FIRST CROP STALLIONS OF 2019-2020

It’s well-known that the best Thoroughbreds in the Northern Hemisphere are bred in Ireland, Great Britain, USA, France, Germany, Canada and Japan. The climate in India, both physical and economic, makes it difficult – but not impossible – for the country to take its place at the top table at which the above-named countries sit. For that, a number of changes have to occur, a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this piece.

One of the principal tools for upgrading a country’s bloodstock is by way of superior stallions. The rapid beneficial impact of “shuttle stallions” on the Australian Turf in the past couple of decades is well-documented. Alas, there are too many impediments (all man-made!) to the bringing in of high-class shuttle stallions to India.

With that route ruled out, at least for the moment, permanent imports are the only source of stallion power. Here, too, the insular nature of the Indian breeding industry – and the paucity of bank finance – means each breeder has to cough up a large sum in one shot to be able to bring out a prospective stallion. As such, there is pressure to keep the costs down by relying on cheaper – hence in general lesser-performed – runners.

Some Indian breeders give too much credence to pedigree, hoping for a miracle. That rarely occurs! Actually, racetrack performance is far more important. Breeders must ensure that whatever they import meets a minimum criterion as far as rating is concerned, which ought to be an Annual Rating of 115, roughly the level of a Gr.3 winner abroad. Higher the better!

A decade or so ago, the standard-bearers amongst stallions were Razeen[USA], Placerville[USA] and Burden Of Proof[IRE], all of which produced Graded Stakes winners at a double-digit clip (by %). Current leaders include Multidimensional[IRE], Excellent Art[GB], Arazan[IRE] and Phoenix Tower[USA]. All the seven named had an Annual Timeform Rating of 115 (or better), except Razeen[USA] who missed that mark by just one point! He had, of course, plenty of other factors in his favour so it pays not to be too dogmatic….

Despite the expectation of inevitable disappointments, there is considerable interest in determining which of the new stallions in India have the credentials to succeed. The number of stallion imports under review jumped to half a dozen, from a mere trio in the previous year. In addition, five Indian-breds were retired for stallion duties in 2016, one of which had no foals in 2017. That makes 10 new sires of two-year-olds that are about to begin their racing careers. Five of these with the maximum representation – and thus most likely to have an impact – are reviewed here.

DAVID LIVINGSTON[IRE] (Bay 2009, by Galileo – Mora Bai, by Indian Ridge), who stands at the Hazara Stud Farm, at Village Mohra near Ambala in Haryana, is amongst the vanguard of sons and grandsons of the world’s pre-eminent sire, Galileo, that have made their way to Indian shores.

Bred by Coolmore associates Rhinestone Bloodstock and Lynch-Bages Ltd., the son of Galileo entered training at Ballydoyle Stables in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, under the tutelage of Aidan O’Brien. Fairly early to hand, he made his debut as the second string of his stable, in a 7 furlongs maiden at Leopardstown in June 2011, finishing fifth (incidentally his stablemate, who was nosed out of the win in a photo, was Tenth Star[IRE], who will come up for review later in this piece). In keeping with his trainer’s methods, David Livingston[IRE] was wheeled back soon in a couple of weeks later in a 7 fur. Curragh maiden on Irish Derby weekend and showed considerable improvement to run out a comfortable three lengths winner as the joint favourite.

Although progressing further when thrown into Group 2 company in the Futurity Stakes, David Livingston[IRE] was not yet mature enough to pose a serious challenge to Dragon Pulse (now a stallion at the Irish National Stud) and ended up fourth. Like progressive youngsters should, he stepped up again next time out, occupying a minor placing in the Group 1 National Stakes, thereby gaining valuable black type. The winner, his stablemate Power, went on to annex the Irish 2000 Guineas the following season.

At his final start of the campaign he annexed the Juddmonte Beresford Stakes over a mile, starting a hitherto unbroken series of nine wins in this race (and 19^th overall) for Aidan O’Brien. Second in the race was Akeed Mofeed, who went on to pick up a pair of Group 1s in Hong Kong, while earning about £2,000,000!

David Livingston[IRE] disappointed at his 3-year-old debut when failing to justify favouritism in the Gr.3 Ballysax Stakes (10 fur.) at Leopardstown, keeping on steadily when his chance had gone. Nor did he fare much better in the Gr.3 MBNA Chester Vase (12.5 fur.), thereby ending any Epsom Derby aspirations. In fact he never matched his 2-year-old level of merit in his abbreviated 3-year-old campaign.

Transferred to Mike De Kock for a tilt at the Dubai carnival, he also changed ownership to none other than Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, whose well known silks he sported on his sole appearance at Meydan, Dubai, in February 2013, when 7^th (of 12) in a handicap. De Kock remained in charge when the stable shifted to England, and from his base there, he conjured up improvement in his ward such that David Livingston[IRE]  was able to topple the half-money favourite, Telescope, in a Galileo 1-2-3 finish in the Gr.3 Betfred Rose of Lancaster Stakes (10.5 fur.) at Haydock Park. Frankel’s brother Noble Mission was third. This effort earned David Livingston[IRE] a career-best Timeform Rating of 118.

His next two starts were in Istanbul and Dubai, both unplaced efforts. In the latter David Livingston[IRE] met with a setback which saw him hang around doing little for some 20 months before being sold to a patron of Roger Charlton’s, for whom he placed a couple of times, before concluding his 17-start career embellished with 3 wins and earnings of £136,373. Purchased thereafter by the Hazara Stud Farm, he reached his new home in India only in April 2016 where over 50 new brides awaited, from which have resulted 30 live foals.

David Livingston[IRE]’s dam, Mora Bai, is an unraced half-sister to six winners (all by Sadler’s Wells) including the top-class Epsom Derby winner and sire, High Chaparral, and Dante Stakes hero Black Bear Island, to both of which he is closely related. She is also half-sister to Chenchikova, dam of Smuggler’s Cove[IRE] (see below). Mora Bai has also produced globetrotter Hunting Horn (by Camelot), winner of a Group 3 at Royal Ascot, who is now in Australia attempting to add to his laurels with entries in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate and Lexus Melbourne Cup.

Notes on David Livingston[IRE]’s peerless record-breaking sire Galileo appear below under the entry for Planetaire[IRE]. Like his sire, David Livingston[IRE] will inject a touch of stamina into his offspring though that does not mean that they would be short of speed. The two are not mutually exclusive!

ONE LUCKY DANE[USA]

ONE LUCKY DANE[USA] (Bay 2012, by Lookin At Lucky – Echo Harbor, by Boston Harbor) arrived at the Pratap Racecitement Stud Farm in the Ranga Reddy District of Telangana, near Hyderabad, after the breeding season’s official start date of February 15^th. Despite that, he was able to cover 33 mares in his first season at stud, with 79% fertility, resulting in 18 live foals.

A stunning physical individual, as can be deduced from his yearling purchase price of US$490,000 at the Keeneland September Sale of 2013, he is a member of his sire Lookin At Lucky’s first crop. Given that he was conceived at the Ashford Stud at Versailles in Kentucky off a fee of US$35,000, breeder Woodford Thoroughbreds would surely have been very pleased with the price!

The successful bidder for the well-grown, correct and handsome horse was Bernard C. Schiappa, acting for Michael Lund Petersen, who sent the colt to the barn of Bob Baffert, which also sheltered a Pioneerof The Nile colt that was destined to become the American Turf’s twelfth Triple Crown winner under the name of American Pharaoh.

On his debut at Del Mar in September 2014, One Lucky Dane[USA] placed third to Om, who went on to become a multiple Graded Stakes winner himself. More to the point was the fact that behind him was his better-fancied stablemate American Pharoah. One Lucky Dane[USA] thus became one of just five horses that ever finished ahead of the champion in his entire career!

After the conclusion of the Del Mar meeting One Lucky Dane[USA] returned to Santa Anita where he won 2 races – including a maiden race at 2 by 9-1/2 lengths and an allowance race at 3 by 9-3/4 lengths – and was Grade 1-placed in the Kentucky Derby-prep., the Gr.1 Santa Anita Derby, which earned him a ticket to the “Run For The Roses”. Alas, he broke down irretrievably in the course of his preparation and retired with 2 wins and a Grade 1 placing from only 6 lifetime starts. His earnings of $292,400 equate to about Rs.2 crores. Timeform allotted him a rating of 117. It’s hard to say what his progeny’s distance limitations will be – most likely they will be speedy customers who should easily get the metric mile, or even further.

Lookin At Lucky, sire of One Lucky Dane[USA], had an illustrious racing career, being crowned champion 2-year-old in the USA. At 3, he won the Preakness Stakes, Gr.1 (middle leg of the American Triple Crown) which contributed to him being ranked the champion 3-year-old in the USA! He was quickly snapped up for stud duties by Ashford Stud – the American arm of Ireland’s Coolmore Stud – where he stands when not shuttling to Chile. His progeny include:

• ACCELERATE – Gr.1 Breeders Cup Classic winner 2018 and earner of $6,692,480
• COUNTRY HOUSE – Gr.1 Kentucky Derby winner 2019 and earner of $2,120,175
• WOW CAT – Gr.1 winner of 9 races worth $1,182,977.
• CONQUER – Gr.1 winner of Premio Alberto Vial Infante. 

One Lucky Dane[USA], like  Air Support[USA], is a son of Smart Strike and represents the male line of breed-shaper Mr. Prospector. His dam, the excellent producing broodmare Echo Harbor, has also come up with his half-brother, Graded Stakes winner of the Sapling Stakes Western Smoke (by Smoke Glacken), and their Cozzene half-sister, A Shin Honor, earner of over a million dollars in Japan.

With a pedigree free from Northern Dancer in the first four generations, One Lucky Dane[USA] would be a valuable outcross to the plethora of Northern Dancer-line broodmares at stud in India. What’s more, he carries precious strains of Seattle Slew, Damascus and Sir Ivor on the distaff half, which might be worth duplicating. He hails from the outstanding female family of “Blue Hen” Lea Lark (ancestress also of Almutawakel, Miswaki, Targowice, Tobougg, White Muzzle, etc.), through her daughter Leallah (champion 2-y-o in USA, dam of leading sires Go Marching and Table Play).

PLANETAIRE[GB] (Bay 2011, by Galileo – Occupandiste, by Kaldoun) holds court at the Sohna Stud in Haryana, not far from New Delhi, which also housed his first crop of 40 youngsters before they were sent into training. A home-bred for the Wertheimer Brothers – owners of the world-famous line of Chanel perfumes – he is one of seven winners out of his superbly-bred dam.

A study of the Wertheimer Thoroughbred operation reveals the brothers to be shrewd breeders, in the mould of their father Jacques, who was responsible for developing top stallions Green Dancer, Lyphard, and Riverman in association with the Head family.

Despite having an estimated net worth of $31 billion between brothers Alain and Gerard, they rarely splurge at the sales, preferring to operate somewhat below the stratospheric heights occupied by Darley, Coolmore, Shadwell, etc. Not that this has in any way hampered the quality of their home-breds, the stars of which have been triple Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Goldikova and Prix du Jockey-Club hero Intello.

They have not been shy to use the expensive services of Galileo, who has rewarded them with the afore-mentioned Intello, as also Mondialiste, Terrakova and Planetaire[GB].

Unless one has been hibernating in a cave for 18 years, one would be aware that Galileo, the 2001 Epsom Derby winner, has followed up his stellar racetrack performances with efforts at stud that boggle the imagination. Ten times the champion sire in Great Britain and Ireland – the last nine in a row – he seems to produce an infinite supply of high-class Classic racehorses, mostly endowed with stamina. His best offspring has been Frankel, rated a phenomenal 147, the highest ever since Timeform began rating horses. At the time of writing, he has 206 Group/Graded Stakes winners and 103 Listed winners.

The family of Planetaire[GB] came into the Wertheimer fold when they bought his grandam, Only Seule, as a yearling in 1989. As a daughter of Lyphard out of a Group 2 winning daughter of the great Fall Aspen as her grandam, she held obvious appeal. Although she did not reward them directly on the track, with just 1 win from 4 starts, Only Seule rapidly became a foundation mare for them. Her best progeny is Occupandiste, Gr.1 winner of the Prix de la Foret on the track and thereafter dam of Planetaire[GB] and his Group 1 winning own-brother Mondialiste (sire in England), and grandam of Intello, in the paddocks.

Entrusted to Carlos Laffon-Parias, Planetaire[GB] made his first acquaintance with a racecourse at the very end of his two-year-old career and finished “on the board” at Chantilly. Returning to action very early at 3, he obliged in a 2000 m. conditions race in April at Saint-Cloud under Olivier Peslier. When action moved to the Normandy coast in the summer, Planetaire[GB] displayed better form by triumphing in the Prix Pelleas, a Listed race over 1800m. at Clairefontaine with the same rider up. Even though it was August, the going had turned very soft that day due to heavy rain.

A month later, on a much better surface, Planetaire[GB] ran perhaps the best race of his life when third on good going in the Gr.3 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte, beaten just over a length at the end of the 2000m. trip. At the “Arc” weekend, he ran a very decent fourth in the Gr.2 QNB Prix Dollar (2000m.), less than 2 lengths from victory, to conclude his second season. He started his four-year-old season with a couple of slightly below-par efforts in France. Relocated to trainer Graham Motion in the USA, he showed nothing in his solitary start at Belmont Park in September that year. Clearly something was not right physically, so he was retired and sold for stud.

Timeform rated his effort in the Prix Dollar at 110. Given the profile of his late-improving brother Mondialiste, Planetaire[GB] could well have achieved a higher rating had he been a hundred per cent fit. He never ran at less than 1700m. and hence his mature progeny can be expected to shine between 1600m. and 2400m. Overall he won 2 races in France worth €85,800.

SMUGGLER’S COVE[IRE]

SMUGGLER’S COVE[IRE] (Bay 2012, by Fastnet Rock – Chenchikova, by Sadler’s Wells) stands at the Track Supreme Stud in the Ganganagar District of Rajasthan. He is the first son of his Australian-bred sire to come out to India. A number of private breeders have supported him with their mares and as such he has some 21 two-year-olds in training.

All familiar with the international Turf know the name of Ireland’s Coolmore Stud, which gained fame initially as a stallion station. More recently, Coolmore has been focusing on breeding their own champions by laying out huge sums for choice broodmares such as Christmas Kid, Hazariya, Marsha, Sumora, Tiggy Wiggy, Untouched Talent, etc.

One of the group’s cheaper acquisitions was the unraced Aga Khan-bred Kasora, dam of Epsom Derby and Breeders’ Cup Turf hero High Chaparral, the latter having been bought by Coolmore as a yearling from Mountain View Stud. Mated consistently for six seasons with Sadler’s Wells, Kasora also came up with Chenchikova, who never raced but who qualified for the group’s broodmare band by virtue of being an own-sister to an Epsom Derby winner.

As a daughter of their champion sire Sadler’s Wells, Chenchikova could not be bred to him or any of his sire sons such as Galileo. Hence she visited Juddmonte’s Dansili for her first covering, followed by Danehill Dancer. She was then switched to Coolmore’s acquisition from Down Under, Fastnet Rock, an Australian-born sprinting son of Danehill who was shuttling to the Northern Hemisphere at the time – the result was a handsome, deep-girthed colt registered under the name of Smuggler’s Cove[IRE].

Incidentally, his breeders clearly liked the result of this mating as they repeated it twice more, being rewarded with Listed winner Casterton, an own-brother to Smuggler’s Cove[IRE]. More recently, they undertook the enormous expense of shipping Chenchikova to Japan to be covered by champion Deep Impact and this audacious venture has reaped rich dividends with Fancy Blue, an unbeaten two-year-old who has added a fresh black type winner to the dam’s production record. She should easily step up to Pattern Race company, if not win a classic, in 2020.

To return to Fastnet Rock – the muscular bay earned the title of champion 3-y-o and champion sprinter in Australia by recording 6 wins worth A$1,724,100, incl. the Lightning Stakes, Gr.1, and Oakleigh Plate, Gr.1. He has sired over 1,100 winners of nearly 3,000 races, including the likes of Atlantic Jewel (champion 3-y-o filly in Australia), Mosheen (dual fillies classic winner), Sea Siren (Gr.1 Doomben 10,000), Fascinating Rock (multiple Group 1 winner in Europe and now a sire there), Foxwedge (sire), Cougar Mountain[IRE] (sire in India), etc.

Like his older relative, David Livingston[IRE] (see above), Smuggler’s Cove[IRE] was sent into training with Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle. He started off inconspicuously in a 7 fur. maiden at Roscommon, then reappeared much the better for the seasoning in a maiden at Listowel over the same trip, which he won in a manner suggestive of a progressive sort. Promoted to Listed company, he took the upgrade in his stride recording a visually impressive performance by scoring by 7 long lengths in the 7 fur. Star Appeal Stakes at Dundalk under lights.

This effort gave his connections the confidence to pitch him in to the Gr.1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes (7 fur.) at Newmarket just a week later but the proximity of the two races plus the experience of travelling did him no favours and he finished third to Belardo. It’s possible that there was a long term adverse effect as well, as Smuggler’s Cove[IRE] was not quite as good in his three starts at 3, which included a tilt at the Irish 2000 Guineas in May 2015. He was not seen again and signed off as the winner of 2 races worth £87,477 in Ireland from just 7 starts. Timeform rated him at 115.

TENTH STAR[IRE] (Bay 2009, by Dansili – Alpha Lupi, by Rahy) was already amongst the best-bred stallions in the country when he landed on Indian shores on February 7^th, 2016, what with his third dam being the peerless Miesque, champion herself and founder of a dynasty of superior horses for the Niarchos family.

And to his current owner’s joy, Tenth Star[IRE]’s half-sister Alpha Centauri earned “black-type” at 2 in 2017, before going on to be declared Cartier Champion 3-year-old Filly in Europe in 2018, when her scalps included the Gr.1 Irish 1000 Guineas and the Gr.1 Coronation Stakes. To top off the ice-cream with a candy, along has come Alpha Lupi’s 2-y-o daughter, Alpine Star, this year – she won the Gr.2 Debutante Stakes and is a leading candidate for classic honours next term.

Miesque (by Nureyev) raced in the ‘eighties and won multiple renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Mile before shining at stud with five stakes winners, including classic winners Kingmambo and East Of The Moon. She had a trademark change of gear which left her opponents floundering. The Niarchos family has nurtured her descendants carefully as can be seen from the choice of stallions employed and the favourable results. To start off the stud career of the unraced Alpha Lupi (daughter of East Of The Moon), they sent her to Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket to be bred to Dansili and struck pay dirt immediately with Tenth Star[IRE].

Retaining an interest in the resultant colt, his breeders sold a share to the Coolmore partners which resulted in Tenth Star[IRE] entering training at Ballydoyle as a pupil of the Aidan O’Brien academy. Starting his racing career in what turned out to be a very “hot” maiden, he placed third to stablemate Reply (subsequently a stakes winner and sire) and Slade Power (whose exploits earned him the title of champion European sprinter) over 6 fur. Next time out Tenth Star[IRE] went down in a photo-finish, with David Livingston[IRE] behind him, as recorded earlier.

That helped him get the hang of things and his trainer raised the bar by pitching him straight into Listed company – the Golden Fleece Stakes over 7 fur. at Leopardstown – for which he started the 4-to-9 favourite and landed the odds with ease on good to firm ground. Racing Post allotted him a rating of 100, quite impressive for a runner with only 3 starts. His final start at 2 in Ireland came in the Gr.3 K.R.A. Tyros Stakes on the same track, where he encountered soft going for the first time, and could do no better than third.

The time had come to aim even higher and 65 days after his last run, Tenth Star[IRE] was sent across the Irish Sea along with a couple of his stablemates to challenge for the Gr.2 Royal Lodge Stakes, run on good-to-firm going over 1 mile at Newmarket in England. A trifle rusty, he split his fellow Ballydoyle inmates at the wire, checking in second to Daddy Long Legs, but ahead of Wrote who endorsed the form brilliantly by capturing the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (1 mile) at his very next appearance!  

Unlucky not to get his preferred good ground in his first three starts at 3, he returned virtually to his best in the Gr.3 KPMG Enterprise Stakes at Leopardstown, beaten 3-1/4 lengths, with Speaking Of Which[IRE], now an Usha Stud stallion, a couple of lengths ahead. Training troubles ensued and Tenth Star[IRE] did not race at 4. When next seen out in public, he was sporting the silks of Northwest Stud Stable at Gulfstream Park in Florida, USA. Trainer Giuseppe Iadisernia did a great job in getting him fit enough to win over 1-1/16 miles on turf after an absence of some 22 months. Perhaps something was not quite right with him therafter, as he never displayed much in his remaining few starts before he was purchased to ply his trade in a different career at the Mebajeona Stud in Punjab as the winner of 2 races and earnings totalling $99,675.

Tenth Star[IRE] served 38 mares in his first season and has 21 two-year-olds off to the races in the 2019-2020 season. Given that he is a son of the now-retired Juddmonte ace, Dansili, he has every chance of making it. For the record, Dansili was a multiple Pattern Race winner and classic-placed in the Khaled Abdullah colours. He has been outstanding at stud, with the likes of Rail Link (Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe), Harbinger (Gr.1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes), The Fugue, Miss France, etc. His sire sons include Zoffany, Famous Name, Bated Breath as well as Surfrider[IRE], who showed out recently as the sire of Trouvaille (Gr.1 Pune Derby).

Time will tell which of these have proved to be worthy additions to the stallion ranks in India.