New Stallions For Rathbarry

The Cashman family's Rathbarry Stud has acquired two new stallions for 2017. Ajaya (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Kodi Bear (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) will join the roster at the Cork stud with Group 2 winner Kodi Bear being the first son of Kodiac (GB) (Danehill) to retire to stud. Clive Cox trained Kodi Bear, a 62,000gns yearling, to win four of his thirteen starts including the G2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood when he beat Gabrial (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) by three lengths. “Kodi Bear was a pleasure to train and showed a lot of class right from the beginning.” Cox said. “He was an exceptional winner of the [G3] Sovereign Stakes and confirmed that form when winning the Celebration Mile at Goodwood. His temperament and appetite for racing are first class and I'm sure he'll pass on these qualities to his offspring.” Kodi Bear is out of the unraced Mujtahid mare Hawattef (Ire).
Saleh Al Homaizi & Imad Al Sagar's homebred Ajaya showed high class form as a juvenile headed by his victory in the G2 ITM Gimcrack S. at York last year. His sire Invincible Spirit (Ire) (Green Desert) is already proven as a sire of sires through the exploits of Lawman (Fr), I Am invincible (Aus) and Zebedee (GB) and Ajaya's stallion credentials are further boosted on his distaff side with his dam Nessina (Hennessy) being a half-sister to Tantina (Distant View), the dam of Bated Breath (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Cityscape (GB) (Selkirk). William Haggas trained Ajaya and he commented, “Ajaya was a high class two-year-old blessed with bags of speed and a good temperament. His performance in the Gimcrack was top class, beating subsequent Group 1 winner Ribchester, and he loved fast ground. He's a thoroughly likeable colt who thrived on racing.”