Young guns

Grand stage illuminated, the 2023 yearling sales have unfurled their curtains and with that, the inaugural progeny of first-crop sires are revealed as they take their formative steps into the spotlight.

It’s their decisive weigh-in. D-Day (or rather, D-weeks), where hypotheses and judgements are formed and will endure until they grace the track.

In the midst of this electric period, they bear the weight of anticipation as we seek any glimmers, sparks, and fragmentary clues that point towards who is passing on the goods or not. Our compass is the market itself, a guiding force that will navigate us through the realms of conjecture. 

Right or wrong, it’s been three years since these aspiring notorieties last graced our presence hence a recap of their potential and preview of arsenal that they have to go to war with is on the table. It’s quite the feast. Let’s dig in. 

 

ARIZONA

B. 2017. No Nay Never – Lady Ederle (English Channel)

Stands: Castlehyde Stud

2021 Fee: €7,000

2022 Foal Average: €21,382

Number of registered yearlings: 64 (figures courtesy of Equineline)

A resilient juvenile, Arizona triumphed in the G2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, clocking a time quicker than esteemed names such as Caravaggio, Dawn Approach, Power and Fasliyev. In seven juvenile starts, he also secured placings in the G1 Prix Morny, G1 National Stakes, and G1 Dewhurst Stakes.

The son of No Nay Never boasts G1-winning two-year-olds within his first six sires. He is out of a half-sister to champion two-year-old Dabirsim, his grandam was a G1-performer at two and won the Italian Oaks, and it is the family of dual Oaks winner and ‘Arc’ runner-up Sea Of Class. With a sire currently commanding €175,000, Arizona offered a more affordable gateway into the ever-prosperous Scat Daddy sire line. His top-priced foal of 2022, acquired by Peter Nolan for €60,000, is among the entries for the upcoming Goffs Orby sale.

 

CIRCUS MAXIMUS

B. 2016. Galileo – Duntle (Danehill Dancer)

Stands: Coolmore Stud

2021 Fee: €20,000

2022 Foal Average: €26,782 

Number of registered yearlings: 49

A tough and top-class miler whose 17 racecourse appearances over three seasons were highlighted with G1 wins in the St James’s Palace Stakes (beating the likes of Too Darn Hot and Phoenix Of Spain), Queen Anne Stakes and Prix du Moulin. The dual Royal Ascot winner is the only foal out of G2 Royal Ascot Duke of Cambridge Stakes winner Duntle, and he is the only son of Galileo to retire in this crop. He is bred on the same cross as seven-time G1 winner Minding and Classic winners The Gurkha, Tuesday, Sovereign, Serpentine et al, and it may just be prudent to mention that sons with much weaker credentials than him have added to the list of 23 sons of Galileo to produce 121 G1 winners. He has yearlings out of the likes of Ribblesdale Stakes winner Banimpire, a sister to Gold Away and from the family of Holy Roman Emperor in the Goffs Orby Sale.

 

 

EARTHLIGHT

Ch. 2017. Shamardal – Winters Moon (New Approach)

Stands: Kildangan Stud

2021 Fee: €20,000

2022 Foal Average: €58,266

Number of registered yearlings: 100

The French champion juvenile of 2019, Earthlight was unbeaten in five starts at two, securing victories in the G3 Prix Cabourg, G1 Prix Morny and a record-breaking G1 Middle Park Stakes. His sophomore year continued to bear fruit with conquests in the G3 Prix du Pin and a Deauville Stakes event alongside a second place to One Master in the G1 Prix de la Foret. One of a trio of G1 winning 2yo colts in a remarkable year for Shamardal and Godolphin, Earthlight is out of the New Approach mare Winter’s Moon, who was third in the G1 Fillies’ Mile at two and stems from the family of Epsom Derby winner Golden Fleece. 

Notably, 94% of his foals offered at public auctions last year found buyers with prices peaking at €120,000 at Goffs where a colt out of Scarlett Rose was secured by A Whelan. This particular colt, a three-quarter brother to current first-crop sire sensation Blue Point, is poised for re-offering at Tattersalls Book 1 this upcoming October. And Earthlight’s first three yearlings to hit the market at the recent Arqana August sale fetched an average of €108,000.

 

FAR ABOVE

B. 2016. Farhh – Dorraar (Shamardal)

Stands: Starfield Stud

2021 Fee: €6,000

2022 Foal Average: €17,923

Number of registered yearlings: 79

Winner of four races in five lifetime starts at three and four years, Far Above secured the Listed Prix Kistena at Deauville over six furlongs and dropped back to five when taking the G3 Palace House Stakes on his debut the following year in which he also suffered a career-ending injury. 

He is a son of the Lockinge and Champion Stakes winner Farhh, who despite having just the 157 starters in seven crops of racing age due to fertility challenges is still the sire of top-level performers King of Change, Fonteyn, Dee Ex Bee and so on. His winning Shamardal dam is out of a sister to both Prix de l’Opera winner Nahrain (dam of Champion miler Benbatl), and the dam of top-level sprinter Go Bears Go. Far Above was an 18,000gns Book 3 yearling himself and went on to make 105,000gns at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale. 

 

GHAIYYATH

B 2015. Dubawi – Nightime (Galileo)

Stands: Kildangan Stud

2021 Fee: €30,000

2022 Foal Average: €110,793

Number of yearlings: 98

Where do we start with Ghaiyyath. Pedigree, race record, physique. Expectations were high from the get-go here being a son of Dubawi and Galileo’s very first G1 and Classic winner, Nightime; and it took €1.1million for John Ferguson to secure him as a foal for Godolphin. His commanding presence emerged early, claiming victory in his maiden by a margin of five lengths and later smashing the track record in the G3 Autumn Stakes as a juvenile. His sole appearance at three secured another win, while year four marked a triumph in the G1 Grosser Preis Von Baden. The subsequent year was a tour-de-force, including record-breaking wins in the Coronation Cup, a triumph over Enable in the Eclipse, and a three-length domination in the Juddmonte International.

Bred on the exact same cross as stud-mate and prominent sire Night Of Thunder, Ghaiyyath’s first foals commanded a lot of attention last year with a six-figure sale average, and included a filly that Shadwell had to reach to 375,000gns for. His first yearling sales also set a staggering precedent with Godolphin acquiring all three on offer at Arqana for an average of €455,000 and top price of €600,000. Some upcoming sale highlights include a half-brother to last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road on offer at the Tattersalls Book 1 October Sale.

KAMEKO

B 2017. Kitten’s Joy – Sweeter Still (Rock of Gibraltar)

Stands: Tweenhills Farm

2021 Fee: £25,000

2022 Foal Average: €46,613

Number of yearlings: 86

Wide-margin winner of the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy the year it was staged at Newcastle to top off an excellent juvenile campaign, Kameko then ran the fastest ever time in the 2,000 Guineas on his sophomore debut, followed by solid fourth place finishings in the Derby, Sussex Stakes and Juddmonte International before a defeat of Benbatl in the G2 Joel Stakes. 

Purchased for $90,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale by David Redvers, this acquisition coincided with Roaring Lion’s four-time G1 winning spree in the same Qatar Racing colours. Despite only a single season at stud, Roaring Lion (also by Kitten’s Joy) produced G1 winner Dubai Mile among his starters to date while another paternal son, Oscar Performance, emerged as the 2022 champion first-crop turf sire in the US.

Kameko’s G3-winning dam is a half-sister to fellow Racing Post Trophy scorer Kingsbarns and he stands as one of only two sons of the esteemed Kitten’s Joy, who passed away last year, available for stud duties in Britain and Ireland. Kameko’s foal sales reached up to 145,000gns and his first four yearlings achieved an average of €177,500 at Arqana recently. Among them was a colt out of the Galileo mare Roheryn, fetching an impressive €310,000 courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

 

KING OF CHANGE

B 2016. Farhh – Salacia (Echo of Light)

Stands: Starfield Stud

2021 Fee: €7,000

2022 Foal Average: €23,221

Number of yearlings: 46

The 2019 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner and 2,000 Guineas runner-up, King Of Change also won the Listed Fortune Stakes at Sandown in his six  starts on turf. Notably Farhh’s sole G1-winning son (from only 157 starters due to fertility challenges), King Of Change initially commenced his stud career at Derrinstown Stud until subsequently relocating to Starfield Stud last year to reside alongside Farhh’s other young sire son, Far Above. It is a sire line that instils anticipation not only due to Farhh’s exceptional outcomes from his limited cohort but also due to the ascent of another Pivotal descendant, Siyouni. King Of Change’s foals commanded prices up to €50,000, namely a colt acquired by Peter and Ross Doyle at Goffs last year. He is represented by six yearlings at Book 1 which include a daughter of G1 Pretty Polly Sakes winner Ambivalent, and also a close relation to champion sprinter Sole Power.

LEGENDS OF WAR

B 2016. Scat Daddy – Madera Dancer (Rahy)

Stands: March Hare Stud

2021 Fee: €5,000

2022 Foal Average: €4,600

Runner-up in the G2 Gimcrack in seven starts at two for John Gosden, he later relocated to the US where he won a G3 at Kentucky Downs. This son of Scat Daddy cost $200,000 as a yearling  and topped the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up the following year when being knocked down to Stephen Hillen for 900,000gns.

 

MOHAATHER

B 2016. Showcasing – Roodeye (Inchinor)

Stands: Nunnery Stud

2021 Fee: £20,000

2022 Foal Average: €47,121

Number of Yearlings: 96

A 110,000gns product of the Tattersalls October Book 2 yearling sale, this son of Showcasing won Group races at two, three and four. His victory in the G3 Horris Hill Stakes marked his rise at two and was followed by an impressive sophomore debut win in the G3 Greenham Stakes at Newbury. An unfortunate injury curtailed his Classic campaign and much of that season but he returned at four, when he was triumphant in the G2 Summer Mile and G1 Sussex Stakes beating the likes of that year’s G1 Queen Anne winner Circus Maximus and both the British and Irish 2,000 Guineas winners Kameko and Siskin. Showcasing is establishing himself as Oasis Dream’s most influential stallion son, evident not only through his own progeny but also demonstrated by the promising starts of his sons Tasleet and Soldier’s Call from more accessible stud fees.

PINATUBO

B 2017. Shamardal – Lava Flow (Dalakhani)

Stands: Dalham Hall

2021 Fee: £35,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: €156,944

Number of Yearlings: 104

European champion 2yo colt in 2019 and the most expensive sire in this crop to retire. Pinatubo was undefeated as a juvenile in six starts which included a five-length triumph in the G2 Vintage Stakes, a nine-length demolition of the G1 National Stakes and two-length display of dominance in the G1 Dewhurst. He also won the G1 Prix Jean Prat at three and was placed in the 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Prix du Moulin.

The late Shamardal already has four G1-producing sons at stud headed by Lope De Vega and that tally is complemented by current first-crop sire leader Blue Point.

Seven of Pinatubo’s foals exchanged hands last year with four hitting six figures on price tag. Among them was a filly secured by Ballybush Farm for an impressive €320,000. Pinatubo was represented by nine yearlings at the recent Arqana August Sale. All nine took six figures to secure at an average of €195,000 and some of the highlights at the upcoming Book 1 and Orby sales include fillies from the immediate families of Baaeed and Epsom Derby winner Wings of Eagles.

RIVER BOYNE

B 2015. Dandy Man – Clytha (Mark of Esteem)

Stands: Tara Stud

2021 Fee: €5,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: €10,875

Notably the first son of Dandy Man to retire to stud in Europe, River Boyne was purchased from the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale for 70,000gns after three starts at two for Gordon Elliott to emigrate to the States. He ended up earning over $1.2 million in prize-money in 25 starts at two to five years, of which he only finished out of the first four on three occasions. His best of nine wins came at Santa Anita in the G1 Franke E Kilroe Mile Stakes but he also won six other stakes races and was runner-up in the G1 Hollywood Derby and G1 Shoemaker Mile. Life has come full circle for River Boyne, who now stands at Tara Stud where he was bred. His foal sales included a colt out of a half-sister to Irish Oaks winner Covert Love purchased by Peter & Ross Doyle for €28,000 and he is being reoffered at the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale.

 

ROYAL LYTHAM

B 2017. Gleneagles – Gotlandia (Anabaa)

Stands: Irish Emerald Stud

2021 Fee: €4,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: N/A

A €180,000 Arqana yearling purchase by MV Magnier, Royal Lytham went on to win the G2 July Stakes and place behind Siskin and Monarch of Egypt in the G1 Phoenix Stakes at two for the Coolmore partners. He enters the fray with just 10 yearlings to go to war with next year, but we know exceptional horses have emerged from similar sized crops in the past.

 

RUMBLE INTHEJUNGLE

Ch 2016. Bungle Inthejungle – Gunana (Dark Angel)

Stands: Norman Court Stud

2021 Fee: £3,500

2022 Foal Sale Average: €1,150 (1 sale)

Number of Yearlings: 22

Emulated his sire Bungle Inthejungle when winning the G3 Molecomb Stakes at two and then went one better by placing at the highest level when third in the G1 Middle Park Stakes to Ten Sovereigns and Jash. Although beginning his stallion career at a modest fee and with just 22 yearlings to represent him in his first crop, his sire produced G1 Nunthorpe winner Winter Power off a fee of €5,000 and from just 15 foals.

 

SANDS OF MALI

B 2015. Panis – Kadiania (Indian Rocket)

Stands: Ballyhane Stud

2021 Fee: €6,500

2022 Foal Sale Average: €22,710

Number of Yearlings: 97

A breath of fresh air pedigree-wise, Sands of Mali is the best performer by the little-known Panis, (a son of Miswaki who stands in France) and is out of an Indian Rocket mare, meaning none of the main protagonists that dominate the European breeding scene feature in Sands Of Mali’s bloodlines and he is free from any inbreeding in the first five generations.

A top-level sprinter, Sands Of Mali won the G1 British Champions Sprint Stakes beating Harry Angel, as well as the G2 Gimcrack Stakes at two amongst his achievements spanning two to five years. These feats have unsurprisingly drawn a significant number of mares to his court, resulting in foals that commanded prices reaching up to €60,000 last year.

SERGEI PROKOFIEV

B 2016. Scat Daddy – Orchard Beach (Tapit)

Stands: Whitsbury Manor Stud

2021 Fee: £6,500

2022 Foal Sale Average: €30,650

Number of Yearlings: 120

Sergei Prokofiev had a whopping 52 foals sell at the foal sales last year and they included a colt out of Italian Stakes winner Avengers Queen that was bought by Chasemore farm for 95,000gns and will be re-offered at Tattersalls Book 1 this October. It took $1.1million for MV Magnier to secure Sergei Prokofiev as a yearling and he went on to win the G3 Cornwallis Stakes and two Listed events at two as well as placing third in the Coventry behind Calyx and Advertise. With a towering tally of 120 yearlings – the highest count among all first-crop sires – the team at Whitsbury Manor has masterfully equipped this son of Scat Daddy with ample arsenal for his debut as a stallion.

 

SHAMAN

Ch 2016. Shamardal – Only Green (Green Desert)

Stands: Yeomanstown

2021 Fee: €6,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: €13,246

Number of Yearlings: 101

A beautifully Wertheimer-bred son of Shamardal from the immediate family of G1 winners Occupandiste, Mondialiste and Intello, Shaman won five races at two to four years including the G2 Prix d’Harcourt and was runner-up in the G1 French Guineas and G1 Prix Ganay. Another well supported freshman with plenty of yearlings, his first to go under the hammer and sole representative at the Arqana August Sale was a filly knocked down to Tin Rau for €75,000.

 

SOTTSASS

Ch 2016. Siyouni – Starlet’s Sister (Galileo)

Stands: Coolmore Stud

2021 Fee: €30,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: €63,144

Number of Yearlings: 93

A World Champion three-year-old who won the G1 Prix du Jockey Club in a record-breaking time over Persian King, Sottsass then went on to win the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and G1 Prix Ganay at four. By French sire sensation Siyouni, the handsome chestnut is out of a Galileo mare (exact same cross as 5x G1-winning champion St Mark’s Basilica) and is a half-brother to the seven-time G1 winner Sistercharlie. Very publicly supported with some of the best mares in the stud book, his foals sold for up to €180,000 and his inaugural yearlings made a resounding impact at the recent Arqana August sale with ten individuals fetching prices reaching up to €525,000.

SOUTHERN HILLS

Ch 2017. Gleneagles – Remember You (Invincible Spirit)

Stands: March Hare Stud

2021 Fee: £3,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: N/A

Royal Ascot Windsor Castle Stakes0winning juvenile in six starts at two and three. Southern Hills is a son of champion juvenile and European Champion three-year-old miler Gleneagles and out of the G3-placed Invincible Spirit mare Remember You.

 

TIP TWO WIN

Gr 2015. Dark Angel – Freddie’s Girl (More Than Ready)

Stands: March Hare Stud

2021 Fee: £3,500

2022 Foal Sale Average: N/A

Winner of the Flying Scotsman Stakes by two lengths as a juvenile and also runner-up in the 2000 Guineas to Saxon Warrior.

 

WITHOUT PAROLE

B 2015. Frankel – Without You Babe (Lemon Drop Kid)

Stands: Newsells Park Stud

2021 Fee: £10,000

2022 Foal Sale Average: €31,189

Number of Yearlings: 53

Winner of the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes just like his pre-eminent sire, Without Parole also placed in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, G1 Shoemaker Mile and G1 Shadwell Turf Mile when switching to Chad Brown’s stable in the States from John Gosden’s. It is easy to see why that would work being a half-brother to G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz and out of a Lemon Drop Kid half-sister to G1 Travers Stakes winner Stay Thirsty in a pedigree littered with G1 form.

Frankel has already gotten off to a good start in the sire-of-sires role with Cracksman having produced G1 French Derby winner and ‘Arc favourite Ace Impact in his first crop. All 19 of Without Parole’s foals offered for sale last year found homes and reached prices up to 58,000gns.

 

ETREHAM HOLD THE ACES

Haras d’Etreham is responsible for the two most expensive freshman sires in France namely Persian King (€30,000) and Hello Youmzain (€25,000). The former, Kingman’s first Classic winner, had three Group 1 wins under his belt including the French Guineas and boasts a strong Wildenstein pedigree being out of a half-sister to G1 Ganay winner Planteur and stemming from the family of Peintre Celebre. Persian King had a number of foals make six figures last year and his first wave of yearlings at Arqana have made up to €160,000.

Hello Youmzain, the dual G1-winning sprinter of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Haydock Sprint Cup, is by Kodiac and although two of Kodiac’s sons have already produced winners of the highest level, Hello Youmzain is actually the first G1-winning son by the Tally-Ho resident to stand in Britain, Ireland or France. His first yearlings made quite the impression at Arqana with the first 19 selling for an average of €129,000 and reaching up to €300,000.

Haras de Bouquetot likewise added both a top-level sprinter and miler to their stallion roster in 2021. The former, Prix de l’Abbaye winner Wooded (€15,000), is a son of Wootton Bassett and had some massive pedigree boosts of late. His full-brother Bucanero Fuerte emphatically won the G1 Phoenix Stakes, while their Dubawi yearling half-sister topped the Arqana August yearling sale when being purchased for €2.4 million by Oliver St Lawrence.

Wooded’s miler stud-mate Romanised (€7,000) won the Irish 2,000 Guineas and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois. The son of Holy Roman Emperor’s first yearling to sell this year at the Arqana August sale commanded €170,000 from Haras de Meautry.

Golden Horde, triumphant in the 2020 G1 Commonwealth Cup and the G2 Richmond Stakes at two, was also runner-up to Earthlight in the Middle Park Stakes as well as placing in the G1 Morny, July Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup in just ten starts. He retired under the Sumbe banner at Monfort et Preaux for €10,000 and the grandson of Dark Angel stems from the family of 11-time G1 winner and champion in the USA, Serena’s Song. His first yearling to go through the ring at the Arqana August Sale was a colt that realised €80,000 to Peter and Ross Doyle.

Threat, a son of Footstepsinthesand from the Niarchos’ family of Light Shift, Ulysses, Piz Badile and Shiva, won both the G2 Gimcrack Stakes and G2 Champagne Stakes at two and began his second career at Haras du Mont Goubert for a fee of €6,000. Fighting Irish, meanwhile, a son of Camelot who won the G2 Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte at two and placed in the German 2000 Guineas, is the only six-furlong Group winner by Camelot and retired to Haras d’Annebault for €3,000. He is out of a full-sister to G1 Lockinge winner Virtual, from the family of classic winner Entrepreneur and his foals sold for up to €40,000.