Newcomers Series: New Sires In Europe

A G2 winner from the family of Giant's Causeway (pictured) starts his career in France.

Across Europe, a top group of freshman stallions are putting the track behind them as they start their breeding career this month. 

Group I performers such as Blue Point (Shamardal), Phoenix Of Spain (Lope de Vega), and Ten Sovereigns (No Nay Never) lead the freshman charge this year but much like I did with North American freshmen, today I’m sitting down to look at some of those who may not be getting all the headlines but look to be exciting stallions for the future.

BEST SOLUTION 

Starting his career in Germany at Gestut Auenquelle, Best Solution’s (Kodiac) inclusion in the country ranks is exciting news with two German Group I victories on his resume. A winner of nine of his 25 starts with seven other top three placings, he was a world traveler with wins in four different countries from England to Australia with Group Is in two of them. The stallion’s last victory came in the 2018 Group I Stella Artois Caulfield Cup in Australia before he ran eighth in the Group I Melbourne Cup behind fellow Godolphin runner Cross Counter (Teofilo). After a 306 day break, he returned last September for two races before calling it a day with earnings of £2,632,499.

A son of Kodiac, Best Solution is from the family of Champion Workforce (King’s Best), and two-time Grade I winner Flute (Seattle Slew). He starts his new career at a fee of €6,500 in 2020.

DONJUAN TRIUMPHANT 

The winner of seven of his 37 starts, Donjuan Triumphant (Dream Ahead) saved the best for last when winning the Group I Qipco British Champions Sprint to end his career. The 7-year-old was a tough racehorse who made more than six starts each of his five seasons with at least one victory every year except one with stakes placings all five seasons he raced. His first group stakes success came at two in the Group II Criterium de Masions-Laffitte and he nearly earned his first Group I win the following season in France while also finishing second in a British Group II. In all, Donjuan Triumphant won or placed in 25 of his 37 starts with 10 stakes placings for £805,014.

Donjuan Triumphant is one of two stakes winners and four winners for  Mathuna (Tagula), who is a half-sister to Group III winner and stakes producer Wilside (Verglas) and Listed winning Round Heels (Daggers Drawn). Others in the stallion’s family are his fourth dam, Italian Champion Mariella (Sir Gaylor), and another Italian Champion in Marotta (Highest Honor). Donjuan Triumphant is a new stallion for the French ranks, standing at Haras de la Barbottiere for €4,000. 

FLAG OF HONOUR

Galileo’s Group I Comer Group International Irish St Leger winner Flag Of Honour joins The National Stud in 2020 as a dual-purpose stallion. Trained by Aidan O’Brien for the Coolmore partnership, Flag Of Honour broke his maiden in his second start over seven furlongs before securing his first group stakes result in the Group 3 TheTote.com Eyrefield Stakes to lead home a 1-2 finish for Galileo. Flag Of Honour’s first Group I victory came in that year’s Irish St Leger over Irish Derby winner Latrobe to end his three-race win streak with the colt only finishing 2 ¾ lengths behind Stradivarius (Sea The Stars) in his next start. 

As a 4-year-old, Flag Of Honour became a familiar face to Magical (Galileo) when finishing second to his stablemate in his three runs to start the year – including the Group I Tattersalls Gold Cup for three group placings. After finishing fifth in the Group I Ascot Gold Cup to end his career, it was announced that he would be joining the National Stud roster with five wins and four other top three finishes in 16 starts.

An earner of £555,704, Flag Of Honour is a half-brother to Group III winner Air Chief Marshal (Danehill Dancer), Listed winners Slip Dance (Celtic Swing) and Misu Bond (Danehill Dancer), and Irish 2000 Guineas second Foxtrot Romeo (Danehill Dancer). He stands for £4,500 in 2020.

MARMELO

A world traveler Marmelo (Duke Of Marmalade) didn’t debut until his three-year-old season but he quickly proved to be an interesting staying prospect when finishing second to Cleonte (Sir Percy) in a 15 furlong Listed stakes before finishing third in a Group II at the same distance. That season would be the only one he didn’t win a stakes with the entire taking out Group II races at four, five, and six. However, his most memorable moment may have been traveling to Australia and finishing second by only a length to Cross Counter. 

Retiring after a Group 2 victory last August with earnings of £1,151,138 for seven wins and nine top three finishes in 22 races, Marmelo starts his career at Haras du Grand Courgeon as a dual-purpose sire. A half-brother to two group winners with four stakes winners under his second dam, Marmelo stands for €3,500 in 2020.

MASAR

It isn’t often that you see a Derby winner not getting star billing his first year at stud but with Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) joining Masar (New Approach) at Dalham Hall, Masar is having to share the limelight.

Masar proved to be talented from the word go with a debut win against future multiple group winner and fellow first season sire Invincible Army (Invincible Spirit) in May of his 2-year-old year before finishing third to September (Deep Impact) in the Listed Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot. He broke through at the stakes level that September in the Group III Solario Stakes before finishing third in a Group I to end his European campaign – shipping to the U.S. at the end of the year to run sixth by 2 ¾ lengths in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

An uninspiring dirt debut to kick off his season in Dubai saw Masar return to the turf and win the Group III Craven Stakes as his preparation for the classics. The colt proved to be among the top of his class when finishing third by less than two lengths to Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact) in the 2000 Guineas before his Group I Epsom Derby win. Sidelined by injury the rest of his 3-year-old season, Masar made two starts at four before his connections made the decision to call it a day on his racing career.

Out of Group 2 UAE Derby winner Khawlah (Cape Cross), Masar has one of the strongest families in the stud book behind him with Urban Sea (Miswaki) as his fourth dam. His third dam is her Listed-winning and Group I Irish Oaks-placed daughter Melikah with Khawlah a half-sister to Group II winner and Group I placed Vancouverite (Dansili). 

An added bonus for those who like inbreeding to superior females is that Masar has an interesting doubling up of Urban Sea 3 x 4 while also combining the sires of two of Urban Sea’s top sires in his pedigree. Masar is from the Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) sireline thanks to Galileo’s (Sadler’s Wells) son New Approach. Urban Sea’s best racehorse son Sea The Star shares his sire Cape Cross (Great Desert) with Khawlah. Masar stands for £15,000 in 2020.

STUDY OF MAN 

A classic winning grandson of Miesque (Nureyev), Study Of Man (Deep Impact) looks to extend the family’s legacy even further in coming years. The winner of his only start at two, Study Of Man returned with a second in a Group III to kick off his 3-year-old season before easily winning the Group II Prix Freffulhe Saint Cloud by 3 ½ lengths. His shining moment came in his next start with a victory in the Group I Qipco Prix du Jockey Club to become yet another classic winner under Miesque. 

Ending his season with three more runs, Study Of Man was third in a Group II before being campaigned almost exclusively in Group Is as a 4-year-old. After finishing second behind Waldgeist (Galileo) in the Group 1 Prix Ganay, he came agonizingly close to adding a second Group I to his resume when finishing three quarters of a length behind Zabeel Prince in the Prix d’Ispahan. Study Of Man finished third in a Group III next out before ending his career in August when 4 ½ lengths behind Irish classic winner Romanised (Holy Roman Emperor).

Coming from the Miesque line, Study Of Man is bred very similarly to Sun Is Up (Sunday Silence), the dam of U.S. second season sire Karakontie (Bernstein), who has Kenzai Warrior on the European classic trail and Sole Volante on the Kentucky Derby trail. Continuing the successful breeding that produced Karakontie, Study Of Man’s dam Second Happiness (Storm Cat) is also bred similarly to Karakontie as a daughter of the same sire as Karakontie’s sire. 

Study Of Man is one of very few stallions by Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) in Europe with Saxon Warrior the other high profile sire by the stallion. The 5-year-old is also the only Deep Impact stallion in England and stands at Lanwades Stud for £15,000.

TAJ MAHAL

A blueblooded Galileo son, Taj Mahal is putting an interesting racing career behind him at Haras De La Haie Neuve. Starting his career in Ireland, Taj Mahal was group placed as a 2-year-old and was a close fourth in the Prix du Jockey Club as a 3-year-old. But it’s when he traveled abroad that he shined.

Running second in a Grade I in the U.S. in August, he was sent to Australia two starts later. In his second start in the country, he was fourth by 1 ¾ lengths in the Group I Emirates Stakes and a week later won the Group II Zipping Classic. He went off form that spring and summer but returned a winner again in late September when taking out the the Group III JRA Cup. The stallion's final victory came in a second Zipping Classic three starts later. After a tough few starts after that win, Taj Mahal headed to the Magic Millions sale where he sold for AU$560,000 and headed back to the Northern Hemisphere.

Taj Mahal is one of five group winners from elite mare You’resothrilling (Storm Cat), who has also produced three classic winners including Champions Gleneagles (Galileo) and Happily (Galileo). That mare is already looking like she may follow in dam Mariah’s Storm’s (Rahy) footprints and become a producer-of-producers with her Group I Irish 1000 Guineas winning daughter Marvellous (Galileo) already the dam of a Listed winner and Group II placer.

Taj Mahal joins fellow Mariah’s Storm grandson Storm The Stars (Sea The Stars) in France with grandson Decorated Knight (Galileo) standing in Ireland along with Gleneagles, who was one of the top freshman sires in 2019 with 25 winners last year. Taj Mahal stands for €4,000 this year.