NEWS AND UPDATES FOR FEBRUARY 2007

15th February 2007

Photo of Phoenix Reach taken by Kathy Anderson 15th February 2007 on a visit to the Stud to check on how Phoenix and how he is progressing. Phoenix covered his first mare on the 14th February witnessed by his owner, Andrew Christou and by all accounts Phoenix was the perfect gentleman and very gentle with his mare. The National Stud staff are all thrilled with his progress. He is easy to handle, has a really gentle temperament and is evidently, a real pleasure to work with.

Thank you to the staff at The National Stud, Tina, David and Paul who were all extremely helpful today and nothing was too much trouble even though this is obviously one of the busiest times of the year for them.

Phoenix Reach to parade at Tattersalls sales in Newmarket on February 8th 2007

Racehorse owners and breeders will have another chance to see Phoenix Reach parading at The Tattersalls Sales on Thursday 8th February 2007 at 10am.

For those owner's and breeder's who are still yet to make up their minds about which stallion to send their mares to, this is an ideal opportunity to get a close up look at Phoenix Reach and to meet the owners and extremely helpful staff from The National Stud.

STALLION PARADE AT NEWMARKET 10AM 8TH FEBRUARY 2007

Courtesy of The Racing Post

Northern Dancer sire line
by Rachel Pagones, Amy Bennett and Nancy Sexton


THE longest serving stallion currently standing in Britain or Ireland, Night Shift has consistently sired top-flight performers. Although most recently he made headlines as the sire of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes winner Azamour, and earlier sired the star middle-distance filly In The Groove, he is more generally known as a source of speed. Among his best sprinters were the Nunthorpe Stakes winner Lochangel and Eveningperformance, who missed out by a short head in that race to Pivotal.

Another of Night Shift’s high-class sprinters was Deportivo, winner of the Group 2 Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh.

Deportivo is one of only a handful of stallions by Night Shift in Europe, the most prominent among them being Azamour, who has his first foals on the ground this season.

In spite of Deportivo’s speed and precocity – he won three of four starts as a juvenile – there is a good dose ofmiddle-distance talent in his family. His dam, the maiden Valencia, is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 turf winner Wandesta and to three other stakes winners over distances from 1m4f to 1m7f. Deportivo’s first crop are now yearlings.

Ishiguru, winner of the Group 3 Flying Five Stakes at Leopardstown, joins a long line of Group-winning sire sons of the late, great Danzig. Danehill and his many talented offspring have ensured that Danzig’s line earns regular global headlines, while sons such as Anabaa, Bertolini, Chief ’s Crown, and Green Desert have added to the rich stream of winners.

Ishiguru has a similar profile to that of Mull Of Kintyre, Danzig’s son who sired the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Araafa: he is a high-class sprinter from an excellent US family, whose progeny were smart at two and open to improvement at three. He has already sired a Group 2 winner – Hellvelyn, who landed the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Hellvelyn later finished second to Holy Roman Emperor in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes. Also among Ishiguru’s first crop is Ferneley, who was twice placed in Group races, including when third behind Teofilo in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes.

Needwood Blade is the third son of Pivotal to enter stud, following Kyllachy and Captain Rio. They represent the Nureyev branch of Northern Dancer via Pivotal’s sire Polar Falcon.

With the exception of Peintre Celebre and Theatrical, the sons of Nureyev to have sired top-class winners all scored over no further than a mile, namely Fasliyev, Polar Falcon, Soviet Star, and Stravinsky.

Needwood Blade’s greatest winning distance was 7f, until he moved to California and notched a 9f Grade 3 victory on his final start.

Pivotal’s initial fee was £6,000, while Kyllachy firststood for £7,000, and Captain Rio £5,000. With the Listed winners Sadeek and Blue Echo, along with Coventry-placed Tariq, Kyllachy has proved capable of siring precocious speedsters. Captain Rio’s first yearling crop proved popular at last year’s sales, selling for up to 300,000gns. Needwood Blade has his first yearlings this season, and breeders who took advantage of his £3,000 price tag must be hopeful of a good return on their investment after his nine foals sold last year achieved an average of 24,651gns.

The National Stud’s globetrotting new sire Phoenix Reach represents the Unfuwain branch of the Northern Dancer tree via the outstanding juvenile Alhaarth.

Unfuwain’s line has gone quiet in recent years, with Alhaarth much his best stallion son. Now there are three active chances, all through Alhaarth, of the line regaining some fizz. The 2,000 Guineas winner Haafhd has his first yearlings this year, while Phoenix Reach and Bandari both take up stud duties this month.

Alhaarth was unbeaten in five starts at two, culminating in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes. He has since sired top-flight winners over a variety of distances, including the high-class sprinter Dominica.

Phoenix Reach notched up all three of his Group 1 triumphs over 1m4f, and showed marked improvement with age, as did Bandari. His future progeny are likely to progress with age and excel over middle distances, if they are anything like him.

Striking Ambition's sire Makbul, by Fairy King, has proved a good, consistent source of juvenile winners without ever hitting the commercial heights.

The best son of Fairy King at stud is the wildly successful Australian sire Encosta de Lago. However, most of Fairy King’s sire sons, including Beckett, Helissio, and Second Empire, have enjoyed more modest success. Another son, Revoque is proving a useful dual-purpose sire, while the multiple Group 1 winner Falbrav still awaits his first runners.

A Listed sprint winner at two, three, and four, Striking Ambition claimed the title of Makbul’s best performer when landing a Group 2 sprint in Germany, a Group 3 in France, and finished a close second to Avonbridge in the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye. In all he won nine of 22 starts.

From a family of out-and-out sprinters, Striking Ambition is likely to continue in that vein, and his fee of £3,000 gives breeders a good opportunity to tap into a line of proven juvenile performers.

Val Royal is new to the National Stud this season, having begun his career in Ireland. A high-class performer at up to 1m2f in France and the US, his best performance came when emulating his sire’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Royal Academy, who stands in Kentucky and Australia, has been a remarkably consistent sire, with Graded stake winner Folkine and the outstanding Hong Kong sprinter Bullish Luck his best performers last year.

Royal Academy’s other two stallion sons in Britain and Ireland both favoured longer trips than Val Royal, with Oscar Schindler – now proving a smart sire of jumpers – twice winning the Irish St Leger and Putra Sandhurst successful over 1m4f.

Retired to stud in 2003, Val Royal has his first three-year-olds this year. His first two-year-olds included the smartCockney Rebel, who ran a very close third behind Vital Equine in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes, having previously been second in the valuable St Leger Yearling Stakes sales race. Given Val Royal’s progressive racing profile, his progeny may well show a marked improvement with