GALILEO, Montjeu and In The Wings have given us three of the best known branches of the Sadler’s Wells (by Northern Dancer) line, but before the first pair of those emerged, there was already a son making a big impact across the Atlantic.
Juvenile Irish Group 1 star El Prado was a somewhat unexpected hit as a North American stallion and yet, not only did his tally of 83 individual stakes winners feature the top-class duo Medaglia D’Oro and Kitten’s Joy, but that pair now have a growing number of their own sons carving out stallion careers. The latter is the Ramsey Farm flag bearer, a prolific Grade 1 sire whose notable European runners include last year’s Group 1 Coral-Eclipse star Hawkbill.
He was also represented here last season by a runaway listed sprint winner at Cork, and that horse was none other than the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint hero Bobby’s Kitten.
With his Breeders’ Cup defeat of No Nay Never and his stunning sole Irish outing prominent in the memory, one could be excused for thinking of him solely as a potential source of sprinters.
He will get them, especially from speed-oriented mares, but he was also a highly talented miler, which is no surprise given his pedigree, and so we can expect some milers, middle-distance horses, and late-season juveniles too.
He is a full-brother to dual Grade 2 scorer Camelot Kitten, who finished a close fourth to Deauville in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby over 10 furlongs in July.
His dam, Celestial Woods is a half-sister to Blissful Song (by Unbridled’s Song) whose son Sixties Song (by Sixties Icon) won the Grade 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini over 12 furlongs on turf at San Isidro in December, one of Argentina’s most famous races.
His grandam Celestial Bliss is out of North Of Eden (by Northfields) and that makes her a half-sister to the Grade 1 stars Forbidden Apple (by Pleasant Colony), Paradise Creek (by Irish River), and Wild Event (by Wild Again), and also to the dams of top-level winners Eden’s Moon (by Malibu Moon) and David Junior (by Pleasant Tap), the latter’s success coming in the Group 1 Champion Stakes, Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes and Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes.
North Of Eden is, in turn, a half-sister to Japanese star Taiki Blizzard (by Seattle Slew) and also to Theatrical (by Nureyev), the Group 1 Irish Derby runner-up who became a champion and prolific Grade 1 star in the USA before going on to become a major international classic sire.
Won six races, £846,969, over 6 furlongs to 1 mile ½ furlong, at 2 to 5 years years including, Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Santa Anita, Gr.1, Pilgrim Stakes, Belmont Park, Gr.3, Cork Stakes, Cork, L, Penn Mile Stakes, Penn National, L, also placed second in Nat.Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes, Saratoga, Gr.2, and third in Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (c&g), Santa Anita, Gr.1, Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes, Woodbine, Gr.1.
Retires to stud in 2017.
Stands at: Lanwades Stud, Moulton, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8QS, England
Contact: Kirsten Rausing
Phone: +44 (0) 1638 750222
Email: info@lanwades.com
Web: www.lanwades.com
Fee: £12,500