BY some way the Coolmore National Hunt roster is the largest, and between The Beeches Stud, Grange Stud and Castlehyde Stud they offer 19 stallions at fees ranging from €2,500 to €15,000. Fermoy-based Grange and Castlehyde stand five sires each, with the remainder at the McCarthy’s stud in Co Waterford. All farms stand a mix of established stallions and young prospects, and few names would not be recognisable at first glance.

This year each farm introduces new blood and for this feature I will look at them. Grange Stud welcomes Capri (Galileo) who won the Group 1 Irish Derby from Cracksman, Wings Of Eagles and Waldgeist, and the Group 1 St Leger at Doncaster, beating Crystal Ocean, Stradivarius and the Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling. He was a Group 2 and listed scorer at two, and accumulated over £1.5 million in prize money.

The aforementioned Crystal Ocean (Sea The Stars) joins the team in Waterford and he is among the best horses of recent seasons. A classic-placed Group 1 star who never finished out of the first three in a 17-race career that took in four seasons, he is also among the select group who have earned in excess of £2 million on the track.

He split Capri and Stradivarius in a vintage edition of the Group 1 St Leger, beat Magical in the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, chased home Cracksman in a Group 1 Champion Stakes and was only beaten by a neck and a head respectively when runner-up to Enable and Japan in the King George and the Juddmonte International Stakes.

Monsun (Konigsstuhl) is one of the best ever German sires and his stallion sons include Maxios, a high-profile new addition to Castlehyde in 2020. His biggest wins were over Planteur in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan over nine furlongs, and a five-length defeat of Olympic Glory in the Group 1 Prix du Moulin over a mile. With his oldest crop just five, Maxios has already demonstrated his sire ability under both codes, notably with the Group 1 German Oaks winner Diamanta and the listed hurdle winner Global Freedom.

Boardsmill’s long tradition of serving the breeder

FEW studs in Ireland have as long a history of serving breeders than Boardsmill Stud near Trim, Co Meath. There the father and son team of William and John Flood have four sires to tempt breeders to enter their gates, all with outstanding credentials.

Califet (Freedom Cry) shows time and again his prowess at getting Grade 1 winners, Clarcam, Cilaos Emery and the 2019 French Gold Cup winner Carriacou, among them. The Cheltenham Festival has provided Beat Hollow’s full-brother Court Cave (Sadler’s Wells) with some great moments, Grade 1 winners Willoughby Court and City Island included, while the same comment would equally apply to Kalanisi (Doyoun), sire of Champion Hurdle winner Katchit, the brilliant Fayonagh, and this year’s Champion Hurdle third Darver Star.

The new kid on the block is Poet’s Word (Poet’s Voice), a dual Group 1 winners whose first foals are receiving great reviews and who is a major addition to the National Hunt ranks. The champion older horse in Europe two years ago, Cracksman, Crystal Ocean, Churchill and 20 other Group 1 winners all chased him home on the racecourse. From an outstanding female line, he is sure to be one of the busiest sires of 2020.

Yes, Berkshire is in Tipperary now

TOM and Pat Meagher, father and son, are busy men at Kedrah House Stud.

Two of their three sires are the Group 1 St Leger winner Rule Of Law (Kingmambo) and Well Chosen (Sadler’s Wells). The latter is a very well bred horse who, from limited early opportunities, proved himself and runners of the calibre of Jury Duty, Chosen Mate and Carefully Selected have woken breeders up to the qualities of their sire.

However, the busiest horse at the Cahir, Co Tipperary farm is the impressive Berkshire, and he has almost become a social media sensation with pictures of his good-looking foals being shared.

Standing his second season at Kedrah, having spent one year at stud in France, Berkshire was a maiden when easily winning the Listed Chesham Stakes over seven furlongs at Royal Ascot as a two-year-old. He followed that with a neck defeat of It’s Somewhat in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile at Newmarket, beat Mutakayyef in a nine-furlong Group 3 contest at that same venue the following autumn, and was a blacktype winner again at the age of five.

He is a son of the now deceased Mount Nelson (Rock Of Gibraltar), a Group 1 sire under both codes, notably of the dual Cheltenham Grade 1 winner Penhill. With looks that are hard to beat, Berkshire is already proving very popular.

ANNGROVE Stud in Mountmellick, Co Laois, has been home to a number of good sires over the years, first with David Pim and now with his son Alastair. You might have the added bonus, by supporting their stallions, of having Alastair sell it for you at the sales too. Previous occupants of the stallion boxes at Anngrove have been two Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winners, Monksfield and Alderbrook.

Now there are four sires there, and if you are looking to breed to a sound, durable and high-class runner, few match the record of Famous Name. He was 21 times in the winners’ enclosure, all but once in stakes races and 13 times in group races. Surely the unluckiest horse never to win a Group 1, he was five times second at that level, including in the French Derby. He is a successful blacktype sire on the flat and over hurdles.

Marcel spent two years at the National Stud in England and now is in his second year at Anngrove. He was supported by many leading breeders last year on his move to Ireland. The Group 1 Racing Post Trophy winner is a particularly good looking individual with size and scope and is a son of classic winner and sire Lawman (Invincible Spirit). Sadly, injury restricted Marcel to just four starts, but he beat Group 1 winners Johannes Vermeer and Deauville when enjoying his big race success. He will have some runners this year.

Group 2 winner Aiken (Selkirk) will hopefully get off the mark shortly as his first crop have just turned five. He is by the sire of a Champion Hurdle star and comes from a family that has yielded some successful stallions.

Vendangeur (Galileo) moved from France to Anngrove in 2017 and his first Irish crop are just two-year-olds. He is already sire of blacktype horses such as Arzal, Barra and Creation and his foals have sold for up to €30,000.