IT seems that I am not the only bloodstock writer in the Awtaad (Cape Cross) fan club, but I am in good company. In spite of the Derrinstown Stud stallion, who is boxed a short distance from my home, featuring regularly in these columns, he will do so again this week, this time under the guise of the ‘sire on fire’.

Though it does not carry blacktype, the £500,000 Sky Bet Ebor Handicap at York is arguably the most competitive race of the week at that magnificent racecourse. Twenty-two went to post this year, and two of the runners were sons of Awtaad; the five-year-old Ethical Diamond trained by Willie Mullins, and Ascending, a six-year-old trained by Henry de Bromhead. Both were successful at Royal Ascot in June, and they filled the first two places in the Ebor.

This result was one of many within the space of a few days that reminded us all of the quality and versatility of the classic-winning Awtaad, and why he should be standing at far more than his current fee. That said, the vagaries of the breeding business are such that breeders can go off a sire more quickly than they embrace him, and this happened too with Awtaad. The good news is that, at the age now of just 12, breeders have every chance to again appreciate how good he is, and what value he represents.

Two days after Ethical Diamond and Ascending took home the lion’s share of the Ebor pot, Awtaad’s two-year-old daughter Awraad, a €20,000 Goffs Orby Book 2 graduate, was beaten half a length in a listed race at Ripon, five days after running at York. Another runner at the meeting was Awtaad’s son Al Qareem, fourth in the Group 2 Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup after winning twice at York earlier this year, at listed and Group 3 level. The six-year-old Al Qareem, bred by Shadwell, was running for the 32nd time, has won 11 races at up to Group 2 level, and is his sire’s third highest earner with €746,522, bettered by Group 1 winners Anmaat (€1.8 million) and Anisette (€880,000).

Well-deserved

Back in Ireland, Naomi Lapaglia, a Shadwell-bred who sold as a yearling for only 2,000gns, got a well-deserved listed win at Gowran Park. Group-placed on many occasions, she was bought in December for 475,000gns as a stakes-placed winner, and Ger Lyons has taken her form to the next level, and added to her paddock value. Henry de Bromhead must be a fan of Awtaad, and he saddled Marianne Klay’s homebred Thalaara to win for the second time, on this occasion in a listed race at Killarney. This was another case of patience paying off, as the mare placed at this level three times this year.

The story of Awtaad’s temporary fall from grace, and his fight back to be once again respected, has been well told, but deserves to be recalled. Having been abandoned, for that is what we can call it, by droves of breeders, Awtaad has quite small crops of two and three-year-olds. Despite this, half of his six juvenile runners this year are winners, and two of them have placed in stakes races. This is worth stressing.

We all know that Awtaad’s stock get better with age, but this can cloud the fact that he is well able to get two-year-old winners, and stakes winners too. His offspring are sound, evidenced by the fact that they stay in training and race often. His Group 3 winner Diamil has run 30 times, the Group 2-placed duo Waterford and Austrian Theory have raced 28 and 45 times, and stakes winner Maktoob faced the starter on 24 occasions.

If the recent run of success was not enough, Awtaad is off the mark as a broodmare sire with his first stakes winner, and not any old stakes winner. Lifeplan (Kodi Bear) won the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York on his second start, and has earned more than his yearling purchase price of €165,000 in Book 1 of last year’s Goffs Orby Sale. He is also a foal graduate of the same ring, selling for €85,000. Lifeplan is reviewed elsewhere in this week’s column.

Added significance

Lifeplan is the first foal out of A Taad Moody (Awtaad), and while she failed to win in four starts, her three placed efforts included a third-place finish in the Listed Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown to Monday, and the subsequent Group 1 winner No Speak Alexander. This win has added significance given that daughters of Awtaad have been in exceptional demand as future broodmares.

It was no surprise that his dual Grade 1-winning daughter Anisette sold last November at Keeneland for $1,800,000. This was a year after his listed-winning and Group 2-placed daughter Primo Bacio, with a lovely first covering by Frankel, sold for 1,100,000gns. A year before that again, the unraced Mohjatty (Awtaad) realised 600,000gns, in foal to Dubawi. Broodmare prospects by Awtaad should be on shortlists this autumn for breeders who are restocking.

Meanwhile, with fewer than 50 yearlings on the ground, buyers of Awtaad’s yearlings will have a select few to choose from, starting at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale, four catalogued at Tattersalls Ireland, while the majority will be offered at Goffs. He has a much larger crop of foals, having covered 127 mares last year, and will surely build on what has been a fine effort to date as a sire.