Golden Draw For Darley Open House

While many stallions will have had 'book full' signs posted on their doors since the December sales, it's still a great time of year for breeders to get out to see sires, both new and established, and plenty took full advantage of the first of Darley's two consecutive open house days at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket on Wednesday.

Of course the major draw for many was the chance to see the horse who set last season alight with his quartet of Group 1 victories in the Derby, Eclipse S., Irish Champion S. and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe–Anthony Oppenheimer's homebred Golden Horn (GB). Darley takes great pride in the fact that the stellar new recruit is by their Kildangan-based stalwart Cape Cross (Ire), and rightly so. Now 22, the son of Green Desert has more than proved his worth over the years–with Ouija Board (GB) and Sea The Stars (Ire) bearing further testament to his ability to sire high-class gallopers–and the appearance of a potential heir 'in house' has been a welcome development for Sam Bullard and his team.

It almost doesn't need saying that Golden Horn will not lack support. Anthony Oppenheimer retains a significant share, while 30 “breeding rights with dividends” have been sold to breeders in 14 different countries. Group/Grade 1 winners in Golden Horn's first book include Banks Hill (GB) (Danehill), Folk Opera (Ire) (Singspiel (Ire), Grey Lilas (Ire) (Danehill) and Casual Look (Red Ransom), while the dams of Group 1 winners Ectot (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), Behkabad (Fr) (Cape Cross {Ire}), Lumiere (GB) (Shamardal) and Sea The Moon (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) are also on the list.

Golden Horn is not the only rookie at Dalham Hall, however. The homebred GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Outstrip (GB) is by another Darley stallion in Exceed And Excel (Aus) and is one of a quartet of sires in the Darley Club, which offers breeders equity in the stallions in return for a single up-front nomination payment and patronage in three consecutive seasons.

Another new face, and one who has just completed his first season at stud in Australia, is the near-black Group 1-winning sprinter Brazen Beau (Aus), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)'s son I Am Invincible (Aus), who was the leading first-season sire in his native country in 2013/14. Brazen Beau won't be alone in feeling the chill in Newmarket as he has returned from the southern hemisphere with fellow Antipodeans Helmet (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Sepoy (Aus) (Elusive Quality), both of whom have their first runners on the track in Europe from this spring.

As each horse was paraded before breeders, only one head wasn't over the door keeping a keen eye on his neighbors and that was arguably the most important of them all. Dubawi (Ire) made the most of the rays of winter sun illuminating his box and demonstrated his laid-back temperament by taking a little nap in his deep straw, only to be roused by the Darley stallion men when it came to show time.

These days he doesn't get out of bed for less than £225,000–a £100,000 increase on last year's covering fee, making him the most expensive stallion in Britain by a wide margin. But with 11 Group 1 winners to his name in 2015 alone, many illustrious mares will still call and he need not fret about losing his place in the limelight.

There are plenty more opportunities to see stallions across Europe in the coming weeks, with the Irish Stallion Trail taking place on Jan. 22 and 23, followed by France's La Route des Etalons on Jan. 30 and 31. Furthermore, the annual TBA Flat Stallion Parade is once again being hosted by Tattersalls at Park Paddocks prior to the February Sale at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 4.