Stradivarius

A mistake made by the organisers of the Racing League was to underestimate just how much certain racing colours resonate with those watching the action. All of us who have followed racing over the years will have owners and trainers we like to get behind. Even when scanning down a race card in the paper each morning, certain sets of silks act as an automatic signpost as to the potential quality of the races to come.   It is very clear the regard in which Robert Sangster was held during...

And on we go, to a sector of the market that will have great appeal to the shrewd and smaller breeders (you can certainly be both), with the next part of our Value Sires series devoted to those standing in the bracket of £7,500 to £14,999 (approximately €8,500 to €17,000).  There are always deals to be struck in the stallion market, and perhaps that is especially true within the lower price tiers, where your bartering power may also depend on your previous support of a particular stallion or stud, and...

Stallion viewings have continued apace this week throughout Europe, with many breeders descending on Newmarket farms following the Irish Stallion Trail, while the Route des Etalons is currently underway in Normandy. There remains no official stallion trail in Britain despite there having been a number of calls over the years for an emulation of the popular incentive which began in France and was swiftly picked up by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. There was apparently no appetite to get behind this in England, though many stallion studs in Newmarket open their doors...

For this third part in our series on value sires in Europe, we are approaching the level where the word value perhaps becomes more meaningful in that we are dealing with stallions in the €10,000 to €19,999 fee bracket.  In this mid range, some sires are passing through, either on their way up as popularity and commercial demand soars, or dropping in fee during the sometimes notoriously difficult years in a stallion's career. Notably that often comes in the third and fourth seasons at stud when they are no longer...

The unmistakably charismatic Stradivarius (Ire) became one horse to buck the trend of the top stayers being shuffled off to National Hunt studs after glorious careers on the Flat when his owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen elected to stand him at the National Stud in Newmarket. In his first two seasons there he has covered 220 mares and now foal judges and pinhookers will have their first chance to set eyes on a bunch of his debut crop at Tattersalls in just over a week's time, when 14 of his 80 weanlings...

It's probably now just about safe for the TDN team to leave our desks briefly without fear of another stallion fee announcement dropping into the inbox. So, now that the numbers are in, here is a little further investigation as to who's going where and for how much. There were cautionary notes among last year's stallion fee announcements, just as there have been again this time around, which is no surprise given that the foal crop in Britain and Ireland has dropped again, this time by six per cent, to...

NEWMARKET, UK -- It has become the tradition for the Tattersalls February Sale to be preceded by the TBA Flat Stallion Parade and this year's event contained the added incentive of a potential free entry to next year's December Foal Sale. Breeders who booked a nomination to one of the 10 stallions on the day have been automatically entered into a free draw to win one of five places at the 2025 sale for the resulting offspring.  With nine of the 10 stallions stabled in the Left Yard at Park...

Stick or twist? That's the question faced by many breeders this year. Anecdotally, it appears that some will be pulling back and not covering certain mares, which is understandable after a tricky sales season, not to mention the constant reminders from racecourse managers regarding the "significant headwinds" faced by racing. Unlike America, the foal crop in Britain and Ireland has been gently on the rise in recent years, up to 13,438 in 2023, compared to 12,778 in 2020, though within that combined number for last year, the Irish crop rose...

Transatlantic travellers will have to mind their suffixes when the first foals and yearlings of Mutasaabeq start appearing. 'Our' Mutasaabeq - note his (GB) suffix - is a son of the Irish National Stud's long-serving and influential Invincible Sprit (Ire) and has just retired to the National Stud in Newmarket. In America, the other Mutasaabeq of the same vintage was bought by Shadwell for $425,000 and is by Into Mischief. Winner of the GII Bourbon S. and placed in the GI Hopeful S., he is about to embark on his...

Bjorn Nielsen's star stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has become the third horse chosen by a public vote to be inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. This year, the public were invited to choose from a shortlist of five Long Distance legends shortlisted by the Hall of Fame's eight-strong independent judging panel and consisting of Ardross (GB), Le Moss (GB), Persian Punch (GB) and Yeats (Ire). More than 3,000 people voted online via the Hall of Fame website as well as through a special...

Seven-time Group 1 winner Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) has had his first mares scanned in foal at the National Stud. "Stradivarius has taken to his new role extremely well." said National Stud head of bloodstock Joe Bradley. "He has 11 mares scanned in foal and will cover well over 100 mares this year." Stradivarius claimed Group honours 18 times during his career retiring with total earnings of almost £3.5million, plus two individual £1million bonuses. There are sizeable payouts on offer for breeders supporting Stradivarius, with £25,000 for his...

For this final part of the series, we are looking at stallions who have retired to stud since 2021 and will thus have either first foals or yearlings at the sales this year or are about to cover their first book of mares. There is plenty to digest from three years' intake and of course prices can often drop after a stallion's first year at stud, so there could be some value to be found for breeders willing to roll the dice on a stallion about to embark on his...