Former Champion 2YO Teofilo (Galileo) had a notable Gr1 double this past Saturday, when his son, Special Fighter, won the Gr1 Maktoum Challenge in Dubai and another son, Palentino, landed the Gr1 Australian Guineas at Flemington, writes Sarah Whitelaw.
Teofilo
He looks on course to enjoy another cracking season in both hemispheres in 2016, with Teofilo’s 2yos of last season including Gr3 Tattersalls Somerville Stakes hero Sanus Per Aquam, Gr1 Dewhurst runner up Massaat and Gr3 Oh So Sharp Stakes winner First Victory.
Now the sire of nine individual Gr1 winners, as well as this season’s dual Cape classic runner up, Brazuca, Teofilo won all five starts at two, including both the Gr1 National Stakes and Gr1 Dewhurst Stakes.
Regarded as a bright classic hope, Teofilo, however, never started after his juvenile campaign –a tendon problem occurred while the colt was being prepared for a start in the 2000 Guineas, and he was officially retired in August of his 3yo campaign.
Ironically enough, the colt Teofilo beat into second in both the National and Dewhurst Stakes, Holy Roman Emperor, was another colt destined not to see a racecourse after his two-year-old career. The son of Danehill was rushed off to stud, when it was discovered that his former stablemate, and fellow son of Danehill, George Washington, was subfertile.
While neitherTeofilo or Holy Roman Emperor have headed the general sires list (and neither look likely at this stage to challenge the likes of Galileo or Dubawi), both stallions have enjoyed a solid level of success. Teofilo, who stands for nearly three times that of his former rival, has been the more successful in terms of Gr1 winners, the son of Galileo outdistancing his Danehill sired rival by 9 Gr1 winners to six at this stage.
To date, Teofilo has over 50 stakes winners (from 565 runners) to his credit, whereas former dual Gr1 winning 2yo Holy Roman Emperor is the sire of 53 stakes winners from 846 runners to date.
Ideal World’s daughter Smart Call
Teofilo is out of a mare by multiple champion sire, Danehill, also broodmare sire of successful SA sire, Ideal World (sire of Met winner Smart Call), promising young sire Roderic O’Connor (Galileo) and French sensation, Siyouni (Pivotal).
Danehill’s influence through his daughters and their sons at stud could well be further emphasized in the future as undefeated champion, Frankel, bred, (like Teofilo) on the famed Galileo/Danehill cross, has his first runners this year.
In contrast to Teofilo and Holy Roman Emperor, one of Europe’s most fashionable sprint sires, Dark Angel (Acclamation), was retired at the end of his 2yo campaign, when connections stated that he was not a classic horse and would have found life tough competing in top class sprints.
Winner of the Gr1 Middle Park Stakes, Dark Angel has had burgeoning success at stud, as seen in his rising stud fee, from €10 000 to €60,000 in 2016, and his yearlings have sold for up to 825,000 guineas. His has been a genuine success story, with Dark Angel upgrading his mares, and his top performers including Gr1 winning sprinters, Lethal Force and Mecca’s Angel, as well as last year’s Gr1 2yo, Birchwood.
Dark Angel’s popularity can also be gauged by the fact that he has four notable sons at stud –including the above mentioned Lethal Force, who stands at Cheveley Park Stud for £10 000.
Dark Angel
This year, Dark Angel’s son, Gutaifan, winner of both the Gr2 Flying Childers Stakes and Gr2 Prix Robert Papin, follows in his sire’s footsteps and retires to stud having raced solely at two. Other sires retired to stud in recent times at the end of their 2yo campaigns include Approve (Oasis Dream), Lilbourne Lad (Acclamation), Sir Prancealot (Tamayuz), and Zebedee (Invincible Spirit).
While Dark Angel, and the above mentioned pair of Holy Roman Emperor and Teofilo have undoubtedly enjoyed success, it remains to be seen quite how many precocious, speed orientated young sires the market will accept –or how many of these will enjoy any notable success.
Certainly, it is hard to imagine many of these stallions, who stand for relatively low stud fees, making a consistent mark on the world’s great classic races.
The trend of retiring horses at the end of their 2yo campaigns to stud is by no means a new one, however.
One of the greatest 2yos of all time, The Tetrarch, became an outstanding sire, despite proving a shy breeder, from a brief stud career, while neither of the breed shaping stallions, Hail To Reason and Raise A Native, raced after their juvenile campaigns. However, the three sires mentioned above were exceptional racehorses, with both Raise A Native and The Tetrarch retiring to stud undefeated, and Hail To Reason (subsequently the sire of Halo and Roberto) making 18 starts as a juvenile, with his nine wins including the now Gr1 Hopeful Stakes, as well as the once major stakes races the Youthful Stakes, Sapling Stakes and Sanford Stakes.
While precocity certainly adds to a sire’s commercial appeal, even today, it is clearly not essential for a top sire to have been a top 2yo –the world’s leading sire Galileo, having made just one start at two (which he won), while other outstanding sires such as Bernardini, Candy Ride and Medaglia D’Oro having made a combined total of 1 start at two
