IN January last year Tom Meagher in south Tipperary’s Kedrah House Stud announced a new stallion for the season. He is Rich History, an incredibly well-bred son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), who joined Well Chosen and Berkshire. He started at an introductory fee of €3,500 and covered more than 100 mares.

A three-time winner in Qatar over nine and 10 furlongs, he is one of 10 winners from the distinguished Danehill (Danzig) mare Polished Gem, eight of which won at stakes level. They were all of her progeny, and since Rich History went to stud, arguably her best winner has excelled.

There was no hiding Meagher’s delight when he announced the new acquisition. He said: “It is his unique pedigree that makes him such an ideal stallion. Rich History is a big 16.2 hands, and is a very good-looking, athletic horse. His pedigree has incredible depth, and this surely makes him the most desirable dual-purpose stallion standing for his first season at such a reasonable introductory fee.”

Well he was not wrong, and his attraction as a stallion has been enhanced by the emergence of his third Group 1-winning sibling, Kyprios (Galileo). Half of his eight wins have come in Group 1 races, the Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup, Prix du Cadran and the Irish St Leger.

Best offspring

Prior to this, Polished Gem’s best offspring were the dual Group 1 Irish St Leger winner Search For A Son (Galileo) and the Group 1 winner and successful young sire Free Eagle (High Chaparral). Add to that list Group 2 winners Custom Cut (Notnowcato), Sapphire (Medicean) who was also a Group 1 runner-up, Group 3 winner Valac (Dark Angel) who is also a blacktype winner over jumps in Australia, stakes winner and group-placed Falcon eight (Galileo), and the stakes winner and group-placed Amma Grace (Galileo).

Rich History is from a family that has a long history with Moyglare Stud, almost matching the time since the farm was founded. Polished Gem is an own-sister to Grade 1 winner Dress To Thrill (Danehill) and a half-sister to the National Hunt Grade 1 winner Archive Footage (Sadler’s Wells).

In addition to an outstanding female line, Rich History is a son of one of the best stallions in the world. Dubawi is excelling in all aspects of his career, as a racehorse, a stallion, a broodmare sire, and as a sire of sires. He stands at a fee of £350,000, an incredible figure.

Worth adding

While he needs no more endorsement as a sire, it is worth adding that Dubawi has, from limited opportunities, sired the National Hunt Grade 1 winners Dodging Bullets (Queen Mother Champion Chase, Cheltenham, Tingle Creek Chase, Sandown, and Clarence House Chase, Ascot) and Hisaabaat (Champion Four Year Old Hurdle, Punchestown, and Spring Juvenile Hurdle, Leopardstown), Grade 2 winner Purple Bay (Elite Hurdle, Wincanton), and Grade 3 winners Lachlan Bridge (Prix Montgomery Steeplechase, Auteuil, and Prix Troytown Chase, Auteuil) and Babawi (Premio Staffe d’Oro Chase, Merano).

RICH HISTORY (IRE), Chesnut 2014. Won three races, £79,281, over 1 mile 1 furlong to 1 mile 2 furlongs, at 4 years.

Retired to Stud in 2022. First crop are foals.

Stands at: Kedrah House Stud, Cahir, Co Tipperary, Ireland

Contact: Thomas, Magette and Patrick Meagher

Telephone: +353 52 7441790, +353 87 2573261 (Thomas) or +353 87 2248226 (Patrick)

Email: info@kedrah.com

Web: www.kedrah.com

Fee: €3,500