THE Derrinstown stallion Awtaad was a top-class and really consistent performer who won five races and was only once out of the first four in nine starts. He was completing a four-timer when he easily defeated Galileo Gold in the Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas and his excellent pedigree, by Cape Cross out of a Shamardal mare, makes him a good outcross for most Irish broodmares.
Awtaad covered 115 mares in his first season and there were some massive prices for the resulting first crop foals last autumn. At the Newmarket December Sale two colts fetched 170,000gns and 140,000gns, while another colt at Goffs made €170,000 and a filly sold for €100,000. The average for the 31 foals sold was 53,987gns.
Trained by Kevin Prendergast for his owner-breeder, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, Awtaad showed promise as a two-year-old. He raced just twice in October 2015 and was third of 16 at the Curragh before winning a maiden race over seven furlongs at Leopardstown by two lengths.
Awtaad made his reappearance in March 2016, coming home five lengths clear in the Madrid Handicap, carrying 9st 10lbs before adding the Listed Tetrarch Stakes, again at the Curragh, by two lengths from Blue De Vega. In May Awtaad was again at the Curragh, where Galileo Gold was expected to complete a classic double in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas. He never looked like beating Awtaad who went ahead with two furlongs to run and surged away to score by two and a half lengths from the English favourite, with Blue De Vega another four lengths away third, ahead of Bravery and the champion two-year-old of 2015, Air Force Blue.
Galileo Gold was able to take his revenge at Royal Ascot in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, in which Awtaad was a close third, with The Gurkha between them, but Awtaad was five lengths clear of the other runners. Perhaps the ground was too firm for Awtaad in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, where he was out of the money behind The Gurkha and Galileo Gold, but he returned to his best form in the Group 2 Boomerang Solonaway Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown in September, winning by a length and a half from Custom Cut. Awtaad ended his racing career in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, with a creditable fourth to champions Minding and Ribchester, while Galileo Gold was only fifth behind him this time.
Cape Cross, the sire of Awtaad, was a champion miler and he has sired 114 blacktype winners, including Sea The Stars and Golden Horn, both of whom completed the Epsom Derby and Arc de Triomphe double. Awtaad’s dam Asheerah was a listed-placed winner in Ireland and the next dam, Adaala, was a listed winner at the Curragh. This is the female line descending from My Charmer, the dam of US Triple Crown star Seattle Slew and the 2000 Guineas winner Lomond.
AWTAAD (IRE). Won five races, £365,769, from 7 furlongs to 1 mile, at 2 and 3 years including, Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas, Curragh, Gr.1, Clipper Logistics Solonaway Stakes, Leopardstown, Gr.2, Power EBF Tetrarch Stakes, Curragh, L, also placed third in St James’s Palace Stakes, Ascot, Gr.1.
Retired to Stud in 2017; first crop now yearlings.
Stands at: Derrinstown Stud, Maynooth, Co Kildare, Ireland.
Contact: Stephen Collins, Jimmy Lenehan, Enda Stanley, Rosie Kane and Kay Skehan
Telephone: +353 1 6286228
Email: info@derrinstown.com
Web: www.derrinstown.com
Fee: €15,000