THERE are several things that we look for when assessing the potential of a young stallion; Gustav Klimt’s checklist has plenty of key boxes ticked. For racing performance, you start with two-year-old and three-year-old form.
This former Ballydoyle-trainee won his Curragh maiden and the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket over seven furlongs and earned rave reviews after the latter. It was a close call, but achieved after overcoming trouble in running. Timeform rated him 112p, he had shown Group 1 potential but, unfortunately, did not run again that year.
Instead, his next outing was in a seven-furlong listed contest at Leopardstown the following April. The heavy ground was a striking contrast to the fast underfoot conditions he encountered in England, but he won easily all the same.
He finished third to Romanised in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas, was a half-length runner-up to Without Parole in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, third to Intellogent in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat (then over a mile), a close fourth to Lightning Spear in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes and to One Master in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret, and he was only beaten by a total of three-quarters of a length when third to The Tin Man in the Group 1 Sprint Cup over six furlongs on heavy ground at Haydock.
Timeform rated him 123 at three. Two more boxes ticked. Gustav Klimt is a son of the phenomenal Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) – another box ticked. The double-digit tally of his paternal siblings that have sired one or more Group 1 winners is impressive and growing, and someday Gustav Klimt’s name should be on the list too.
On the distaff side of his pedigree, we look for an established history of producing good-quality blacktype horses – tick – and to see if there have been any previously successful stallions produced from the family. Tick a few more boxes on Gustav Klimt’s sheet.
He is one of the quickest sons of his great sire, likely due to his dam’s influence. Massarra (Danehill) was a juvenile Group 2-placed stakes-winning sprinter, her other stakes-winning offspring have all shown speed at up to a mile, and her full-brother is the pattern-placed sprinter and leading sire Kodiac (Danehill) whose five Group 1 winners among 65 blacktype scorers include Campanelle, Fairyland, Hello Youmzain, and Tiggy Wiggy.
Kodiac’s Group 1 Sprint Cup-winning three-parts brother Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) has sired 20 Group 1 stars among over 130 stakes winners, most of his best being sprinters or milers.
Gustav Klimt, who also has two French classic winners close-up on the page, covered over 170 mares in his first two seasons. His initial yearlings will be on offer in the autumn and he could get some notable results as a freshman sire of 2022.
GUSTAV KLIMT (IRE), Bay 2015. Won three races, £391,233, over 7 furlongs, at 2 and 3 years including, bet365 Superlative Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.2, Ballylinch 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes, Leopardstown, L, also placed second in St James’s Palace Stakes, Ascot, Gr.1, and third in 32Red Sprint Cup Stakes, Haydock Park, Gr.1, Prix Jean Prat, Deauville, Gr.1, Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas, Curragh, Gr.1.
Retired to Stud in 2019, first crop now yearlings.
Stands at: Castlehyde Stud, Fermoy, Co Cork, P61 TR29, Ireland.
Contact: Tom Gaffney, Joe Hernon, David Magnier, Paddy Fleming, Cathal Murphy, or David Walsh
Telephone: +353 (0)25 31966
Email: info@castlehyde.com
Web: www.coolmore.com
Fee: €4,000