WHEN the triple Group 1 winner Sadler’s Wells (by Northern Dancer) took up stallion duties in 1985 he was widely regarded as one of the most exciting new recruits for some time, and yet nobody could have predicted the heights he would achieve or the profound impact he would have on both the flat and National Hunt sectors.
His list of Group 1-winning progeny and descendants reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of the turf, his National Hunt Grade 1 stars are headed by the great Istabraq, and his sons and grandsons dominate the stallion tables.
His brilliant classic heroes Galileo and Montjeu are forging their own branches of his line on the flat, and although it is early still in that process, there is every reason to hope that they will do so too with sires of hurdlers and chasers.
Most good flat stallions also get major winners under National Hunt rules, and in addition to the Grade 1 jumps stars representing Galileo and Montjeu as sires, we are now seeing top National Hunt winners for Authorized (by Montjeu) and Walk In The Park (by Montjeu), to name just two.
Authorized is a Derby winner and established sire of flat Group 1 stars, and he is also responsible for the Grade 1-winning hurdlers Nichols Canyon and Tiger Roll in addition to the Grade 2 scorers Beltor and Zamdy Man.
Walk In The Park, who was runner-up to Motivator in the Derby, is the sire of last week’s Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Douvan.
This type of success augurs well for the Sadler’s Wells grandsons who are at earlier stages in their careers, and those horses include the Group 1 Irish Derby hero Frozen Fire (by Montjeu) whose first crop are two-year-olds.
He was a debut winner over seven furlongs as a juvenile and he was only beaten a head by Tartan Bearer in the Group 2 Dante Stakes. His classic victory came at the expense of Casual Conquest, and he is among a growing number of Sadler’s Wells-line classic colts that have gone straight to a National Hunt stud. Oscar, Milan, and Walk In The Park are others who have done so.
Frozen Fire is out of Flamingo Sea (by Woodman) and that mare’s string of blacktype-earning siblings include the Group 1-placed Group 2 scorer Flamingo Road (by Acatenango), who is the classic-winning dam of the Group 1-placed Group 2-winner Flamingo Fantasy (by Fantastic Light). Her siblings also include Flamingo Island (by Acatenango) who, although unplaced, became the dam of the Group 1 Premio Roma and Group 2 Derby Italiano scorer Feuerblitz (by Big Shuffle).
His grandam Fabula Dancer (by Northern Dancer) was a winning half-sister to the Grade 1-placed US Grade 2 scorer Crowned (by Chief’s Crown) and to the dual pattern winner Betty Lobelia (by Assert), both of whom achieved success at stud.
Crowned is the dam of the US Grade 2 winner Best Of Luck (by Broad Brush) and Betty Lobelia is the grandam of the Grade 1 star My Trusty Cat (by Tale of The Cat).
Frozen Fire was bred to be a high-class racehorse, and he won a classic. He is inbred 3x3 to Northern Dancer (by Nearctic), has a pedigree that could suit most National Hunt mares, and he is by the sire of Authorized and Walk In The Park, all of which should make him a popular choice and a likely sire of National Hunt graded winners.
FROZEN FIRE (GER)
Race Record: Winner of two races, over 7-12 furlongs, from 2-5 years inc Irish Derby, Gr.1, 2nd Dante Stakes, Gr.2, 3rd Ormonde Stakes, Gr.3, etc.
Stud record: Retired to stud in 2012. First crop are 2yo.
Stands: Coolagown Stud, Fermoy, Co Cork Contact: David Stack (Manager) on +353 (0)25 36642 or +353 (0)86 2314066
Email: info@coolagown.ie
Website: www.coolagown.ie
Fee: €3,000
COOLAGOWN STUD
Bernie and David Stack’s Coolagown Stud in Fermoy has been standing stallions for two decades, and also provides boarding and sales preparation services.
The four stallions are headed by the Group 1 winner Carlotamix (by Linamix). He is in his third season in Ireland but began his career in France where his early progeny include the the Grade 1-winning hurdler Gemix and the multiple stakes winner Calvin Williams. The Group 1-placed Group 2-scorer Papal Bull (by Montjeu) has a growing number of flat and NH winners. The oldest progeny of the Irish Derby hero Frozen Fire (by Montjeu) are two, and the Group 3 scorer Shantaram (by Galileo) has his first foals.