Kildangan Stud

Charlie Appleby trainee Inner City Blues (Blue Point), who was Godolphin's sole purchase during this year's breeze-up season, was making his third pass through a sales ring when becoming the €900,000 top-priced colt at last month's Arqana Breeze-Up sale, having previously sold for €180,000 as a Goffs November foal and 375,000gns as a Tattersalls Book 1 yearling. The grandson of G3 Prix Eclipse victrix Souvenir Delondres (Siyouni) was all at sea during the initial stages of Saturday's Tomahawk Restaurants Supporting Macmillan EBF Maiden at York, but delivered a knockout blow...

Britain had not had a prior runner in the first two editions of Monday's €200,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Gowran Classic, which is part of the Smullen Series, and Richard Hannon trainee Bunyola Bay (Ghaiyyath) broke new ground to become the first and took a €100,000 prize back across the Irish Sea after making virtually all in the 9 1/2-furlong feature. "He's relatively inexperienced and it was his first time going around a bend today, but it was impressive and he had to be," said rider Sean Levey. "We've always...

Cheveley Park Stud's five-year-old distaffer Estrange (Night Of Thunder) suffered a pair of Group 1 reversals after annexing last term's G3 Lester Piggott Fillies' Stakes and G2 Lancashire Oaks, and she regained the winning habit with a decisive victory in this year's rescheduled renewal of the former contest at Carlisle. "She is hardly blowing and doesn't even look like she has had a run really," Chris Richardson said of last year's G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares runner-up. "She has done it very nicely and she...

Shadwell's Elmonjed (Blue Point) bounced back off an unplaced effort at Newmarket's Craven meet and completed an afternoon double for William Haggas with a career high in Wednesday's G2 Go Local Stores Minster Stakes, formerly known as the Duke Of York Stakes, at York. "He really loves this track and I think the draw helped today," commented Haggas. "He's a really tough horse, he's gone from handicaps and won the Listed in September. We kept him in training to win this race as we thought we may as well have...

The Tom Dascombe-trained debutant Crown Of Ivy (Naval Crown) belied his inexperience and surged clear of five rivals at the end of a six-furlong novices' heat at Doncaster on Saturday evening and, in so doing, became the first winner for his Kildangan Stud-based freshman sire. Racing on the front end throughout, the heavily-supported 9-4 favourite was shaken up when threatened with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining and found additional gears in the closing stages to easily overpower the  more experienced Rocket Boots (Too Darn Hot) by an impressive 2 1/2 lengths....

Juddmonte homebred Sunly (Night Of Thunder) had been on an extended sabbatical after surrendering her perfect record in last July's G2 Prix de Malleret and bounced back on seasonal return to regain the winning thread in Friday's G3 Prix Allez France at Saint-Cloud. The Francis Graffard trainee went postward as the 12-5 joint-favourite and settled into a smooth rhythm, racing off the pace in sixth for Christophe Soumillon, after the initial exchanges of this 10-furlong test. Making eyecatching headway out wide once into the straight, she quickened into contention with...

Nominations for the 10th edition of the Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (ITIEA) opened at Kildangan Stud on Wednesday. Sponsored by Godolphin and supported by the Irish Stable Staff Association, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (ITBA) and the Racing Post, the awards recognise and reward the exceptional skills, experience and dedication of the women and men in the thoroughbred breeding and racing industry and offer €60,000 in prize money across 10 award categories for the winners and their workplace colleagues. Anyone can nominate a friend or...

Jimmy Hyland, the new CEO of Godolphin Ireland, speaks about champion sire Night Of Thunder, new addition Shadow Of Light and more Sweeping statements about the future are usually best left to Nostradamus and the like but Jimmy Hyland, the new man at the helm at Kildangan Stud, has more than one good reason to look out over the horizon and smile.  We say new, but Hyland put down 38 good years working for the Maktoum family before taking over as CEO from the outgoing Joe Osborne back in October....

Jaber Abdullah's Million Gold (Earthlight), a half-brother to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint hero Big Evs (Blue Point), made a winning debut in Wednesday's Unibet British Stallion Studs EBF Restricted Novice Stakes at Kempton. Swiftly into stride and positioned in a prominent second from flagfall, the 10-3 second choice ran green throughout the final quarter-mile and outmuscled Alasrae (Havana Grey) in the closing stages to register a 1 1/2-length verdict. Million Gold, the eighth of nine foals, becomes the seventh scorer from as many runners out of a half-sister...

Just two days after recording a first Group 1 winner, Ghaiyyath has another candidate for honours at the highest level after his well-related two-year-old son Nation's Hope delivered a stunning debut display in Monday's British EBF Future Stayers Maiden Stakes at Kempton to earn a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' rosette in the one-mile contest. Godolphin's homebred bay, a half-brother to multiple Grade I-winning globetrotter Nations Pride (Teofilo), outclassed 11 rivals to become the third Rising Star for his sire (by Dubawi) and joins G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches...

European champion two-year-old Shadow Of Light (Lope De Vega) has been retired from racing and will take up stud duties at Kildangan Stud in Ireland next year. A stud fee will be announced at a later date. Trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, Shadow Of Light joins the Darley roster as a dual Group 1 winner, having become only the third two-year-old since the Pattern began to win both the Middle Park Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. Beaten just once in five starts that season, when filling the runner-up spot in...

The 2025-2027 Godolphin Flying Start trainees arrived at Kildangan Stud on Monday, Aug. 18 to commence their two-year scholarship within the thoroughbred industry. The class comprises trainees from six different nationalities, including Spain, Morocco, India, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The week of Aug. 24, the students will commence ICT and Communications training and their Equine Anatomy and Physiology module at University College Dublin. "We welcomed our 23rd Godolphin Flying Start class to Kildangan Stud this week," said Godolphin Flying Start Executive Director, Clodagh Kavanagh. "They will follow in...