THERE are plenty of notable two-year-olds who have gone on to successful stud careers, although not many of them as popular as Elusive Pimpernel. The son of US champion sire Elusive Quality (Gone West) won a seven-furlong Newmarket maiden a month before taking the Group 3 Acomb Stakes at York and then chased home the top-class, but sadly ill-fated, St Nicholas Abbey in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster.
The 115-rated Elusive Pimpernel was an obvious classic contender and, having won the Group 3 Craven Stakes by four lengths on his seasonal reappearance, he was among the favourites for the 2000 Guineas two weeks later. He was off the track for 11 and a half months after his fifth-place finish to Makfi at Newmarket, but his blacktype placings at four included the Group 3 Rose of Lancaster Stakes and Group 3 Earl of Sefton Stakes.
After two seasons at Islanmore Stud, he got a promotion to the Irish National Stud. His €1,000 fee was maintained for his first six seasons at the Kildare venue, even as his popularity soared and the winners flowed.
Elusive Pimpernel has been represented by the pattern-placed stakes-winning fillies Elegant Pose and Elusive Beauty, plus three other blacktype earners on the level, in addition to a string of winners that includes 10-time scorer In The Red and nine-time winner La Grande Bellezza.
His National Hunt runners feature graded hurdle winners such as Coeur Sublime and Soviet Pimpernel, and graded chase scorer Ex Patriot. Then there’s the Noel Meade-trained five-year-old Thedevilscoachman, a €27,000 yearling buy who has won a bumper plus three from four over hurdles, most recently a listed contest for novices at Punchestown last month. At the time of writing, he is prominent in the ante-post market for both the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Grade 3 County Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Elusive Pimpernel covered over 130 mares in 2018 and 190 in 2019, and when his fee was finally raised last year, 165 mares came calling. A colt from the family of Bradbury Star made €49,000 in Fairyhouse in December, one of 13 five-figure foals for the stallion in 2020.
Elusive Pimpernel is a half-brother to Palavicini (Giant’s Causeway), a Group 3 scorer who has sired winners from a handful of runners. His dam is a half-sister to Lucky Guest (Be My Guest), who also sired winners, and to Persian Fantasy (Persian Bold), the ancestress of blacktype sire Big Bad Bob (Bob Back) and dual classic-winning champion Snow Fairy (Intikhab).
ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL (USA), Bay or Brown 2007. Won three races, £151,356, from 7 furlongs to 1 mile, at 2 and 3 years including, Racing Post Craven Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3, Watch Races on Racing UK Acomb Stakes, York, Gr.3, also placed second in Racing Post Trophy, Doncaster, Gr.1, Rose of Lancaster Stakes, Haydock Park, Gr.3, and third in Weatherbys Earl of Sefton Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3, Toteexacta August Stakes, Windsor, L.
Retired to Stud in 2012, and sire of the winners of 109 races, and £933,386, including ELEGANT POSE (IRE), ELUSIVE BEAUTY (IRE), Elusive Heights (IRE), Kabaw (IRE), Elusive Janice (IRE), and sire of the winners of 38 races, and £574,516 under N.H. Rules, including THEDEVILSCOACHMAN (IRE), COEUR SUBLIME (IRE), SOVIET PIMPERNEL (IRE), EX PATRIOT (IRE), Elusive Belle (IRE), Cusp Of Carabelli (IRE), Jungle Junction (IRE), Weseekhimhere (IRE)
Stands at: Irish National Stud, Tully East, Kildare, Co Kildare, R51 DD56, Ireland.
Contact: Cathal Beale, Gary Swift, Patrick Diamond
Telephone: +353 (0)45 521251 or +353 (0)86 6031979 (Gary) or +353 (0)85 1299236 (Patrick)
Email: reception@irishnationalstud.ie
Web: www.irishnationalstud.ie
Fee: €2,500