New Stallion Series: Amira's Prince

An interesting addition to the U.S. stallion ranks in 2016 is the 6-year-old Teofilo son Amira’s Prince. Standing in Florida at Pleasant Acres Stallions, Amira’s Prince joins Treasure Beach (Galileo) as an Irish-bred, turf stallion at the farm. 

Amira's Prince

Amira’s Prince started his career in Ireland in September of 2011 when he finished fifth in his debut on yielding to soft ground at the Curragh. He wasn’t seen again until the following March but it was worth the wait for his connections with the colt finishing first by 3 ¼ lengths over eventual multiple group/graded stakes winner Speaking of Which (Invincible Spirit). From there, he hit the board in a few races in Europe before being bought by U.S. interests and transferred to trainer Bill Mott.

Making his first start in the U.S. in December of 2012 after a four month break, Amira’s Prince hit the track running when he started a four-race win streak when winning by 1 ¼ lengths in an optional claiming race over 1 3/8 miles on turf. The win streak included Amira’s Prince’s two graded stakes victories when he won the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida Stakes and Grade 2 Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Handicap by a combined 4 ¼ lengths. However, after that second victory he was laid off for nearly a year, coming back in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in February of the following year and finishing third behind Lochte (Medaglia d’Oro) and Imagining (Giant’s Causeway).

Amira’s Prince never returned to the form he showed early in his U.S. career but was able to hit the board in two graded stakes in 2014 (he also finished second behind Skyring (English Channel) in that edition of the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Handicap). He ending his career after two off-the-board finishes in Grade 1 races in 2014.

Amira’s Prince retired with five wins and five other on-the-board finishes for $542,913 in earnings and it was announced in December of 2015 that he will stand his first season at stud in 2016 at Pleasant Acres.

"I am a passionate breeder of turf horses, and, to me, this horse ticks all of the boxes," Joe Barbazon, Pleasant Acres’ owner, told Blood-Horse. "He is by a champion juvenile from the most prolific sire line in the world, and he is from an outstanding female family. On top of it all, this is a gorgeous animal."

Amira’s Prince is by European 2-year-old champion Teofilo, who stands at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland. Teofilo is the sire of over 50 stakes winners and eight Grade or Group 1 winners including Irish Derby winner Trading Leather and Irish St. Leger winner Voleuse de Coeurs.

Teofilo is by leading sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) and out of the stakes winner Speirbhean (Danehill), who is a granddaughter of multiple champion Victorian Queen (Victoria Park). Teofilo himself won the Group 1 Dewhurst and Group 1 National Stakes over Holy Roman Emperor in addition to the Group 2 Futurity (Danehill) on his way to his championship in 2006.

Amira’s Prince’s dam Twice The Ease (Green Desert) only made two starts and never hit the board but the mare has produced five winners from seven to race. In addition to Amira’s Prince, her daughter Hen Night (Danehill Dancer) was a stakes winner, taking home the Platinum Stakes and finishing third in the Group 3 One Thousand Guineas Trial. Now 18 years old, Twice The Ease has a 2-year-old unraced filly by Duke of Marmalade named Catalan and a yearling full brother to Amira’s Prince. Bred again to Teofilo in 2014, she didn’t have a foal in 2015.

Twice the Ease is out of the Affirmed mare Easy to Cope, a champion miler in Ireland. Easy to Cope produced six winners included the multiple group stakes winner Two-Twenty-Two (Fairy King), stakes winner and Twice The Ease’s full sister Desert Ease and stakes winner Easy Definition (Alzao).

The Green Desert cross seemed to be a good one for Easy to Cope with both her daughters by the stallion producing stakes horses. Her other Green Desert daughter, Desert Ease, was the dam of three group or graded stakes placed horses with her winning daughter Crazy Volume (Machiavellian) also producing Group 1 winner Gallante (Montjeu). A third daughter named Easy ‘n Gold (Slew o’ Gold) is the dam of Grade 2 winner Dixieland Gold (Dixieland Band) and two other stakes placed horses.

Continuing his strong female family, Amira’s Prince’s third dam is the 1973 U.S. champion 2-year-old filly and multiple Grade 1 winner Talking Picture (Speak John). That mare produced a full sister to Easy To Cope named Trusted Partner who won the Group 1 Irish One Thousand Guineas along with multiple other group stakes races. Trusted Partner was a bluehen broodmare in her own right, producing Grade 1 winner Dress to Thrill (Danehill) and Dress to Thrill’s full sister Polished Gem, who produced highweight mare Sapphire (Medicean), Grade 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Free Eagle (High Chaparral) and multiple group stakes winner Custom Cut (Notnowcato).

Another of Talking Picture’s Affirmed daughters is stakes winner Epicure’s Garden, who is responsible for multiple group stakes winner Forgotten Rules (Nayef), and stakes winners Burren Rose (Storm Cat) and Unaccompanied (Danehill Dancer) in addition to her highweight daughter (and Burren Rose’s dam) Lisieux Rose (Generous).

Overall, outside of Easy to Cope’s branch of the family, Talking Picture is responsible for more than 20 stakes winners or placers.

Amira’s Prince is the only Teofilo son standing in North America according to Blood-Horse’s Stallion Register and one of 32 new stallions standing for between $5,000 and $10,000. While turf sires may not be overly popular in North America, Amira’s Prince is sure to get support from Pleasant Acres with Treasure Beach breeding 103 mares while standing at the farm during his first season in 2015.