FITZDARES has chalked up its market for this year’s first-season sire race, with Blue Point (Shamardal) the 5/2 favourite to supply the most individual winners in Britain and Ireland before December 31st.

The multiple Group 1-winning sprinter, who was also high-class at two himself and stands this season for €35,000 at Kildangan Stud, has 164 two-year-olds to go to war with. Inns Of Court, a speedy son of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) who has the largest crop of this peer group, with 169 juveniles, is second favourite at 7/2. He will command a more modest €5,000 for 2023.

Coolmore’s Ten Sovereigns, a Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner by precocity influence No Nay Never (Scat Daddy), with 149 possible runners on his side, is 4/1. His fee for this season is €17,500.

Standing for €7,500 at Ballyhane Stud this year, Soldier’s Call, a fast and early son of Showcasing (Oasis Dream) with 121 debut two-year-olds, is available at 9/2, while Darley’s Too Darn Hot, an unbeaten champion at two by Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) and with a first crop comprising 129 foals who have just turned racing age, is on offer at 8/1. Too Darn Hot’s fee this season at Dalham Hall is £40,000.

Up-to-date details on each stallion can be found on Weatherbys Global Stallions App, while the full list of prices on each stallion is as follows:

Blue Point 5/2

Inns Of Court 7/2

Ten Sovereigns 4/1

Soldier’s Call 9/2

Too Darn Hot 8/1

Land Force 10/1

Advertise 12/1

Calyx 20/1

Magna Grecia 16/1

Invincible Army 20/1

Masar 66/1

Waldgeist 100/1

Phoenix Of Spain 100/1

City Light 100/1

Eqtidaar 150/1

Study Of Man 150/1

Last year’s Fitzdares first-season sire market saw the odds-on favourite Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) overturned by Havana Grey (Havana Gold), a 9/4 chance when prices were first released.

Sam Hockenhull from Fitzdares commented: “We’ve made good use of Weatherbys Return Of Mares and their Global Stallions App to pull together a market for this year’s first-season sire championship. It looks an extremely competitive year, with so many sires looking to hold a strong book.

“We make Blue Point our market leader; he was such an impressive stamp of a two-year-old and what he achieved at Royal Ascot later in his career will have ensured a superb first book of mares. It’s hard to get away from the Tally-Ho factor in recent years, and with numbers on his side we’ve installed put Inns Of Court as second favourite.”

Another first for Nando Parrado

THE Irish National Stud’s Nando Parrado (Kodiac) has welcomed his first foal, appropriately-bred by Ballyphilip Stud.

The daughter of the Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner and multiple Group 1 placed stallion was born last weekend at the Bruree, Co Limerick farm. She is out of the Iffraaj (Zafonic) mare, Cafetiere, who is the dam of the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes-placed Imperial Force (Camacho).

“She is an exceptional foal with strength, a great shape, good hip and bone, and a very attractive head,” according to her breeder Paul McCartan. “Being by a Coventry winner and a sister to a Norfolk placed runner, you would have to be delighted with her.”.

Nando Parrado was bred by Anita Wigan and became the most expensive foal ever purchased by McCartan when selling for 165,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. Having subsequently placed him in the care of Clive Cox, there is therefore great serendipity in McCartan producing his first foal. “Nando Parrado was definitely the best looking foal I have ever bought, and as soon as this filly stood I could see she had all of the same qualities he possessed. She is a belter!”

Irish National Stud CEO, Cathal Beale, said: “Nando Parrado covered an excellent book of 130 mares in his first season, from some of the country’s leading breeders. There is a top-class syndicate of people supporting him. With Kodiac and his sons having achieved so much in recent years, we are very excited about him.”

Cafetiere

Paul and Marie McCartan bought the five-furlong, two-year-old winner Cafetiere for 27,000gns out of training, and hit the jackpot with her first foal. He was Marboot (Showcasing), and he sold for 170,000gns to Shadwell, the covering having cost £15,000. Marboot is a six-time winner, and was followed by the dual winner Anniemation (Acclamation). Imperial Force was her third foal, while Clive Cox paid 65,000gns last year for the now two-year-old Inkara (Profitable).

Cafetiere is one of five winners from Coffee Cream (Common Grounds), successful herself at two and three, and the others include the Group 3 juvenile winner Percolator (Kheleyf), winner of the Prix du Bois and runner-up in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin. This is the immediate family of Even Top (Topanoora), a listed winner at two and three who was second in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy and the 2000 Guineas.

Give yourself a sporting chance and go with A’Ali

I WOULD love to have a mare to visit A’Ali (Society Rock) this year, and not just because of his sire credentials.

Newsells Park Stud, where A’Ali is about to embark on his second season at stud, has announced a most tempting promotion for their stallion. Breeders sending mares to this triple Group 2 winning juvenile for the upcoming breeding season will be entered into a draw to win two tickets to the Dubai World Cup, Rugby World Cup Final or Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles Final.

The stud’s general manager, Julian Dollar, said: “A’Ali’s partners were keen to highlight what a great sporting chance a mare had of producing quality, fast and precocious winners if she was covered by one of the fastest and most precocious sprinters of recent years. What better way to do that than by offering great sporting prizes to the breeders themselves? Not only could your mare be visiting the next Ardad or Havana Grey, but you could also be attending a memorable sports final.”

A’Ali was one of the best juvenile sprinters of his generation, with three Group 2 victories, including the notable Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot and Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster double. He had the distinction of winning three times at two, and always in a Group 2 race. His other success was at Deauville in the Prix Robert Papin.

Somewhat unusually for such a precocious juvenile, A’Ali trained on to win Group 2 and Group 3 races over five furlongs as a three-year-old, including the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh, as well as finishing behind Bataash when fourth in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes. One of the best sons of the much-missed champion first season sire Society Rock (Rock Of Gibraltar), A’Ali stands at £5,000 this year, having covered more than 110 mares last year at £7,500.

The two tickets for the Rugby World Cup final on October 28th includes travel to Paris and three nights’ accommodation in a top hotel. Flights and three nights in a top-class hotel are also included with the tickets to the 2024 Dubai World Cup. The third prize on offer is two tickets to the Ladies’ Singles Final at Wimbledon on July 15th, with lunch and afternoon tea.

For more information visit newsells-park.com/stallions