POET’S Voice’s death earlier this year was a serious blow to breeders wishing to use a proven sire line at an affordable price. The son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), who recently sired his 100th group winner, was available at £6,000, his sire costing users a cool £250,000.

Poet’s Voice’s best performers this year include his first Group 1 winner Poet’s Word, Group 2 winners Summer Festival (Italian Derby) and Sand Zabeel, and Group 3 winner Poeta Diletto.

Poet’s Voice made an excellent start to his stud career in 2015, when he was one of the top five first crop sires in Europe. Now he has been responsible for some 18 blacktype winners, eight of them at group level. Poeta Diletto and Mi Raccomando are both classic winners in Italy, while Poetic Dream was an impressive winner of the German 2000 Guineas at Cologne last year.

Poet’s Voice had the distinction of being the first group winner for his illustrious sire Dubawi, winning the Group 2 Champagne Stakes as a juvenile. He developed into a top miler in his second season, running away with the Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood by four and a half lengths before defeating Rip Van Winkle, Red Jazz and Makfi in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile at Ascot. Timeform rated him on 126 in Racehorses of 2010.

VICTORIES

Poet’s Word, a 300,000gns yearling purchase in Book 2 (yes, Book 2) of the 2014 Tattersalls October Sale by Charlie Gordon-Watson, has now amassed more than £2.7 million with victories in the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes and King George Vi and Queen Elizabeth Stakes this year, while his top ranking placed efforts include being runner-up in the Dubai Sheema Classic, Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

He is the best produce of the stakes-placed Whirly Bird (Nashwan) and she won five of her seven starts and was placed twice. She also bred Malabar (Raven’s Pass) who won a pair of Group 3 races, and Whirly Dancer (Danehill Dancer), the winning dam of the Group 2 Railway Stakes winner Beckford (Bated Breath).

Runner-up in the Group 1 National Stakes and Phoenix Stakes last year, the former Gordon Elliott-trained colt is a stakes winner in the USA this year.