WHEN you buy a mare for €40,000, send her to a stallion costing €75,000, many advisors would say that you were perhaps over-facing her. Newstead Breeding would beg to differ, and their record as breeders suggest that they had a very good reason to put their faith in the mating.

In 2021, using the services of BBA Ireland, Risen Sun (Shamardal) was purchased from Godolphin at Goffs, and the following spring sent to visit Camelot (Montjeu) at Coolmore. The resulting filly was offered from Oaks Farm Stables in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale, and sold for 420,000gns to Donnacha O’Brien. Named Eretria, she sports the colours of Skara Glen Stables (Stanley and Marcia Gumberg), and has started twice this year.

On her debut at Dundalk on April 1st, she got to within a length of her more-fancied stablemate Emmelia in a 10 and a half-furlong maiden. Two weeks later, Eretria impressed observers when she ran out a more than six-length winner at Leopardstown, with two other daughters of Camelot filling the minor spots. She is a filly going places, possibly an Oaks hope, and she was winning a race won in recent times by Tarnawa, Above The Curve and Savethelastdance.

Daughters of Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) crossed with Camelot has previously given us the Group 1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe, Group 3 winners Uther and Prydwen, as well as stakes winners Wild Goddess, Furrion, and Pink Dogwood (runner-up in the Group 1 Oaks). Perhaps Eretria, who holds entries in the Oaks at Epsom and The Curragh, can outdo them all.

Greater things

Should Eretria go on to greater things, there will be a lot of interest in the autumn if her yearling full-brother comes up for sale. He is the fifth produce of Risen Sun, and all his siblings are now winners. The best of the quartet is Desert Safari (Slade Power), a five-time winner and listed-placed at two. Another was Eye Of Heaven (Exceed And Excel), successful at two and later adding six wins in Spain.

Risen Sun won on her two-year-old debut for Mark Johnston, and she is among five winners from another two-year-old winner, Bright Morning. The latter was by Dubai Millennium (Seeking The Gold), and from his only crop. She had 10 foals, nine of them were named, and five won. Bright Morning was sold for €2,000 at the age of 13, and to Luke Comer for €7,500 the following year.

Bright Morning had eight siblings who won and the best of them was Desert King (Danehill). Bred by the Irish National Stud, he was Aidan O’Brien’s first Group 1 winner in the National Stakes, and his first classic winner when he won the Irish 2000 Guineas, later adding the Irish Derby to that tally. At stud he achieved fame as the sire of Makybe Diva.

IT IS not easy for independent stallion owners to get their sires noticed, and I was reminded of this when I went to have a look at the record of Valirann (Nayef) recently. He has had a good month with winners, and Claire Carey at Tullaghansleek Stud says that he stands at a “value fee of €3,000” at their Westmeath farm. This is his second season since moving from Whytemount Stud.

Valirann had perhaps suffered a little at Whytemount, being overshadowed by Affinisea, but what a transformation the Careys brought about with him. Having covered a mere eight mares in 2024, he was busy last year with a book of more than 60, and little wonder. I was interested to see that among the smart breeders to use him last year were Cathal Ennis, one of the best commercial operators in the business, while DahlBury in England also supported him.

Valirann was bred and raced by the Aga Khan, and his four wins included the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay and Group 3 Prix de Lutece, both at Longchamp. He is one of three stakes winners out of Valima (Linamix), a listed winner, and his half-sister Valyra (Azamour) won the Group 1 Prix de Diane-French Oaks. Another half-sister bred last year’s smart juvenile Valasara (Hello Youmzain) who holds classic entries this year.

With progeny earnings of over £2 million, Valirann has shown time and time again that he can sire a very good horse. Last year his son Lecky Watson became his latest Grade 1 winner when landing the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, following Potters Charm’s Grade 1 novice hurdle win four months earlier at Aintree. Val Dancer won the Welsh Grand National, Ballybawn Belter is a Grade 2 hurdle winner, while Forward Plan won a Grade 3 chase.

Don’t forget Valirann’s son Knappers Hill. He was a Grade 2 bumper, hurdle and chase winner, beating the likes of Goshen, Sceau Royal and Stage Star in so doing.

FOLLOWING his success in the 10-furlong Group 1 Hopeful Stakes on just his second outing at two, I suggested that Lovcen (World Premiere) was likely to become the champion juvenile in Japan last year. The champion is chosen by a media vote, rather than by a handicapper, and in fact Lovcen lost out to another Group 1-winning two-year-old colt, Cavallerizzo, winner of the Asahi Hai Futurity.

Both colts faced off in the weekend’s Group 1 Satsuki Sho, the Group 1 Japanese 2000 Guineas, with Lovcen emerging the winner and Cavallerizzo finishing thirteenth of the 18 runners. Lovcen had a prep run for the classic in the Group 3 Kyodo News Hai in mid-February in which he finished third.

Bred by Northern Farm, Lovcen showed an incredible turn of foot in the final furlong to win the Hopeful Stakes, but this time he used his stamina to see out the 10-furlong Satsuki Sho, going to the front from leaving the gate and repelling allcomers.

He also set a new course record time, shaving one-tenth of a second off the old one.

Lovcen is from the first crop of his sire who went to stud in Japan at a fee of only 500,000 Yen, about €2,750. World Premiere (Deep Impact) won the Group 1 Japanese St Leger at three and, two years later, triumphed in th

e Group 1 Tenno Sho over two miles. Not among the fashionable stallions in Japan, World Premiere has had small books of mares, and his first crop contains about 25 offspring. He has sired five winners to date from 20 runners.

Best runner

Easily the best runner for his dam Songwriting (Giant’s Causeway), Lovcen is among five winners she has produced from her six foals of racing age. Irishman Niall Brennan sold Songwriting as a two-year-old for a sizeable $800,000, the filly having cost $290,000 as a yearling. Katsumi Yoshida took her to Japan where she failed to win, placing on four occasions from eight starts.

Songwriting’s attraction was that she was by the great Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat), and out of the Canadian champion Embur’s Song (Unbridled’s Song).

In addition to big race wins in Canada, Embur’s Song was a Grade 3 winner at Keeneland, and she sold in 2015 to Bridlewood Farm for $900,000. Though she produced a few offspring who sold reasonably well as yearlings, Embur’s Song failed to breed a stakes horse with her four winners, and sold for $22,000 in a digital sale in 2024.

Embur’s Song’s stakes-placed half-sister Dawn Raid (Vindication) is the dam of Exaggerator (Curlin), and he won the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes and Santa Anita Derby 10 years ago, in addition to the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational.

At two he was second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, and took the same finishing position in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.