Sadler's Wells to be retired from stud

ircoha

http://www.rte.ie/sport/racing/2008/0512/sadlerswells.html

One of the best horses ever in terms of progeny.

From the link
< Sadler's Wells ran in the colours of the late Robert Sangster.
His son Ben told PA Sport: 'He was a phenomenal horse. His record as a stallion is unbelievable and it is the end of a very distinguished career.

'His legacy will live on through his sons and daughters and their sons and daughters.

'He has the likes of Montjeu and Galileo among many others to continue his bloodline.

'I don't remember much about his racing days as I was only a child myself, but he showed he was a classy and tough performer.

'He was a son of Northern Dancer and he has continued that legacy as I'm sure his progeny will continue his.

'A number of his sons and daughters will probably be lining up at Epsom this year and for the next couple of years to come and his influence will continue.'>

Sons and daughters ?

Cantoris

ircoha wrote: »

Sons and daughters ?

Derby and Oaks

kincsem

I met him once. He looked a bit tired.

He built Coolmore.

Although he has sired English Derby and Oaks winners, he has not been the damsire of either.

Colonel Sanders

Storm Cat's a pensioner now too:

STORM CAT, the most prominent stallion standing in Kentucky over the last decade, has been retired due to declining fertility. The 25-year-old son of Storm Bird, who spent his entire stud career at the late William T Young's Overbrook Farm, impregnated only three mares this season, said the farm's stallion operations manager Ric Waldman.

The news comes hot on the heels of the retirement of Sadler's Wells, the most influential sire of recent times in Europe. Both stallions have been of great importance for Coolmore, John Magnier's Irish-based breeding empire. Arguably, Coolmore has been of equal importance to them, as it has cultivated their legacy magnificently. Coolmore owns Sadler's Wells and held significant shares in Storm Cat, who is the sire of three of its 12 Kentucky stallions, while three more are his grandsons or great-grandsons.

These include Coolmore's homebred champion Giant's Causeway, currently the second leading sire in North America by earnings, and Tale Of The Cat, sixth on the same list. Storm Cat's only son on Coolmore's Irish roster is One Cool Cat, the runaway leading first-season sire in Europe after recording his eighth individual winner on Tuesday.

Van Nistelrooy, another of Coolmore's Kentucky-based sons of Storm Cat, was the fourth-ranked freshman sire in North America last year (second-placed Harlan's Holiday, who stands at Airdrie, is a Storm Cat grandson).

Three of the top four US freshman sires this year descend in tail-male line from Storm Cat, including top-ranked Roll Hennessy Roll, his grandson. In second place is Coolmore's Lion Heart, another grandson. Overbrook stands two sons of the stallion, Breeders' Cup Classic winner Cat Thief and TacticalCat.

Aside from his legacy as a sire of sires, Storm Cat has compiled a stud record of a dozen champions in the US and Europe, including six juvenile title-holders – Denebola, Hold That Tiger, One Cool Cat, Silken Cat, Storm Flag Flying and Sweet Catomine. His standout son, Giant's Causeway, won six Group 1s as well as finishing runner-up in both 2,000 Guineas and the Breeders' Cup Classic, while his most memorable daughter, Sharp Cat, landed seven Grade 1 races for the late Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corporation.

Storm Cat is also the sire of two winners of the Prix de la Salamandre - Aljabr and Giant's Causeway - as well as Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Black Minnaloushe and Prix de Diane heroine Nebraska Tornado.

As broodmares hisdaughters have produced 31 Group/Graded winners, ten at the top level, among them Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Folklore, Dewhurst Stakes winner Mujahid and champion US sprinter Speightstown.

Bred by Young from the Secretariat mare Terlingua -a half-sister to Breeders' Cup Mile winner and Coolmore sire Royal Academy -Storm Cat was trained by Jonathan Sheppard to win four of eight starts, with his big score coming in the Grade 1 Young America Stakes. He was also second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Not marked early on as a top sire prospect, he stood for as little as $20,000, but by 2002 his fee had reached $500,000, where it remained for five more seasons before it was lowered to $300,000 this year.

Such a fee could only be justified by sales returns, and so it was. Storm Cat's progeny raked in the dollars at yearling auctions; he is the only stallion to have sired as many as 88 yearlings sold for $1m or more. His influence was felt especially at Keeneland, where he was the leading sire by average four times at the now defunct July Selected Yearling Sale between 1997 and 2002, and six times at the September Yearling beginning in 1998. He holds the record yearling progeny average at the September sale of $1,766,731, set in 2005; he was the sire of five September sales-toppers; and his sons have accounted for seven of the top ten prices at the September Yearling Sale.

It was the pursuit of colts with the potential to become top-class runners and sires that fuelled the Storm Cat phenomenon, and no one was better placed to pursue the dream than John Magnier and Sheikh Mohammed. The Dubai ruler bought the most expensive Storm Cat yearling sold at Keeneland, Group 2 winner Jalil, for $9.7m in 2005. Coolmore's highest-priced Storm Cat purchase was the $6.8m Tasmanian Tiger in 2000.

In total since 1995, Coolmore has spent nearly $59m on Storm Cat yearlings, while Sheikh Mohammed's Darley operation has spent $55.6m :eek::eek: