GROUP 1-placed pattern winner by a champion sire, and related to classic stars and to a blacktype stallion – he must be expensive, especially as his early handful of runners include blacktype horses – right?
Elusive Pimpernel’s fee is again only €1,000, just one of the credentials that led to him covering 72 mares in 2015 and 75 last year. From fewer runners in total than some stallions have in a month, the Irish National Stud resident has sired multiple winners in several countries and blacktype horses on two continents.
The latter include Group 3 Balanchine Stakes third Elusive Beauty (dam by Intikhab), Dundalk listed second Elusive Heights (Big Bad Bob), and Listed UAE 1000 Guineas third Kabaw (Dubai Destination).
Elusive Pimpernel represents the powerful Gone West branch of the Mr Prospector line and he is by the sire of Quality Road, Smarty Jones and Raven’s Pass. His pattern-winning half-brother and fellow INS resident Palavicini (by Giant’s Causeway) has had just one runner here so far and that is the Johnny Levins-trained Palavicini Run whose five-furlong success at Dundalk eight days ago adds to her seven-furlong Curragh victory of last September.
His siblings also include the pattern-placed juvenile stakes winner Prince Gagarin (by Dubawi) and their dam Cara Fantasy is a half-sister to dual stakes winner and successful sire Lucky Guest (by Be My Guest). She is also a half-sister to stakes-placed stayer Persian Fantasy whose descendants include classic winner, dual champion and prolific Group 1 star Snow Fairy (by Intikhab).
That filly is closely related to multiple pattern winner Big Bad Bob (by Bob Back) who stood at the Irish National Stud, has sired 10 stakes winners, but died last year. Gay Fantasy, the unraced grandam of Elusive Pimpernel, was a sibling to two mares of note, one of whom was the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner Miss Petard (by Petingo). She became the dam of Group 2 Park Hill Stakes winner Rejuvenate (by Ile De Bourbon) and her Portland Handicap-placed daughter Kiss (by Habitat) gave us Group 2 Park Hill Stakes winner Casey (by Caerleon), a full-sister to the dam of the Group 1 sprint stars Patavellian (by Machiavellian) and Avonbridge (by Averti).
Gay Fantasy’s full-sister Sheer Audacity gave us Group 1 Derby hero Oath (by Fairy King) and triple Group 1 star Pelder (by Be My Guest), as well as Sheer Spirit (by Caerleon), the dam of Group 2 Blandford Stakes heroine Maniree (by Medicean).
Won three races, £151,356, from 7 furlongs to 1 mile, at 2 and 3 years including, Racing Post Craven Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3, Watch Races on Racing UK Acomb Stakes, York, Gr.3, also placed second in Racing Post Trophy, Doncaster, Gr.1, Rose of Lancaster Stakes, Haydock Park, Gr.3, and third in Weatherbys Earl of Sefton Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3, Toteexacta August Stakes, Windsor, L.
Retired to stud in 2012, and sire of the winners of 27 races, and £250,204 including Elusive Heights (IRE), Elusive Beauty (IRE), Kabaw (IRE), Elusive Janice (IRE), etc
Stands at: Irish National Stud, Tully, Kildare, Co Kildare, Ireland
Contact: John Osborne, Sinead Hyland, Gary Swift or Helen Boyce
Telephone: +353 (0)45 521251
Email: stud@irishnationalstud.ie
Web: www.irishnationalstud.ie
Fee: €1,000