SCREEN Hero has rarely featured in this column in the past but readers can expect to become much more familiar with him as the 11-year-old stallion is making a quite sensational start to his stud career.

The son of Grass Wonder did have a champagne moment while racing and he surprised his connections and racing fans by winning the 2008 Japan Cup at odds of 40/1. Though winning the Copa Republica Argentina on his previous start, he was completely overlooked by the fans who understandably showed more confidence in Deep Sky, Vodka and Meisho Samson, the winners respectively (among other major races) of the 2008, 2007 and 2006 Japanese Derby.

The compact chesnut remained in training as a five-year-old but failed to win in six starts and the ephemeral lustre of his Japan Cup win had long since dulled when stud plans were being considered.

Despite being bred by Shadai Farm and carrying the famous yellow and black silks of Teruya Yoshida during his entire racing career, it was adjudged that he was not good enough to join the likes of Deep Impact, Heart’s Cry, Daiwa Major, Harbinger, Neo Universe etc, at Shadai Stallion Station.

Instead, he was unceremoniously packed off to Lex where his stud fee was set at €2,250 (¥300,000).

SENSATIONAL WINNERS

In his first year in his new incarnation he received a modest number of fee-appropriate mares and has had less than 50 starters from his first crop which are currently four-year-olds. Nevertheless, it includes two sensational Group 1 winners, Maurice and Gold Actor.

Maurice was switched to the barn of Noriyuki Hori at the start of the year and his perfect six wins from six starts 2015 scoresheet will most likely be enough to see him crowned horse of the year in addition to champion older horse.

His haul of major prizes includes the Yasuda Kinen and Mile Championship, both Group 1 races. He further underlined his ability by winning the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile beating such luminaries as Able Friend who is currently ranked fourth in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. Maurice will remain in training next year and it is expected that he will contest some of Europe’s best mile races.

Screen Hero’s most recent banner success is Gold Actor who landed last week’s Group 1 Arima Kinen. Like his sire, he too won the G2 Copa Republica Argentina immediately before recording his first Group 1 success. And also like his sire, he caused somewhat of a betting upset as he was only the eight choice in the 16-runnner field.

BIGGEST BETTING

The Arima Kinen is Japan’s premier middle-distance race and usually attracts the best horses for what is inevitably the biggest betting race of the year. Indeed the 127,000 fans in attendance last Sunday contributed to the more than €325,000,000 bet on the race.

The most recent renewal attracted six previous Group 1 winners including Gold Ship, One And Only and Lovely Day. Gold Actor broke smartly and was in the vanguard all the way and asserted himself in the home straight to win by a neck from Sounds Of Earth with Kitasan Black a further three-quarters of a length back in third.

It was red-letter day for connection as Gold Actor’s Group 1 success was the first for the winning owner, breeder, trainer and jockey. Gold Actor will remain in training next year.

Screen Hero’s current three-year-old crop are also not devoid of talent. Though numbering only 43 registered foals, it nevertheless includes the Group 3 winners Musee Alien and Guanciale.

All Screen Hero’s four group winners to date remain in training next year and most likely will be required to fly the flag for their sire as his current crop of two-year-olds numbers only 34 animals. Nevertheless, he has already had six juvenile winners.

Needless to say, Screen Hero is now very much on the radar of breeders and he was initially advertised for 2016 at a fee of ¥3,000,000 (€23,000) which is 10 times greater than his initial fee. However, Maurice has since won the Hong Kong Mile and Gold Actor has become a Group 1 winner. Screen Hero’s fee has now been readjusted to private/book full.