THERE is no stopping Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy), and that momentum is certain to carry on into the upcoming sales where he will be well represented with sons and daughters. His fifth European crop are this year’s juveniles, and two of that cohort won group races in France in the past week.

Let’s stop for a moment to look at Sioux Nation’s juvenile sire record, one befitting a colt who himself won the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh and Royal Ascot’s Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at two. In a stunning first season with runners, a shade less than half of his runners won, with 45 of them seen in the winners enclosure. Three were stakes winners and seven of them were winners or placed in group races. He had been the busiest flat stallion in his first year at stud.

His second book of mares dropped sharply in number, while the third fell dramatically. However, the winners kept coming, and Sioux Nation rebounded in popularity with breeders when his first runners appeared. In the five seasons 2022-2026, his book sizes have averaged 265 or so, and this year’s yearlings are from his busiest season at stud.

The exploits of Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes winner Sun Goddess have drawn more attention to the prowess of Sioux Nation, being his first Group 1 winner in the northern hemisphere. His daughter Socks Nation won the Group 1 Queensland Oaks a few years ago, a product of his only season to shuttle when he stood at Swettenham Stud. Now that the world has woken fully to his talents as a sire, you can expect lots of fireworks in the weeks ahead for his stock.

Even better

Already this year, all eight of his colts offered have sold for an average of some €110,000, and his fillies have done even better, with 13 averaging more than €127,000. Sackville Donald, acting for none other than Juddmonte, spent €280,000 on one of Sioux Nation’s daughters at Arqana, while his best colt at that sale sold for €230,000 to Mandore International.

If Sun Goddess is Sioux Nation’s headline act, those in supporting roles are baying for notice. Ed Bethall sent Rogue Passion to ParisLongchamp to contest the Group 2 Prix d’Aumale, the sole overseas challenger for the eight-runner contest, and she got up to beat a couple of highly-rated juveniles by a neck in a race won by celebrated alumni such as Blue Cen Rose and Zarignana in recent years. Victory for Rogue Passion was gained in the fastest time in the race’s history.

Sold from Kilminfoyle House Stud in Book 1 of last year’s Goffs Orby Sale for €90,000 to Henry Lascelles and Rogues Gallery Racing, Rogue Passion is now a very valuable filly. She is the first foal out of dual winner Vazire (Frankel), and that mare is one of six winning progeny of Aricia (Nashwan). Half of that six won listed races. Rogue Passion’s third dam was Rahaam (Secreto), and pedigree buffs will immediately know this is the family of Rhododendron (Galileo), her full-sister Magical, and Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact).

Princess Zahra

Success for the Aga Khan Studs is extensively covered elsewhere on these pages, but here we have another important winner, again a two-year-old daughter of Sioux Nation, but this one is owned and bred by Princess Zahra Aga Khan herself. In the 2025 Aga Khan Studs studbook, just two of the 167 broodmares were listed as being owned by Princess Zahra, the group-placed Dabawa (Siyouni) and the winning Darbanza (Siyouni).

The latter was sold in this year’s Arqana February Sale for €40,000, while Darbanza’s first two foals were both winners and sold on. Sadly, the filly among that duo has died. Thankfully, Princess Zahra retains Darbanza’s next three offspring, two fillies and a yearling colt by Persian King (Kingman). The three-year-old Darmora (Iffraaj) won in May, while the two-year-old is Drazinda (Sioux Nation).

Trained by Francis Graffard (who else!), Drazinda has run six times, winning on three occasions. Having annexed a listed race at Deauville in early August, she went one better and stepped up to pattern class when taking the Group 3 Prix d’Arenberg over ParisLonghamp’s five furlongs. This speedy daughter of Sioux Nation is from the immediate family of her owner/breeder’s champion three-year-old Darjina (Zamindar), and the family too of Almanzor (Wootton Bassett).

Sioux Nation has 18 yearlings at Tattersalls Ireland, 19 in Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Sale and a further 11 in Book 2, while his representatives at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale are made up of six in Book 1, 36 in Book 2 and two in Book 3.

Citrus highlights O’Brien skills

WITH all the success Joseph O’Brien is having in 2026, it is possible that you might have overlooked one of his biggest wins of the year, at least in terms of monetary earnings. While Ethical Diamond attracted all the attention ahead of his recent run at Kentucky Downs, where he ran second to Tiffany in a Grade 2, O’Brien saddled a stakes winner there in the shape of Citrus Springs.

This two-year-old daughter of Grade 1 winner and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Olympiad (Speightstown), was returning to the land of her birth to contest the Listed Juvenile Fillies Stakes, and she won a nice pot of €380,000. Here is a filly who has been rewarding everyone involved with her.

She is the first stakes winner in the first crop of the Gainesway sire Olympiad, and sold for $65,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton. She reappeared at this year’s OBS March Breeze-Up Sale and made a nice profit for her investors, trading this time for $300,000, with Justin Casse acting for Carriganóg Racing. Citrus Springs was initially registered in the ownership of Simon Munir, but when she ran had a number of partners. That run at Listowel didn’t indicate that she would turn out as she has.

Second time out at Leopardstown was much better, and though she was three and a half lengths off the winner, it was no disgrace given that Sea Of Rain is now a Group 3 winner. Mid-August and we saw the real Citrus Springs, running out a five-length winner of a seven-furlong maiden at Gowran Park. The race in question was won four years ago by O’Brien’s father Aidan with the subsequent Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup winner Victoria Road.

Following that win, Citrus Springs was sold to Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, whose principals Dean and Patti Reeves raced Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man. Their reward for placing faith in Citrus Springs and Joseph O’Brien was a stakes win at Kentucky Downs, and some of their money back. After the race it was revealed that the filly would stay in the US and be aimed at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on October 30th at Keeneland. Which trainer will get to have Citrus Springs is unknown, but the owners have horses with Miguel Clement, George Weaver and Danny Gargan.

O’Brien who told Reeves that an American campaign would be best suited for his new stakes winner.

“After she won we were able to buy her. Joseph told us that she likes firm ground,” Reeves said. “He said we should leave her here, since the weather over there is changing and soft ground is coming up. It speaks highly of Joseph for him to tell me to leave the horse over here because the opportunities are better. He’s looking out for the horse and for me.”