Showcasing Exceeding Stud Potential

In an ideal world, the Thoroughbred would be a super-tough breed as well as a super-fast one, passing durability down through the generations as well as class. However, our racehorses are fragile animals, the Formula One cars of the horse world; brilliantly fast, but prone to having things go wrong. If a racehorse breaks down, he breaks down and he cannot race. However, often the chinks in a horse's armour are tiny, not enough to stop him racing but enough to mean that he cannot remain indefinitely at his brilliant best. Under the circumstances, it is no surprise that many brilliant juveniles whose form subsequently tailed off have ended up as successful stallions. The latest horse to come into this category appears to be the progressive dual-hemisphere sire Showcasing (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Trained for his breeder, Prince Khalid Abdullah, by John Gosden, Showcasing was a terrific juvenile, recording an outstanding victory in the G2 Gimcrack S. at York in August 2009, when he broke the juvenile course record (running 1:09.28 for the six furlongs) despite winning comfortably. He had previously justified odds-on favouritism with a facile maiden victory at Yarmouth after having failed by only a head when beaten at Newbury on debut by Arcano (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) whose next two starts resulted in impressive victories in the G2 July S. at Newmarket and the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville. Under the circumstances, it was slightly disappointing that Showcasing was beaten on his final outing at two, but even that defeat was still a very good run; third in the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket, beaten a length by the winner Awzaan (GB) (Alhaarth {Ire}).

Showcasing's 3-year-old campaign got off to a splendid start when he finished second of the 12 runners in the six-furlong G2 Duke of York S. at York, beaten only a half-length by the 6-year-old Prime Defender (GB) Bertolini {GB}) in a race in which it is rare to see a 3-year-old run well. However, thereafter things went badly wrong. Only those closest to Showcasing know what was ailing him, but he only ran twice more after that good effort at York, performing poorly when tailed off behind Starspangledbanner (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}) in both the G1 Golden Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot and the G1 July Cup at Newmarket.

Consequently, Showcasing's former brilliance was but a distant memory when he began covering mares at Whitsbury Manor Stud in the south of England in February 2011 at a fee of £5,000.

Happily, many of those who kept the faith with Showcasing have been able to reap rich dividends. Had he been able to build on his juvenile excellence, Showcasing would almost certainly have started his stud career at his owner's Banstead Manor Stud near Newmarket alongside his sire, commanding a significantly higher fee than that charged by Whitsbury Manor. As it was, though, even his first-season fee of £5,000 proved unsustainable in the short term, and breeders using him in his second, third and fourth seasons paid even less than that. Once he started to have runners in 2014, however, the situation changed rapidly.

That year, Showcasing was joint-leading first-season sire, along with Zebedee (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), of Great Britain and Ireland judged on individual winners (26) and outright leader judged on wins (41). In fact, only one stallion, Kodiac (GB) (Danehill), sired more juvenile winners in the British Isles that year than he did. As regards the first-season sires' championship, it was only the big prize won by Belardo (Ire) in the G1 Dewhurst S. which enabled Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) to wrestle the title from Showcasing's grasp by a narrow margin, despite having sired only half the number of winners. The stars of Showcasing's first bunch of juveniles were wide-margin G2 Mill Reef S. winner Toocoolforschool (Ire) and G3 Round Tower S. Cappella Sansevero (GB), supported by Harry Rosebery S. winner Accipiter (GB).

Since then, Showcasing has repeatedly emphasized that this excellent first season was anything but a flash in the pan. Most crucially, he has shown that his sons and daughter are able to 'train on' much more progressively than he himself had been. His first crop put together some excellent results as 3-year-olds in 2015, most notably with Prize Exhibit (GB) winning two graded stakes in California and being Grade I-placed in the Del Mar Oaks. While they were doing that, Showcasing's second bunch of juveniles were doing arguably even better than their predecessors had done.

His 2-year-olds of 2015 included G3 Cornwallis S. winner Quiet Reflection (GB), Rose Bowl S. winner Tasleet (GB) and Prix des Sablonnets winner Maximum Aurelius (Fr). Equally crucially, the evidence has kept coming in from the antipodes. Showcasing's first New Zealand-conceived crop includes Group 2 winner Showboy (NZ) and listed winner/G1 NZ Derby placegetter Raghu (NZ) as well as Hardline (NZ), winner last season of New Zealand's most valuable 2-year-old race, the Karaka Million. His current juveniles there include G3 Taranaki 2YO Classic winner Caorunn (NZ) and Karaka Million runner-up Showmeyamoneyhoney (NZ). After the success of Showcasing's first juveniles in 2014, his fee for last season was put up to £15,000, while his continued success sees it currently at £25,000. Breeders using him this season at that price can be happy as his status continues to rise. April alone has already seen stakes success for three Showcasing 3-year-olds with Quiet Reflection taking the Prix Sigy, Tasleet landing the G3 Greenham S. and, most recently, Conselice (GB) landing the G3 Premio Regina Elena, Italy's equivalent of the 1000 Guineas.

Notwithstanding that Raghu has been placed in the NZ Derby, Showcasing appears to be as a stallion what he was as a racehorse: synonymous with short distances. This is not surprising, as his pedigree is full of sprinters. His sire, Oasis Dream, was an outstanding sprinter, while his dam Arabesque (GB) (Zafonic) won a listed race over six furlongs as a 3-year-old and his grand-dam Prophecy (Ire) (Warning {GB}) landed the G1 Cheveley Park S. over six furlongs at Newmarket as a 2-year-old. Arabesque's other progeny include Camacho (GB) (Danehill), a listed-winning sprinter who has sired plenty of fast horses despite limited patronage at stud in Ireland, as well as Showcasing's full-sisters Bouvardia (GB) and Tendu (GB), who were both stakes-placed over six furlongs.

The disappointing end to Showcasing's racing career left us wondering what might have been. However, now that he is at stud he seems to be fulfilling all of the promise his Gimcrack victory once offered.