THERE is a growing list of sons of the great German stallion Monsun (by Konigsstuhl) who have done well at stud, and in addition to their double-digit tally of Group 1-winning offspring on the flat, they have also supplied many notable winners under National Hunt rules. The great Sprinter Sacre (by Network) and brilliant Champion Hurdle heroine Annie Power (by Shirocco) stand out among them, and so it is hardly a surprise that the Monsun stallions are very much in demand.
The Beeches Stud’s young horse Ocovango was a high-class racehorse, he has covered large books of mares, and his foals have made up to €26,000 in the auction ring. That was the price paid in December for a half-sister to last year’s Grade 1 Champion Bumper heroine Relegate (by Flemensfirth).
His eldest offspring are now three-year-olds. He looks sure to get point-to-point winners in 2020, and it is probably a shade of odds-on that the identity of his first National Hunt blacktype scorer will be known within a year or two of that.
Andre Fabre trained Ocovango, and after recording an odds-on success in the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe in the spring of his three-year-old season, he was sent off as one of the market leaders for the Group 1 Investec Derby at Epsom. He finished a two-and-a-quarter length fifth behind Ruler Of The World that day, and put up another good effort when taking third to subsequent US champion Flintshire in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris several weeks later.
The first foal of the unraced Crystal Maze (by Gone West), Ocovango has a couple of winning siblings. His grandam is the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile heroine Crystal Music (by Nureyev), and she chased home Imagine in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas before again taking the runners-up spot in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, that race won by Banks Hill.
Fourth does not count for blacktype, of course, but it is worth mentioning that Crystal Music filled that position in both the Group 1 1000 Guineas (won by Ameerat) and Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes (won by Starine).
Crystal Music is the dam of three blacktype earners, but more notably is a half-sister to Dubai Success (by Sadler’s Wells), Tchaikovsky (by Sadler’s Wells), Solar Crystal (by Alzao), and State Crystal (by High State).
The first-named won the Group 3 John Porter Stakes, whereas his full-brother finished third to Montjeu and Daliapour in the Group 1 Irish Derby. Solar Crystal won the Group 3 May Hill Stakes at two and was third in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac, but State Crystal is the standout.
She won the Group 3 Lancashire Oaks and was placed in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, Group 1 Prix Vermeille, and Group 2 Sun Chariot Stakes. Her descendants include mile Group 1 star and young French stallion Zelzal (by Sea The Stars), Group 1-placed Australian Group 2 scorer Libran (by Lawman), and Group 3 winners Three Rocks (by Rock Of Gibraltar) and Ibiza (by Redoute’s Choice).
OCOVANGO (GB). Won three races, £209,315, from 1 mile to 1 mile 2½ furlongs, at 2 and 3 years including, Prix Greffulhe, Saint-Cloud, Gr.2, Prix Francois Mathet, Saint-Cloud, L, also placed third in Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris, Longchamp, Gr.1, Qatar Prix Niel, Longchamp, Gr.2, La Coupe, Longchamp, Gr.3.
Retired to Stud in 2015; first crop now three-year-olds.
Stands at: The Beeches Stud, Lismore, Co Waterford
Contact: Robert McCarthy, Bobby McCarthy, or Peter Kenneally
Telephone: +353 58 56254
Email: info@coolmore.com
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Fee: €3,500