THERE are few guarantees in life, but it was always odds-on that Sioux Nation would attract a considerable amount of support at stud.
His sire’s profile was at all-time high following a huge international season that featured Justify’s undefeated US Triple Crown sequence, and he was a sprinter retiring to stud in a part of the world that strongly associates his father with pure speed. Scat Daddy’s achievements as a sire were remarkable, especially given how young he was when he died.
The son of the international juvenile champion Johannesburg (Hennessy) got 133 stakes winners of whom 31 won at the highest level. He covered his last mares at the age of 11.
Scat Daddy was a nine-furlong horse who got many top-class performers from eight to 10 furlongs; his shuttle seasons to Chile saw him become a leading classic sire and Justify was his second Grade 1 scorer over 12 furlongs.
However, when Scat Daddy got a talented sprinter, they tended to be very good indeed. When Group 1 sprint star and classic sire No Nay Never is among his first sire sons, the popularity of others is easy to understand.
Lady Aurelia and Acapulco are his most famous sprint daughters to race in Europe, whereas his sons feature Caravaggio, Sioux Nation and Mendelssohn.
The latter, one of his sire’s eight to 10-furlong stars, stands at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud and has yearlings now. So does the speedball Caravaggio, another former Ballydoyle trainee. He covered large books in two seasons in Ireland before joining Mendelssohn and Justify on the Kentucky roster.
Sioux Nation covered 241 mares in his first season at Coolmore, at least 158 in 2020, and will likely get another triple-digit book in 2021. His first-crop daughter out of Sonning Rose (Hawk Wing) made €140,000 in Goffs in December, he had 88,000gns and 65,000gns colts in Newmarket, and will no doubt have plenty of eye-catching yearlings this autumn before a successful freshman season in 2022.
Sioux Nation won his maiden by nearly four lengths at the Curragh a month before landing the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. He followed that with victory in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes and, the following spring, added the Group 3 Lacken Stakes at Naas, defeating the talented pair Fleet Review and Speak In Colours in style.
He was later beaten by only a total of three-quarters of a length when third to Havana Grey in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes.
Combine this precocity and speed with the Scat Daddy factor and throw in the fact that his Oasis Dream (Green Desert) dam is out of the Group 1-placed, Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes winner Catch The Blues (Bluebird) and related to the speedy pair My Catch (Camacho) and Vladimir (Kheleyf), and it’s easy to see why he is proving to be so popular.
SIOUX NATION (USA), Bay 2015. Won four races, £271,661, from 5 furlongs to 6 furlongs, at 2 and 3 years including, Keeneland Phoenix Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1, Norfolk Stakes, Ascot, Gr.2, Goffs Lacken Stakes, Naas, Gr.3, also placed third in Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1.
Retired to Stud in 2019, first crop now yearlings.
Stands at: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, E91 XK26, Ireland.
Contact: Christy Grassick, David O’Loughlin, Eddie Fitzpatrick, Maurice Moloney, Gerry Aherne, Jason Walsh, Tom Miller, Mark Byrne, Neil Magee, Kevin Buckley, or Hermine Bastide
Telephone: +353 (0)52 6131298
Email: sales@coolmore.ie
Web: www.coolmore.com
Fee: €10,000