FORMER Kildangan Stud flagbearer Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) is gone, but is influence will live for a long time to come.

His son ,Lope De Vega, like his father a dual classic star in France, is well-established as a leading international sire, which augurs well for the many younger ones coming up behind, a lot of which stand under the Darley banner. Captain Sonador hit the Group 1 target at stud but died young, while Casamento also died far too young, and he was also a Group 1 sire.

Much is expected of Yeomanstown Stud’s Shaman who went to stud in 2021, and this autumn will see his first yearlings for sale. The stud bought a number of his better foals sold in the autumn, no doubt liking what they saw.

Bred by the Wertheimer Brothers and trained by Carlos Laffon-Parias, Shaman was a pattern-placed seven-furlong winner at two, a leading miler at three, and notable over 10 furlongs at four.

Classic year

Shaman kicked off his classic year with a listed success over a mile at Saint-Cloud, followed that with a Group 3 victory over nine furlongs at ParisLongchamp, and chased home Persian King in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-French 2000 Guineas, beaten a length.

Three months later Shaman took on another classic ace, this time the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Romanised, and while chasing that colt home in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville he had Group/Grade 1 winners Line Of Duty, Watch Me and Study Of Man behind.

Stepped up to 10 furlongs at four, Shaman beat the subsequent Group 1 scorer Way To Paris by three-quarters of a length in the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt. Sottsass, who was fourth on the day, bounced back to take the Group 1 Prix Ganay, with Shaman finding that extra half furlong testing, dropping back to finish a highly-creditable third having tried to make all.

Attractive fee

Shaman’s fee of €5,000 is attractive, especially when compared to those of Blue Point (€35,000) who has his first runners this year, Pinatubo (£35,000) who has yearlings on the ground, and the established Lope De Vega (€125,000).

Shaman is the better of two stakes winners out of the dual blacktype scorer Only Green (Green Desert), whereas his dam’s star sibling is the Group 1 Prix de la Foret and Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest heroine Occupandiste (Kaldoun).That mare’s Group 1-winning son Mondialiste (Galileo) is up and running as a sire, his classic-placed, Group 2-winning half-sister Impressionnante (Danehill) is the dam of the classic winner and Group 1 sire Intello (Galileo), whereas Group 1 stars Elnadim (Danzig), Mehthaaf (Nureyev), and Ribchester (Iffraaj) appear under the third generation of the pedigree.

This is a branch of the famous stallion-producing family descending from Fall Aspen (Pretense), and which includes Bianconi (Danzig), Charnwood Forest (Warning), Dubai Millennium (Seeking The Gold), Fort Wood (Sadler’s Wells), and Timber Country (Woodman), all of whom sired at least one Group 1 winner.

Race record

SHAMAN (IRE), Chesnut 2016. Won five races, £555,004, from 7 furlongs to 1 mile 2 furlongs, 2 to 4 years including, Prix d’Harcourt, Longchamp, Gr.2, Prix La Force, Parislongchamp, Gr.3, Prix Omnium II, Saint-Cloud, L, also placed second in Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains, Parislongchamp, Gr.1, P. Fresnay le Buffard Jacques Le Marois, Deauville, Gr.1, Prix Francois Boutin, Deauville, L, and third in Prix Ganay, Chantilly, Gr.1, Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein, Parislongchamp, Gr.2, Prix des Chenes, Parislongchamp, Gr.3.

At stud

Retired to Stud in 2021. First crop are yearlings.

Information

Stands at: Yeomanstown Stud, Yeomanstown, Caragh, Naas, Co Kildare, W91 C993, Ireland.

Contact: Gay, David or Robert O’Callaghan

Telephone: +353 45 897314 or +353 87 2565561 (Gay), +353 86 8366554 (David) or +353 85 1191288 (Robert)

Email: office@yeomanstown.ie

Web: www.yeomanstown.ie

Fee: €5,000