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ANYONE heading out on the upcoming ITM Irish Stallion Trail will have a small but select group of stallions to see who are retiring to stud for the first time in 2023. There are a number of stallions who are in new locations, including Tosen Stardom who will be available for the first time in Ireland at Lemongrove Stud.
The eight sires who will cover mares for the first time next month are listed in alphabetical order, while no farm on the stallion trail will this year stand more than one new horse on their roster for the new season.
Bayside Boy
Returning to the place of his birth where he will stand for €15,000, Bayside Boy joins his sire New Bay (Dubawi) on the stallion roster at Ballylinch Stud, where he will commence stud duties under the management of John O’Connor and his team. A high-class juvenile, Bayside Boy crowned his 10-race career with victory over Modern Games and Inspiral in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
At two he beat Reach For The Moon, Twilight Jet and Lusail in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, while his placed runs at the highest level were behind Native Trail and Luxembourg in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes and Vertem Futurity respectively. He achieved a Timeform rating of 125.
Blackbeard
The only dual Group 1-winning juvenile in Europe in 2022, Blackbeard follows a recent stallion trend by retiring to stud at the age of three. Those who preceded him in so doing have been remarkably successful, and there is no reason that this son of No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) should not do likewise at Coolmore.
Winner of six of his eight starts – he raced every month from April to September – Blackbeard was twice successful at Group 1 level, in the Middle Park Stakes and the Prix Morny. In both races he confirmed his superiority over The Antarctic and Persian Force.
A 270,000gns foal purchase, and by the sire of Group 1 winners Ten Sovereigns, Little Big Bear, Meditate, Alcohol Free, Madame Pommery and Brooke, Blackbeard will stand for €25,000.
Ilaraab
James Hannon’s The Old Road Stud welcomes the dual Group 3 winner Ilaraab to its stallion ranks for 2023. The son of Wootton Bassett (Ifraaj), a 200,000gns yearling purchase, won eight of his 14 starts for William Haggas and was placed twice in Group 3 races.
He beat Max Vega in the St Simon Stakes at Newbury and rounded off his racing career with victory in the Aston Park Stakes at the same venue.
Ilaraab’s dam is a half-sister to the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes winner Census, while their dam’s own-brother was Leadership, and his five wins were headed by success in the Group 1 Gran Premio di Milano. Wootton Bassett’s fee this year is a cool €150,000, while the introductory fee for Ilaraab is just €2,500.
Minzaal
Showing blazing speed, Minzaal did what he had promised to do since he was a juvenile, and won the six-furlong Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup by almost four lengths on his final start. He is from the first crop of Mehmas (Acclamation), a crop that also includes Supremacy who won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes, and Going Global who was successful in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.
As a juvenile Minzaal won the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York on his third start, before running behind Supremacy, with Lucky Vega dividing them, in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes.
At three he placed in the Group 1 British Champions Sprint Stakes, while in 2022 he was runner-up to Highfield Princess in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. He starts his new career at Derrinstown Stud at a fee of €15,000.
Naval Crown
€15,000 seems to be a popular fee for newcomers to the stallion ranks in 2023, and it is the price listed for the new sire at Kildangan Stud, Naval Crown. The fastest son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), he capped is racing career with a splendid victory in the Group 1 Platinum Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, beating such as Highfield Princess. Kinross, Alcohol Free, Minzaal and Campanelle.
Alcohol Free denied him a second Group 1 success when she beat Naval Crown in the July Cup, and Creative Force beat him at three in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes. A talented juvenile, winner of the Meydan Classic at three, and a Group 1 winner at four, Naval Crown is a descendant of Truly Special, the taproot of many Group 1 winners.
Space Traveller
Joe Foley’s Ballyhane Stud welcomes the highest-rated son of Bated Breath (Dansili), the Group 2 Boomerang Stakes winner Space Traveller.
From an outstanding female family, Space Traveller beat Space Blues when winning the Group 3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot, and he came close to Grade 1 successes a number of times in the USA and Canada.
A dual winner at two, who trained on to race until the age of six, Space Traveller was third on his last outing to Colonel Liam in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. Sure to prove popular with commercial breeders in search of value, the exceptionally good-looking Space Traveller has an introductory fee of €6,500.
State Of Rest
A four-time Group or Grade 1 winner in four countries and on three continents, State Of Rest is an exciting addition to the stallion ranks.
He will command a fee of €25,000 at the Cashman’s Rathbarry Stud. State Of Rest is a son of the European and Australian champion sprinter Starspangledbanner (Choisir), but he showed his best form at 10 furlongs.
Winner at two and placed in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes, State Of Rest announced himself on the world stage with victory in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby, before beating Anamoe and Verry Elleegant in the Group 1 Cox Plate.
He started his third season with victory in the Group 1 Prix Ganay, was half a length behind the winner in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, before bouncing back with a win in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Waldkonig
From one of the best female lines in the stud book, the Group 3 winner Waldkonig is a most interesting new stallion for 2023 at Sean Kinsella’s Knockhouse Stud. His fee for his initial season is €2,500. Winner of his only start at two, he was stakes-placed form just two outings at three. He won his only two other starts, both over 10 furlongs, and they included the Gordon Richards Stakes.
A son of the hugely successful Kingman (Invincible Spirit), the 16.3 hands Waldkonig is a half-brother to the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Waldgeist, and their dam is a half-sister to the Group 1 St Leger winner Masked Marvel. This is also the immediate family of the multiple Grade 1 winner Vauban, successful in 2022 in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.
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