MUCH was expected of Ten Sovereigns when his first runners hit the track last year, and he didn’t disappoint. With 26 individual winners, three stakes winners and no few than 11 stakes performers, there were no holes to be picked in a this debut season, and 2024 has started well, with some half a dozen new winners already, and another stakes-placed runner.

Inquisitively led the way with a couple of stakes victories, including the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes, while Mysterious Shadow and Asean won listed races in Italy and at the Curragh. In Germany his son Wikinger won a €200,000 sales race. Successes such as this led to a strong sales performance and yearlings sold for up to 400,000gns.

Ten Sovereigns burst onto the scene with a seven-length debut score over six furlongs at the Curragh, ran away with the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes over the course and distance a week later, and maintained his unbeaten record with victory in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

In the Group 1 2000 Guineas he finished fifth to Magna Grecia, and then returned to sprinting. After finishing fourth to Advertise in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup, he put up one of the most impressive sprint performances of the year to beat that same rival by almost three lengths in the Group 1 July Cup, with Fairyland third.

Ten Sovereigns is a first-crop son of the high-class sprinter No Nay Never (Scat Daddy). That stallion’s reputation has grown since and his top-level winners now also include Blackbear, Little Big Bear, Meditate and Alcohol Free,

Ten Sovereigns is the best of six winners out of Seeking Solace (Exceed And Excel), a stakes-placed daughter of the Group 3-placed Flamelet (Theatrical). Third dam Darling Flame (Capote) was runner-up in the Group 3 Cherry Hinton Stakes, she is out of the US Grade 1-winner and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks third My Darling One (Exclusive Native) and so is a half-sister to the talented Heart Lake (Nureyev). That colt won the Group 3 Concorde Stakes and later added a major prize in Japan, the Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo. That was at a time when only the Japan Cup held Group 1 status in the country, so although that mile contest was a local Group 1 it counted only as listed in sales catalogues.

Darling Flame is also significant as she is the grandam of Shamal Wind (Dubawi), an Australian sprinter whose haul features the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate over five and a half furlongs at Caulfield.

Race record

TEN SOVEREIGNS (IRE), Bay 2016. Champion 3yr old sprinter in Europe in 2019. Jt Champion 3yr old colt in England & Ireland in 2019. Won four races, £749,220, over 6 furlongs, at 2 and 3 years including, Darley July Cup Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.1, Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.1, John Sisk & Son Round Tower Stakes, Curragh, Gr.3.

At stud

Retired to stud in 2020, and sire of 33 winners, of 48 races, and £1,073,016, including INQUISITIVELY (GB), MYSTERIOUS SHADOW (IRE), ASEAN (IRE), Kalispera (IRE), Mansa Musa (IRE), Do It With Style (IRE), Queen of Zafeen (IRE), Loterie (IRE), Lord of Rules (IRE), Ten Horns (FR), Indispensable (GB), and Irish Gent (IRE).

Information

Stands at: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, E91 XK26, Ireland.

Contact: Christy Grassick, Maurice Moloney, Gerry Aherne, Jason Walsh, Mark Byrne, Neil Magee and Tom Harris

Telephone: +353 52 6131298

Email: sales@coolmore.ie

Web: www.coolmore.com

Fee: €17,500