|
|
Sadler's Wells retired from stud duty SADLER'S WELLS (Northern Dancer), one of Europe's all-time premier sires, has been retired from stud duties due to declining fertility, Coolmore Stud announced Monday. The 27-year-old stallion will remain at Coolmore in Ireland, where he has stood since retiring to stud for the 1985 season. "I think Sadler's Wells is generally acknowledged as the best sire Europe has ever seen, and we feel very privileged to have been associated with him," Coolmore Manager Christy Grassick said. "Despite his advancing years, he is still in remarkably good condition and I hope he enjoys a long and happy retirement. His influence will be felt for many years to come and, in Galileo (Ire), Montjeu (Ire) and High Chaparral (Ire), we are delighted to have his three best sons at Coolmore." Sadler's Wells was champion sire in Britain and Ireland a record-breaking 14 times, including 13 years in succession. On the day his retirement was announced, Sadler's Wells was represented by Prospect Wells, who broke his maiden in the Prix Greffulhe (Fr-G2) at Saint-Cloud. He is also the sire of last week's Chester Vase (Eng-G3) winner Doctor Fremantle and further 2008 Group 3 winners Ask (GB), Royal and Regal and Gagnoa. Sadler's Wells has sired a staggering 272 stakes winners from 2,149 foals of racing age, a strike rate of nearly 13 percent. Of those, 154 have won graded races and 18 have been named champion. Only his late former stablemate Danehill has sired more stakes winners. Sadler's Wells, whose stud fee has been listed as private for several years, covered 64 mares in 2007. Robert Sangster and Vincent O'Brien enjoyed no small amount of success in the 1970s and 80s with horses purchased in the United States, including the likes of champions Alleged, The Minstrel and Golden Fleece, to name a few. One of their minor acquisitions during that time was a $40,000 Bold Reason yearling filly at Keeneland July in 1976 from the consignment of Claiborne Farm. She was produced by the *Forli mare Special, a granddaughter of the famed broodmare *Rough Shod II (Gold Bridge). Named Fairy Bridge, the bay won both of her starts as a two-year-old in Ireland and was honored as the joint-topweighted filly in that country in 1977 without winning a stakes. She returned to the United States to begin her breeding career. Following the death of her first foal by *Vaguely Noble, Fairy Bridge was covered by Northern Dancer and produced Sadler's Wells in 1981. Her next foal, the Northern Dancer colt Fairy King, was injured in his lone start, but became a very successful stallion at Coolmore. He was followed by Tate Gallery (Northern Dancer), who won the National S. (Ire-G1) in 1985. Fairy Bridge then produced a pair of stakes-winning fillies by Northern Dancer, Fairy Gold and Puppet Dance. Her final foal was the winning Danzig colt Perugino, who has sired Australian star Testa Rossa and the good sprinter The Tatling during his stud career. Sadler's Wells captured both of his starts at two, including the Beresford S. (Ire-G2), but was overshadowed by the brilliance of stablemate El Gran Senor, who ended 1983 as the champion two-year-old in England and Ireland. At three, Sadler's Wells won the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial S. (Ire-G2) before earning classic glory in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1). He followed with a runner-up finish in the Prix du Jockey-Club (Fr-G1), splitting future top sires Darshaan and Rainbow Quest. The blaze-faced bay established himself as one of the toughest members of his generation thereafter, winning the Coral-Eclipse S. (Eng-G1) and Irish Champion S. (Ire-G1) as well as finishing second in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. (Eng-G1). Northern Dancer, represented by dual classic winner El Gran Senor (Two Thousand Guineas [Eng-G1] and Irish Derby [Ire-G1]) as well as Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) hero Secreto in addition to Sadler's Wells, set record earnings figures in Britain and Ireland in 1984, becoming the first stallion to pass the million mark Despite an army of Group 1-winning sons, it took some time for Sadler's Wells to establish himself as a sire of sires, particularly in Europe. His champion son El Prado (Ire), sent to Kentucky for stud duty, climbed from a relatively humble beginning (a $5,000 stud fee) to the upper echelons of U.S. sires, leading the general sire list in 2002 and perennially in the top five. Fort Wood rewrote the books in South Africa, and Scenic (Ire) carved out a solid career in Australia. As for his European sons at stud, In the Wings (GB) sired a globe-trotting superstar in Singspiel (Ire) before his untimely death, and Barathea (Ire) has sired a sprinkling of Group 1 winners. But true successors to his mantle did not come forward until his more recent crops. Champion Montjeu's first three-year-olds emerged in 2005 with the likes of Hurricane Run (Ire), hero of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1); Motivator, the Epsom Derby victor; and Scorpion (Ire), winner of the Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-G1) and the St Leger S (Eng-G1). A year later, the first crop of champion Galileo produced Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) heroine Nightime, Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) winner Red Rocks (Ire) and Sixties Icon, who led home a Galileo trifecta in the St Leger. Galileo's second crop included Teofilo, the top-ranked European two-year-old of 2006, while his third crop includes last year's European juvenile champ and recent Two Thousand Guineas runner-up New Approach. A significant portion of his Group 1 winners are male, but fillies by Sadler's Wells have also made their mark in the classics, including the Oaks (Eng-G1) heroines Salsabil (Ire) (1990), Intrepidity (GB) (1993), Moonshell (Ire) (1995), Imagine (Ire) (2001) and Alexandrova (Ire) (2006). Salsabil also distinguished herself with a victory in the One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and defeated colts in the Irish Derby. Given their success on the track, it is not surprising that Sadler's Wells's daughters have become valuable both in the sales ring and in the breeding shed. The leading broodmare sire in Ireland and Britain in 2005, 2006 and 2007, Sadler's Wells is the damsire of recent Two Thousand Guineas winner Henrythenavigator. That colt is by Kingmambo, who has been a particularly useful foil with Sadler's Wells mares. The partnership has included champions El Condor Pasa and Divine Proportions, classic winner Virginia Waters and Group 1 winner Thewayyouare. Sadler's Wells is also the broodmare sire of Group 1 winners Cesario (Jpn), Diktat, Horatio Nelson, Musical Chimes, Peeping Fawn, Sakhee, Silic (Fr), Whipper, Youmzain, and others. Last November, his daughter Playful Act (Ire) became the most expensive broodmare of all time when knocked down to Darley's John Ferguson for $10.5 million. Fittingly, she was sold out of a dispersal of Robert Sangster's stock. Daughter Liffey Dancer set a world record for a yearling filly at last year's Tattersalls October Sale. She sold to Charlie Gordon-Watson, agent for Craig Bennett, for 2.5-million guineas ($5.33 million). Sadler's Wells has also sired the highest-priced yearling ever sold in Europe, Diaghilev (a Group 1 winner in Hong Kong under the name River Dancer), who sold for 3.4-million guineas in 2000 at Tattersalls Houghton. Robert Sangster's son Ben, who was on hand to watch Playful Act sell last November, reflected on the sire who has had an immense impact on his family. "He was a phenomenal horse," Sangster told sportinglife.com. "His record as a stallion is unbelievable, and it is the end of a very distinguished career. His legacy will live on through his sons and daughters and their sons and daughters. He has the likes of Montjeu and Galileo among many others to continue his bloodline. A number of his sons and daughters will probably be lining up at Epsom this year and for the next couple of years to come and his influence will continue."
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
