THE champion first crop sire in North America in 2012 and second on the equivalent list in Europe, the outstanding miler Henrythenavigator made a sensational start to his stud career. He already has three Group 1 winners to his credit on both sides of the Atlantic, with George Vancouver scoring in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, while Pedro The Great and Sudirman both had comfortable successes in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

After four seasons at stud in the USA, Henrythenavigator returned in 2013 to Co Tipperary to cover at Coolmore and he stands there this year at a very reasonable fee.

Although he began his stud career in America, where he stood for four years, Henrythenavigator has already had 36 individual winners of 55 races in Europe for earnings of €1,200,000 here. Worldwide he has the winners of over 200 races and more than €4,300,000.

He has also made a good start in Australia, where his first crops of foals ‘down under’ have already won well over 50 races, with some blacktype performers there as well.

In 2012 George Vancouver ran second in the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville and third in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket before being sent to Santa Anita for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, in which he scored by a length and a quarter and was rated equal third best juvenile in the World Rankings.

Pedro The Great also chalked up a Group 1 success in 2012 in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh and there was another success in that race the next year for Henrythenavigator, when Sudirman followed up his Group 2 Railway Stakes victory with a new record time. There have also been blacktype wins for Zhiyi at Deauville and for Hoovergetthekeys in Italy, while Jubliant Girl is a stakes winner at Santa Anita.

There was tremendous rivalry between three great champions in 2008, with Henrythenavigator getting off to a flying start by scoring a classic double in the Newmarket 2000 Guineas and the Irish 2000 Guineas, with the subsequent Epsom Derby hero New Approach in second place each time.

Henrythenavigator had already been one of the outstanding two-year-olds of 2007, when his two wins included the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in record time and he was second in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes and third in the Group 2 Galileo EBF Futurity in his only other starts.

Henrythenavigator went on to add the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, with Raven’s Pass second both times.

Then, after two titanic struggles, Henrythenavigator was a close second to Raven’s Pass in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot and the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. He was never out of the money in 11 appearances.

Kingmambo, the sire of Henrythenavigator and a son of Mr Prospector, was a triple Group 1 star who has been one of the most dominant stallions of the last 20 years with 85 stakes winners to his credit, 24 of which carried off Group 1 contests, including Lemon Drop Kid, King’s Best, El Condor Pasa, Russian Rhythm and Divine Proportions.

Henrythenavigator’s dam Sequoyah won the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and this daughter of Sadler’s Wells is an own-sister to champion two-year-old filly Listen. Another half-sister is the grandam of Irish 2000 Guineas and Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Magician.

HENRYTHENAVIGATOR (USA)

Race record: Winner of six races and £1,384.598, at 2 and 3 years, from 6-8 furlongs, inc. 2000 Guineas, Newmarket, Gr.1, Irish 2000 Guineas, Curragh, Gr.1, St James’s Palace Stakes, Royal Ascot, Gr.1, Sussex Stakes, Goodwood, Gr.1, and Coventry Stakes, Royal Ascot, Gr.2; second in Breeders’ Cup Classic, Santa Anita, Gr.1, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Ascot, Gr.1, and Phoenix Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1; third in Galileo EBF Futurity, Curragh, Gr.2; fourth in Prix du Moulin, Longchamp, Gr.1.

Stud record: Retired to stud in USA in 2009 and in Ireland in 2013. Leading first crop sire in USA in 2012. Sire from his first three crops of 124 winners of over 200 races and €4,300,000 worldwide, inc. George Vancouver (Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Santa Anita, Gr.1, second Prix Morny, Deauville, Gr.1, third Dewhurst Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.1), Pedro The Great (Phoenix Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1), Sudirman (Phoenix Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1, Railway Stakes, Curragh, Gr.2, second National Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1, Cristoforo Colombo (second Railway Stakes, Curragh, Gr.2, third Coventry Stakes, Royal Ascot, Gr.2), etc.

Stands at: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, Ireland. Enquiries to (353) 52 6131298, or visit www.coolmore.com.

Fee: €15,000.

COOLMORE STUD

COOLMORE’S impressive list of 28 stallions for the 2015 stud season gives good reason for their belief that the supremacy of their sires can continue for many years to come. Once again, they had the champion sire in Britain and Ireland in 2014, with Galileo in pride of place for the sixth time. It was the 25th consecutive year that the champion sire had stood at Coolmore. The leading second crop sire in Great Britain and Ireland was another Coolmore stallion, Mastercraftsman.

There will be five newcomers starting their stud careers at Coolmore in 2015, the last two Epsom Derby heroes Australia and Ruler Of The World, also three Group 1-winning two-year-olds, Kingsbarns, No Nay Never and War Command, all rated very close to the top of their respective generations at that age.