Grade 1 winner Hillstar will join the Irish stallion ranks this year, standing alongside recent Irish recruit Sageburg at Denis Hickey’s Garryrichard Stud in Foulkmills, Co Wexford.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Hillstar (by Danehill Dancer) registered his greatest victory in the Grade 1 International Stakes at Woodbine in 2014, having landed the King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot the previous season, a race in which he defeated Battle Of Marengo and Contributer. Hillstar also ran well in defeat, beaten just a quarter length by Cavalryman in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and running second to Brown Panther in the Ormonde Stakes.