THE National Stud in Newmarket is headed by Irish woman Anna Kerr and is home to five sires for the 2024 season. Time Test and Rajasinghe are off to winning starts, Stradivarius is one of the best-loved racehorses of recent years, while Mutasaabeq is new to the roster. The quintet is completed by Lope Y Fernandez.

The Group 1-placed pattern-winning son of a Dansili (Danehill) mare is standing his third season at an unchanged £8,500, and the depth of his popularity is shown by the fact that he covered 134 mares in his first year, and that grew to 152 last season. He had his first foals under the hammer last year, headed by a colt sold to Amanda Skiffington for 100,000gns.