THE very successful Lope De Vega was joined at Ballylinch Stud in 2017 by another French Derby winner, New Bay, a very good looking and high-class son of Dubawi who defeated Highland Reel in the 2015 running of that classic.
Trained by Andre Fabre, New Bay was the champion three-year-old in France after his third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and he was also a group winner at Deauville as a four-year-old.
New Bay was second in his only race at two but he made a winning reappearance early the next spring in the Prix Machado over a mile at Longchamp. This earned him a step up to Group 1 company in a field of 18 for the classic Poule d’Essai des Poulains, in which he finished very fast from the back of the field but could not catch his stablemate Make Believe, with the favourite Highland Reel over two lengths behind him. The form was confirmed a month later in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey-Club at Chantilly, with New Bay quickening well to defeat Highland Reel by a length and a half.
New Bay went on to add the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville in August, with over a length to spare, and then the Group 2 Prix Niel at Longchamp, beating Silverwave and Erupt by two and a half lengths. This made him the second favourite for the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in which he ran an excellent race to be third to Golden Horn and Flintshire.
New Bay was beaten only a neck for second place and behind him were Group 1 stars Treve (the winner in the two previous years), Erupt and Free Eagle. At the end of the year he was named the champion three-year-old in France over 10 furlongs, rated 128 by Timeform.
In 2016 New Bay won the Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron at Deauville and was fourth to Almanzor in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes, once again ahead of Highland Reel, before ending an illustrious racing career with a close seventh in the Arc de Triomphe won by Found, with the Epsom and Irish Derby hero Harzand behind him.
Among the very best sons of the outstanding sire Dubawi, New Bay is out of Cinnamon Bay who won the Listed Prix d’Angerville at Chantilly and is dam of four winners.
Cinnamon Bay is a half-sister to Bellamy Cay whose wins included the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil, while their dam is a half-sister by Sadler’s Wells to champion filly Wemyss Bight, the dam of Beat Hollow, and also to Hope, who is the dam of leading sire Oasis Dream and the grandam of Kingman.
With 67 foals from his first crop born in 2018, New Bay was a popular choice at last autumn’s sales where his foals averaged £32,148, with a top price of 80,000gns for the colt out of Glorification at the Newmarket December Sales.
NEW BAY (GB). Top rated 3yr old in France in 2015 (9.5-10.5f.). Won five races, £1,523,281, from 1 mile to 1½ miles, at 3 and 4 years including, Prix du Jockey Club, Chantilly, Gr.1, Prix Guillaume d’Ornano-Logis St Germain, Deauville, Gr.2, Qatar Prix Niel, Longchamp, Gr.2, Prix Gontaut-Biron-Hong Kong Jockey Club, Deauville, Gr.3, also placed second in Poule d’Essai des Poulains P.le Parisien, Longchamp, Gr.1, and third in Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp, Gr.1.
Retired to Stud in 2017: first crop now yearlings.
Stands at: Ballylinch Stud, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
Contact: John O’Connor, Mark Byrne or Nicola Griffin
Telephone: +353 (0) 56 7724217
Email: info@ballylinchstud.ie
Web: www.ballylinchstud.com
Fee: €15,000