardad and Kodi Bear.

But Coulsty’s race record and pedigree are strikingly similar to those of his sire. He ran 26 times at two, three, four and five and was a stakes performer every year with his best win coming in a Group 3 in Deauville over 6f. He was also second in a Group 2 at Newbury over 7f at four.

Coulsty comes from a middle-distance family as his dam by In The Wings won over 1m4f, while his third dam was a half-sister to the middle-distance champion Mtoto.

Coulsty’s first crop were three-year-olds of 2021 and, remarkably, from only 36 named foals they included six stakes horses (17 per cent) which puts him in this respect in fourth place among European sires behind only Dubawi, Mehmas and Frankel.

The six are headed by the Grade 1-winning filly Shantisara, who has gone from being a 10,000gns two-year-old, to being sold out of claimer for €35,555 and then to the United States via a short stay in Marseilles.

For her US trainer Chad Brown, Shantisara has won three of her four starts including the 9f Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Keeeneland by an easy 5l.

Another filly Santosha was Group 2-placed and a Group 3 winner at Ascot at two

Coulsty has made a more than promising start and will surely now be given a chance to repeat this success in the future.

Dariyan

Dariyan will find it more difficult to establish a lasting position now as his first crop was only average – it is his second crop of two-year-olds which have made a mark.

The difference is that in 2021 the son of Shamardal covered his smallest book of mares to date with only 55 visiting the Group 1 Prix Ganay winner.

Dariyan had 15 runners from his second crop as two-year-olds and they included nine winners and the Deauville Listed winner Mister Saint Paul, as well as several other high-class performers such as Asgoodassobergets and Elizar, who have both been sold for export, and the promising filly Roselyne.

Isfahan

Isfahan only ran six times, but was the best son of his sire Lord Of England who had a long and successful stallion career at Gestüt Etzean.

He was a champion two and three-yearold colt in Germany breaking his maiden in the Winterfavoriten over a mile at two and then winning the Deutsches Derby in a very close finish defeating Savour Vivre and Dschingis Secret, who went on to international Group race success.

Isfahan didn’t run again and retired to stud as a four-year-old. He was bred by leading trainer Andreas Wohler, his third dam was a Group 1 winner and, although he is inbred to Sharpen Up 4x4, he is otherwise an outcross to most European sire lines.

Isfahan’s first crop of 44 foals included four stakes horses, and his colt Sisfahan and filly Isfahani were close to the best of their generation.

The 2021 Deutsches Derby winner Sisfahan by Isfahan was a further twice Group 1 placed last year

All four of his stakes horses raced for Darius Racing in whose colours Isfahan himself ran.

Sisfahan broke his maiden at two in Lyon and won the Derby coming with a late and wide run. The form of the Hamburg Classic has not worked out particularly well, but Sisfahan proved his class when pushing Torquator Tasso in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden and going down by only a length to Europe’s best older middle-distance horse.

Isfahani came close to completing a Classic double finishing second in the German Oaks after winning an Italian Group race on her two year old debut.

Isfahan has only around 20 three-yearolds and two-year-olds to race for him this season, but will receive much more support this year.

Protectionist

The Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist, who was also a high class two-year-old in Germany and a Group 1 winner over 1m4f at six, is the last chance for his sire Monsun to produce a leading Flat stallion.

And Protectionist could still achieve this as his first crop of some 44 foals returned promising, if still inconclusive, results.

He has some 33 and two-year-olds to race for him in 2022 and so enough on the ground to make a mark.

Protectionist produces few two-year-old winners, but his first three-year-olds did include two Group winners before the end of May which, in German terms, comes close to being precocious.

The colt Lambo won his Group 3 in Munich and then finished a creditable third in a Group 2 at ParisLongchamp.

The filly Amazing Grace won her Group 2 at Hoppegarten in mid-May over 1m2f, and this pair were joined by the Irish-trained Powerful Aggie, who is now rated 105.

The juvenile No More Bolero won his only start in Lyon and is currently among the favourites for the Deutsches Derby, while another colt Lotterbov won a maiden in Mulheim for trainer Markus Klug.

There may be a slight doubt as several of his most promising horses had their career compromised by injury, but then 44 three-year-olds is too small a sample to be able to draw conclusions.

Protectionist remains a promising middle-distance sire.

Ectot

Ectot was a Group 1 winner at two and then again at five in the US when he beat Flintshire to win at Belmont Park.

As a young horse Ectot clearly had injury problems, but he won six of his first seven races, including four Group races and a Listed. His best-looking two-year-old winner was the Jean Claude Rouget-trained colt Good Too, who is currently not in training, but the son of Hurricane Run had four three-year-old winners in January, including three debut winners Lovetot, Jordanella and Bennetot.

Both these young sires were consistently supported during their first four years and are likely to cover good books in 2022

EL KABEIR (to stud 2018) Scat Daddy-Great Venue (Unbridled’s Song) Yeomanstown Stud €6,000 El Kabeir and Galileo Gold were two Irishbased

2021 first-season sires, who had a high proportion of highly-rated two-year-olds to two-year-old runners without having the black-type wins, which would have given them a higher profile.

El Kabeir, a US-raced son of Scat Daddy, has had 16 winners to date from 55 runners and these include five horses rated 95 or higher – Masekela, Don Chico, Harrow, Rerouting and Rishie’s Bear as two-yearolds, while the Peter Brant-owned filly Salimad made a spectacular four and threequarters length winning debut over a mile on Turf at Tampa in January.

El Kabeir has had three black-type winners to date – the Italian-based Don Chico and Sa Filonzana, and the Newbury stakes winner Masekela.

Galileo Gold

The 2,000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold has had 25 winners from 67 runners at the time of writing and seven rated 95 or higher headed by the Group 1 winner Ebro River and including seven stakes performers.

Galileo Gold himself improved significantly from two to three and any first-season sire, who has 10 per cent of his runners rated 95 or higher, has an excellent chance of making a mark as a stallion.

The Grey Gatsby

The Grey Gatsby was Group-placed at two, but became one of Europe’s best at three when he was given a rating of 126 and won Group 1s in France and Ireland.

The son of Mastercraftsman has had nine winners from 25 runners to date, including three three-year-old winners in January.

His best winner is the German-trained filly Mylady, who won a good quality Listed race at Dusseldorf in September from an impossible position and has not run since. Others who have looked to be above average include Slam Poet, Atomic Blonde and Indian Wish.