THOSE visiting studs on this year’s ITM Stallion Trail will have an opportunity to see 14 stallions who will be standing their first Northern hemisphere season in Ireland this year. They include flat and National Hunt sires and are listed alphabetically. One of the group, Divine Prophet, has just completed his first season at stud in Australia.
CARAVAGGIO (USA)
2014 grey by Scat Daddy – Mekko Hokte, by Holy Bull
Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Co Tipperary
Undefeated at two when he won the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes and the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, Caravaggio established himself among the best sprinters of 2017 when he beat Harry Angel to land a second Royal Ascot victory, this time in the six-furlong Group 1 Commonwealth Cup.
His much lamented sire Scat Daddy (Johannesburg) was a Grade 1 winning juvenile who trained on to win the Grade 1 Florida Derby at three.
Scat Daddy has sired 23 Group or Grade 1 winners, including Caravaggio’s stud companion No Nay Never. From a female line littered with Grade 1 winners, Caravaggio will stand his first season at €35,000.
CHURCHILL (IRE)
2014 bay by Galileo – Meow, by Storm Cat
Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Co Tipperary
Churchill became the fourth son of his sire, the nine-time champion Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), to win the Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes, and in so doing bettered the times recorded by the previous trio – Frankel, Teofilo and New Approach.
This victory, added to a prior success in the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, meant he was crowned the champion juvenile in Europe. In his second season he completed the Group 1 2000 Guineas double and was runner-up in the Group 1 Juddmonte International. He is a full-brother to the 2017 Group 1 winning two-year-old Clemmie. Churchill starts his stud career at a fee of €35,000.
DECORATED KNIGHT (GB)
2012 chesnut by Galileo – Pearling, by Storm Cat
Irish National Stud, Tully, Kildare
Decorated Knight showed great consistency in four seasons racing and was in the first four on 15 of his 19 starts. He was successful on eight occasions and his victories were headlined by the Group 1 QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes, Tattersalls Gold Cup and Emirates Airline Jebel Hatta. He was runner-up in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
By the nine-time champion Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), his dam is a full-sister to champion racehorse and sire Giant’s Causeway and to the Group 1 winner You’resothrilling, dam of a trip of Group 1 winners by Galileo in Gleneagles, Happily and Marvellous. His first season sees Churchill stand at €15,000.
DIVINE PROPHET (AUS)
2013 bay by Choisir – Prophet Jewel, by Encosta De Lago
Tara Stud, Tara, Co Meath C15 P762
Having just completed a busy and successful first season at stud in Australia, Divine Prophet is a new addition to the European stallion ranks. A Group 1 winning sprinter-miler, his most important victory came in the Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas over a mile, a race won previously by champion sires Redoute’s Choice and Lonhro.
Divine Prophet won over six furlongs at two and ran third in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes at Randwick. A full-brother to group winner and dual Group 1 runner-up Proisir, he is by the sire of Olympic Glory, Starspangledbanner, The Last Line and Rajasinghe. He is priced at €7,500 for his first Northern hemisphere season.
EL KABEIR (USA)
2012 grey or roan by Scat Daddy – Great Venue, by Unbridled’s Song
Yeomanstown Stud, Naas, Co Kildare
El Kabeir won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes over eight and a half furlongs at two to establish himself as a very smart juvenile in the USA.
At three he added three stakes wins, including a pair of Grade 3 races, and was third behind Frosted in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes.
His dam is a half-sister to four stakes winners, while his stakes-winning grandam is one of a number of blacktype winners from her dam. El Kabeir’s sire won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at two and the Grade 1 Florida Derby at three. His 23 Group/Grade 1 winners include Caravaggio, No Nay Never and Sioux Nation. El Kabeir’s fee for 2018 will be €8,000.
HIGHLAND REEL (IRE)
2012 bay by Galileo – Hveger, by Danehill
Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Co Tipperary
Few horses have captured the imagination in recent years like Highland Reel. The globetrotter capped a magnificent career with a seventh Group/Grade 1 victory in December, adding to top level successes in the USA, Britain and Hong Kong.
Highland Reel was also a Group 2 winner as a juvenile over seven furlongs. His victories at the highest level were gained at the immediate expense of such as Flintshire, Found, Decorated Knight and Ulysses. He was placed seven times in Group 1 races, famously chasing Found home in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
From the family of sires Elvstroem and Haradasun, Highland Reel’s 2018 fee is set at €17,500.
KARPINO (GER)
2012 bay or brown by Cape Cross – Kahara, by Sadler’s Wells
Rathbarry and Glenview Studs, Fermoy, Co Cork
An addition to the National Hunt stallion ranks for 2018 is the classic winner Karpino. A son of Cape Cross, he won three of his four starts, including the Group 3 Dr Busch Memorial and the Group 2 Mehl-Mulhens Rennen (German 2000 Guineas).
His sire won the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes and is responsible for such luminaries as Sea The Stars, Golden Horn, Ouija Board (dam of Australia) and Awtaad.
On the dam side Karpino is out of a stakes-placed full-sister to the Group 1 English St Leger winner Milan, sire of Grade 1 winners Jezki (Champion Hurdle), Martello Tower, Apache Stronghold, Beat That, Darlan and Sizing Granite.
KOROPICK (IRE)
2014 bay by Kodiac – Kathoe, by Fayruz.
Annshoon Stud, Ballintlea, Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny X91 V2H2
As a two-year-old Koropick won a maiden over six furlongs on his debut and was runner-up to The Last Lion in the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes.
In his second season he added the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes to his tally, again over six furlongs, and was second to the brilliant Battaash in the Listed Scurry Stakes.
Two of the best known performers from his female line were the siblings Jaazeiro and Woodstream, winners of the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas, Sussex Stakes and Cheveley Park Stakes between them.
Koropick is one of 18 group winners for his prolific sire Kodiac (Danehill) and he will command a fee of €3,000 for his first season at stud.
MY DREAM BOAT (IRE)
2012 bay by Lord Shanakill – Betty Burke, by Choisir
Bridge House Stud, Mullingar, Co Westmeath N91 EC81
National Hunt breeders have something very different to choose from this year. My Dream Boat is from a very current family, from a sire line new to the jumping sphere, and this Group 1 winner of six races was a very consistent performer in each of the four seasons he raced.
He was a Royal Ascot winner when he landed the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and this was in addition to capturing the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes and Prix Perth.
My Dream Boat won group races over eight and nine and a half furlongs. His sire won the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat and this immediate female family has produced multiple Group 1 winner Alice Springs. His 2018 fee is €4,000.
NATIONAL DEFENSE (GB)
2014 bay by Invincible Spirit – Angel Falls, by Kingmambo
Irish National Stud, Tully, Co Kildare
By virtue of his near five-length win in the Group 1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, National Defense was rated the best two-year-old colt of 2016 in France, and the joint second-best of his sex in Europe.
He made just five starts in his career and won or placed in all but one of them. He now joins his veteran sire Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) at Tully. Kingman, Shalaa, Profitable, Territories, Charm Spirit, Mayson, Lawman and Vale Of York are some other Group 1 winning sons of Invincible Spirit. Stallions such as Helmet and Epaulette appear in the female line of National Defense who retires in 2018 at an introductory fee of €12,000.
PILLAR CORAL (GB)
2014 bay by Zamindar – Coraline, by Sadler’s Wells
Annshoon Stud, Ballintlea, Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny X91 V2H2
Retiring an unraced horse to stud is quite unusual these days, but some well-bred horses who failed to see a racecourse have gone on to enjoy a successful second career. The 2017 Grade 1 sire Court Cave is a recent case in point, as was Accordion.
Through no fault of his own, the Juddmonte-bred Pillar Coral did not make it racing but his exceptional pedigree credentials entitle him to his chance at stud. Three of his half-brothers, Martaline, Coastal Path and Reefscape have sired Grade 1 winners, including the likes of Dynaste, Disko, Bacardys and L’Unique. He is also from the family of sires Beat Hollow and Oasis Dream. His first fee is €2,500.
PROFITABLE (IRE)
2012 bay by Invincible Spirit – Dani Ridge, by Indian Ridge
Kildangan Stud, Monasterevin, Co Kildare W34 HR98
Profitable won six of his career starts and all were gained over the minimum five furlongs. His finest hour came at Royal Ascot in 2016 when he won the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes, and a year later he was back defending his crown, settling for second to Lady Aurelia.
He defeated Mecca’s Angel in the Group 2 Temple Stakes and was runner-up to the brilliant Battaash in the Group 2 Qatar King George Stakes. His sire Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) was a Group 1 winning sprinter, is a multiple Group 1 sire and is on the verge of siring his 50th group winner. His sons include the champion Kingman. Profitable will stand his first season at €12,000.
RIBCHESTER (IRE)
2013 bay by Iffraaj – Mujarah, by Marju
Kildangan Stud, Monasterevin, Co Kildare W34 HR98
All six of Ribchester’s career wins were gained in group races. He broke his maiden at two in the six-furlong Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes, before going on to win four Group 1 races in a career that saw him gather more than £2.6 million in earnings.
At three he won the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois from Vadamos, and at four he was even better, capturing the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes in record time, the Lockinge Stakes and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. He was placed in six Group 1 races, including the 2000 Guineas.
He is the best son of his sire who is also responsible for Wootton Bassett (sire of Almanzor). Ribchester’s 2018 fee is €30,000.
SILVER GALAXY (GB)
2011 bay by Galileo – Silver Pivotal, by Pivotal
Annshoon Stud, Ballintlea, Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny X91 V2H2
A Group 3 winner by Galileo, out of a mare by the champion broodmare sire of 2017, Silver Galaxy has a lot to recommend him to breeders. He ran nine times, all in the UAE, and won four races and placed three times.
His victories were highlighted by his win in the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Jebel Ali Mile, while he was also stakes-placed in the Shadwell Farm Jebel Ali Stakes.
He is a son of the nine-time champion sire Galileo, the dominant stallion in the world. His dam was a stakes winner, as was his grandam, and his maternal grandsire is also responsible for Cracksman, Harbour Law, Mayson and Main Sequence. The fee for his first year at stud is €1,500.