THE first foals by Far Above were sold last autumn, and among those who purchased his stock were Blandford Bloodstock (who bought three, including a filly for 52,000gns and a colt for €48,000), Tally-Ho Stud, Woodtown House Stud, Coneen Stud, and Howson and Houldsworth Bloodstock,

Far Above achieved a Timeform rating of 122 and, although he won four of his five starts, there is a definite feeling that he was an even better horse than we had the chance to see. He is a son of the top-class, eight-to-10 furlong runner Farhh (Pivotal), a stallion who has been getting his best over a wide range of distances, from sprinters to Group 1-winning milers, a Derby-placed colt and stayers.

Far Above began his career over seven furlongs at the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket as a three-year-old. He won that maiden on fast ground, but after finishing fourth in a listed contest over the same course and distance a month later, he was brought back in trip.

He won his first sprint by five lengths on soft ground at Windsor, and added a listed sprint at Deauville the following month, also over six furlongs.

Sadly, the only other time we saw Far Above was in the Group 3 Palace House Stakes at Newmarket 11 months later, at the age of four. You would expect a horse to be rusty after such an absence, but this outing resulted in a three-parts of a length defeat of the prolific Judicial.

He clocked just over 58 seconds in that five-furlong debut, and were it not for a career-ending injury Far Above would likely have been a leading contender for leading sprints such as the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes and Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp.

Far Above is out of Dorraar (Shamardal), a winning daughter of the unraced Dorrati (Dubai Millennium), and their broodmare sires will likely catch the attention of the owners of all those speedy and well-related Lope De Vega (Shamardal), Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) and Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) mares, among others.

The presence of those two broodmare sires also indicates that Far Above comes from a top-class family, as only the best-related mares go to horses like them. Dorrati, a daughter of the Group 1 Oaks-placed, Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner Bahr (Generous), is a half-sister to the dual stakes-winner Baharah (Elusive Quality) and Nahrain (Selkirk), the Breeders’ Cup-placed Group 1 Prix de l’Opera and Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes-winning dam of Benbatl (Dubawi).

The latter was a top-class international performer, who earned over £5.95 million and is now at stud in Japan, and is very closely related to the grandam of Far Above. He was a Group 1 winner at Meydan, Munich and Caulfield, and chased home the great Winx in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.

Another half-sister to Dorrati bred Go Bears Go (Kodi Bear), a Group 2 winner, multiple Group 1-placed sprinter, and a likely candidate for sprint honours this year.

Far Above, one of the fastest horses in his family, is bred to sire mostly sprinters and milers, and has proven to be very popular in his first two seasons, covering come 260 mares. He is a horse well worth checking out.

Race record

FAR ABOVE (IRE), Bay 2016. Won four races, £58,123, from 5 furlongs to 7 furlongs, at 3 and 4 years including, Palace House Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3, Qatar Prix Kistena, Deauville, L.

At stud

Retired to Stud in 2021. First crop are yearlings.

Information

Stands at: Starfield Stud, Ballynagall, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, N91 K8Y9, Ireland.

Contact: Micheál Orlandi

Telephone: +353 83 8092299

Email: info@compasstallions.com

Web: www.compasstallions.com

Fee: €5,000