The A To X Of First-Crop Sires – Part 1

Perhaps more than ever before, there's great interest surrounding first-season sires and a sizeable batch of freshmen will be heavily scrutinised as the major European foal sales get underway tomorrow. With almost a third of the foal catalogues in Ireland and Britain (28% at Goffs and 32% at Tattersalls) being filled by the offspring of those young stallions, we run the rule over the newcomers, from Alhebayeb to Xtension, over the next two days. The stud fee listed was the price on retirement in 2015.

ALHEBAYEB (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) ex Miss Indigo (Indian Ridge)
Tara Stud – €5,000
Winner of the G2 July S. in his juvenile season and also a runner-up in the Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot, Alhebayeb, hailing from an increasingly popular commercial sireline, raced on in Dubai until he was four and covered 175 mares in his first book.

Number catalogued: Goffs 45, Tattersalls 9, Arqana 1

ANODIN (Ire) (Anabaa)
Haras du Quesnay – €7,500
Anodin came close to emulating (in part, at least) his sister Goldikova when finishing runner-up to Karakontie in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. Winner of the G3 Prix Paul de Moussac, he was also second to Kingman (GB) and Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and G1 Prix d'Ispahan and will have been given plenty of support by both his breeder, Wertheimer et Frere, and the Head family, as well as a decent number of outside breeders with a first book which numbered just over 100.

Number catalogued: Tattersalls 3, Arqana 10

AUSTRALIA (GB) (Galileo {Ire})
Coolmore Stud – €50,000
The benefit of breeding the best to the best has rarely been bettered illustrated than by this Derby winner, the son of Galileo and seven-time Group 1 winner Ouija Board (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}). He followed his Epsom triumph by winning both the G1 Irish Derby and the G1 Juddmonte International and covered 157 mares in 2015.

Number catalogued: Tattersalls 10, Arqana 3

BATTLE OF MARENGO (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})
Ballyhane Stud – €6,000
Having won five races in a row, including a pair of Group 2s at two and three, Battle Of Marengo finished fourth in the Derby to stablemate Ruler Of The World (Ire) before chasing home Hillstar (GB) for second in the King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot. His credentials and his competitive fee were not overlooked by breeders when he retired to Ballyhane, where he covered 110 mares in his first year.

Number catalogued: Goffs 31, Tattersalls 5,

BUNGLE INTHEJUNGLE (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus})
Rathasker Stud – €5,000
With a brace of five-furlong Group victories as a juvenile in the G3 Molecomb S. at Glorious Goodwood and the G3 Cornwallis S. at Ascot, Chris Wright's homebred was very much his father's son, and should have a decent chance of being represented by some speedy 2-year-olds once his first runners hit the track as he was kept busy at Rathasker Stud during his first season, serving 117 mares.

Number catalogued: Goffs 34, Tattersalls 3, Arqana 1

CHARM SPIRIT (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire})
Tweenhills Farm & Stud – £25,000
A miler of the highest order with a trio of Group 1 victories to his name at three, Charm Spirit was unsurprisingly very well supported with 130 mares in his debut season, giving him a decent chance of enhancing the reputation of his excellent sire.

Number catalogued: Goffs 5, Tattersalls 28, Arqana 1

COACH HOUSE (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB})
Bucklands Farm & Stud – £3,000
With speed on both sides of his pedigree, Coach House was himself a fast horse, winning the Listed Marble Hill S. over the minimum trip before finishing best of the rest when beaten just a length by No Nay Never in the G2 Norfolk S. He didn't race beyond his juvenile season but the team behind his retirement to Bucklands Farm ensured he has been given a good chance to flourish in his new career by enticing the owners of 102 mares to use him in his first season.

Number catalogued: Goffs 2, Tattersalls 22

DUNADEN (Fr) (Nicobar {GB})
Overbury Stud – £3,000
With his 10 victories from 46 starts including the G1 Melbourne Cup, G1 Caulfield Cup and G1 Hong Kong Vase, world traveller Dunaden provided Sheikh Fahad Al Thani with plenty of thrills during his racing career. In a bid to help him to a decent start at stud, his owner devised the Dunaden Owners' & Breeders' Premiums, with 64% added to winning prize-money in Britain and Ireland for 2- and 3-year-olds from the stallion's first crop, as well as a £25,000 bonus to the breeders of any stakes winner at two or three in Britain, Ireland and France. Dunaden covered 99 mares in his first season.

Number catalogued: Goffs 2, Tattersalls 7

ES QUE LOVE (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire})
Rathasker Stud – €5,000
The hardy and likeable campaigner Es Que Love raced 51 times in his four-season career, the highlight of his five wins being his victory over Toormore (Ire) in the G2 Lennox S. at Glorious Goodwood. Retired to stand alongside his popular sire at the Burns family's Rathasker Stud, the half-brother to G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Dominant (Ire) covered 63 mares in 2015.

Number catalogued: Goffs 11, Tattersalls 2

GALE FORCE TEN (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB})
Irish National Stud – €5,000
With the looks to match his pedigree, Gale Force Ten was the most expensive horse at the DBS (now Goffs UK) Premier Yearling Sale of 2011, when sold to Coolmore for £280,000. Runner-up to Reckless Abandon in the G2 Norfolk S. and later third behind the same horse in the G1 Middle Park S., he also played a bridesmaid role in the G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas but claimed his own Pattern success when winning the G3 Jersey S. on his second visit to Royal Ascot. Competitively priced by the Irish National Stud, he covered 152 mares in his first season.

Number catalogued: Goffs 37, Tattersalls 8

GARSWOOD (GB) (Dutch Art {GB})
Cheveley Park Stud – £7,000
Garswood was the one that got away and later returned for his breeder Cheveley Park Stud, who sold him as a foal for 19,000gns to Richard Knight and bought back into him to race in partnership with David and Emma Armstrong at the start of his 3-year-old campaign. It proved to be a wise move as he added to his Listed success at two by winning the G2 Lennox S. the following year and then the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest as a 4-year-old in his final season of racing. He stands alongside his sire Dutch Art (GB) and damsire Kyllachy (GB) at the farm where he was born and covered 99 mares in 2015.

Number catalogued: Goffs 7, Tattersalls 24

GREGORIAN (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire})
National Stud – £4,500
Along with athletic ability, it takes a good temperament for a colt to keep racing consistently for five seasons and alongside his admirably consistent racing record, Gregorian proved he was equally as sound of mind as limb by being a co-operative live model at a conformation lecture at Tattersalls during the Newmarket Open Day while he was still in training. Proving most effective at seven furlongs to a mile, he won six of his 25 races across five seasons, including the G2 Hungerford S. and the G3 Diomed S. on Derby day at Epsom. He also has four Group 1 placings to his credit, in the St James's Palace S., Queen Anne S., Prix Jean Prat and was just a length and a half behind Slade Power (Ire) when third in the Darley July Cup. Good backing on both sides of the Irish Sea saw him rewarded with 111 mares for his first book.

Number catalogued: Goffs 5, Tattersalls 23

We will conclude our look at sires with first-crop foals in tomorrow's TDN.