2007

MAX One Two Three gave both her trainer, Tom Dascombe, and her jockey, Richard Kingscote, their first taste of listed race success when running out a decisive two-length winner of the Stowe Family Law LLP Jubilee Rockingham Stakes at York last Saturday.

A €23,000 purchase at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale of 2006, the winner is a daughter of Princely Heir, who stands at Abbey Leix Stud.

The son of Fairy King won three races, including the Group 1 Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes, but has had limited opportunities at stud. He is the sire of Romancero, who is out of the grandam of Max One Two Three, and he won two listed races in Italy and was later a smart performer in Hong Kong.

Max One Two Three is the second foal out Dakota Sioux, by College Chapel, a multiple winner from seven furlongs to a mile, and is the dam of Straight Face (Princely Heir) who was placed at two years.

[Max One Two Three was bred by PJ Towell and never won again. At stud she had a single winner from just three foals. Her dam, Dakota Sioux, won eight races and went on to breed four winners, all multiple winners, and the most prolific was Straight Face who won nine times.

Princely Heir sired just one other stakes winner, Pursuit Of Fame, who won the Golconda St Leger in India.

Tom Dascombe and Richard Kingscote have enjoyed a fruitful association and together had their first group winner when Classic Blade won the Group 2 July Stakes in 2008, and their first Group 1 success with Brown Panther in the Irish St Leger six years later.

While that remains Dascombe’s only Group 1 win to date, Kingscote partnered Havana Grey to land the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes in 2018, and this year took his tally to four with victories on Desert Crown in the Derby and, at the weekend, on Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes]

The Captain maintains momentum for Oasis Dream

THE Group 3 Willmott Dixon Cornwallis Stakes at Ascot last Saturday was dominated by Captain Gerrard, who shot out of the stalls and held his advantage throughout the race, beating Cute Ass by a length and a half.

The winner has maintained the momentum of his sire, the first-season stallion Oasis Dream, who stands at Banstead Manor Stud. The son of Green Desert, who was champion two-year-old and champion European three-year-old sprinter, is also sire of the Princess Margaret Stakes winner, Visit.

Captain Gerrard was sold for 85,000gns as a foal, and resold for 130,000gns at the Doncaster St Leger Yearling Sale of 2006. He was bred by Alan Dargan and is the fifth foal of the Soviet Star mare Delphinus, who won over 10 furlongs.

Delphinus is also the dam of Saturn (Marju), who won a listed race in Hong Kong and was placed in a Group 2 race in France, and Glocca Morra (Catrail), a stakes-placed winner. Scimitarra, the grandam of Captain Gerrard, won the Lupe Stakes and was a half-sister to Double Form, a top-class sprinter and successful sire.

[Captain Gerrard was a high-class juvenile, winning half of his 10 starts, three of them blacktype races. He added the Group 3 Palace House Stakes at three, but failed to win in 13 starts at four. Retired to Mickley Stud in Shropshire for £3,500 in 2010, he remained there for 10 seasons, and moved to Iran for the 2010 season. His sole stakes winner was Alpha Delphini, winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes four years ago.

Oasis Dream had an outstanding first season in 2007 with his runners, siring six individual stakes winners from less than 20 winners. He was runner-up to Acclamation, and just ahead of Choisir, on the end of season table. Since then he has been an outstanding success. He has sired 220 stakes performers, 65 group winners, another 68 stakes winners, and his tally of Group/Grade 1 winners stands at 18.

As a broodmare sire Oasis Dream has been represented by Group/Grade 1 winners Siskin, Tawkeel, Sioux Nation, Twilight Payment, Sir Dragonet, and Nations Pride]

Airlie lowers fees, but not for Habitat

1982

IN a commendable effort to come to terms with the recession, Captain Tim Rogers has reduced his stallion fees by an average of 30% for the 1983 season.

The owner of the Airlie Stud and several other farms, commenting on his decision this week, said: “I don’t want to cast enormous gloom, but one has to face up to reality”. Certainly, this is a brave move that might cause heartache among some of his shareholders.

For example, Ela-Mana-Mou now stands at IR£15,000. He was syndicated at £80,000 per share, which means that he is now on a seven-year purchase base. In recent years the capital recovery span has become as low as three and a half to four years.

However, Rogers does emphasise that these fees will only rule until the end of the year when they may go higher, but no lower. He believes that, at present, 65-70% of all mare owners in this country are producing below cost.

The Arabs have given a false impression of the market, as they caused the top end to take such a leap that the average does not reflect the bulk of the deals, Also, it will not be long before they will have enough breeding stock to concentrate, basically, on self-production.

Rogers has very strong views on the restrictions of the number of mares visiting a stallion. None of his sires will have more than 50 mares next year.

Unaffected

One stallion who remains unaffected by these cutbacks is, not surprisingly, the mighty Habitat, whose fee is a private matter. His purchase by Rogers back in 1969 gives a perfect insight to a man at the top of his profession.

He said: “I bought him for $1 million on the night before the Prix du Moulin, on the stipulation that he had to win, which he duly did. I then syndicated him for £10,000 per share. I lost £23 on the deal.”

Aga Khan enjoys success in Ireland and England

1932

HORSES bred by H.H. Aga Khan are enjoying a series of splendid triumphs in England and Ireland. Their victories have placed His Highness at the top of both the owners’ and breeders’ tables.

Nearly all his winners were bred at Sheshoon Stud, Co Kildare by Sir Henry Greer, and Sir Henry is, of course, director of the National Stud at Tully, Co Kildare. That establishment is second in the breeders’ list.

The winnings of horses bred by H.H. Aga Khan, and of those bred at the National Stud, up to the end of last week were – H.H. Aga Khan, 14 horses, 25 races, and amount earned £56,778, while the National Stud is 22 horses, 49 races and £27,219.

In the owners’ table, H.H. Aga Khan leads the next most successful owner by £38,000, the winnings of His Highness’s horses up to the 21st inst. being 14 winners, 25 races and £55,046. The chief contributors for the leading owner are Dastur, Firdaussi and Udaipur, all bred at Sheshoon Stud.

Dastur, by Solario out of Friar’s Daughter, has won the Irish Derby and finished second in the English Derby and St Leger. Firdaussi, by Pharos out of Brownhylda, has won the English St Leger. Udaipur, by Blandford out of Uganda, won the English Oaks and Coronation Stakes.