The Royal Blue of Godolphin Darley has again presented the Australian thoroughbred breeding industry with a quality array of five new sires standing across Kelvinside in the Hunter Valley and Northwood Park, Victoria.
Godolphin’s recent flag bearer Astern, a bay standing 16.0½ hh, boasts a high 126 Timeform rating which makes him the best son of his sire Medaglia d’Oro. In addition he is the highest rated descendent of the newly established family of champion mare Triscay, through her Galaxy winner daughter La Baraka.
At three-years Astern won the Gr1 Golden Rose Stakes 1400m and Gr3 Run to The Rose Handicap 1200m, plus highly credible seconds in the Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes and Gr2 Roman Consul Stakes.
At two he won the Gr2 Silver Slipper Stakes 1100m and Gr3 Kindergarden Stakes 1100m, in a career that comprised five wins from nine starts Astern won over $1.1 million in stakes.
Territories, a bay at 15.3½ hh, shuttles to Kelvinside as a very fast French miler in winning the Gr1 Prix Jean Prat 1600m in the race’s second fastest time. Also successful in the Gr3 Prix de Fontainebleau 1600m, he ran credible seconds in the Gr1 2000 Guineas, behind Gleneagles, and the Gr1 Prix Le Marois.
Previously at two-years Terriories won over 1600m at Chantilly and finished second in the Gr1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. At four-years he was Group 3 placed at 1400m and 1600m.
Territories is the highest rated son of Invincible Spirit’s proven stallion sons, with I Am Invincible being Leading Australian First Season Sire in 2013-14. This is the family of champion sire’s Street Cry and Shamardal.
The Gr1 Middle Park Stakes winner The Last Lion made the 2016 British racing season his own by winning the first juvenile race of the season at Doncaster followed by wins in the Gr3 Sirenia Stakes 6f and listed Dragon Stakes at 5f.
Never out of the placing’s he ran second the Gr2 Royal Ascot Norfolk Stakes, Gr2 Flying Childers Stakes, Gr3 Molecomb Stakes and third in Gr2 Gimcrack Stakes.
The Last Lion is by the ever popular Champion European Sprinter and Sire Choisir who also recently sired the additional Group 1 winners Obviously to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Divine Prophet the Caulfield Stakes and The Mission the Champagne Stakes at Royal Randwick.
A bay at 15.3½ hh, The Last Lion is direct relation to stakes winners Russian Rock, Contest and stakes placed winner Horizon Sky, from the family of sires Myboycharlie, Al Hareb, Snowland and Elhayq.
Victorian breeders can celebrate the ‘find of the season’ in Frosted, the fastest winner of the Gr1 Belmont Metropolitan Handicap of 1 mile, now standing at Northwood Park. Frosted scored a record 14 lengths victory in winning this ‘Met Mile’ in 2016.
In also winning the Gr1 Whitney Stakes 9f, Gr1 Wood Memorial Stakes 9f and Gr2 Pennsylvania Derby also at 9f, Frosted finished second in the Gr1 Belmont Stakes, third in Gr1 Travers Stakes and Gr1 Woodward Stakes and fourth in the Gr1 Kentucky Derby.
Rated one of the best of his multiple US Champion Sire and Champion 2YO Sire Tapit, Frosted is from the stakes winner Fast Cookie, by Deputy Minister, a half-sister to Midshipman, the Champion US 2YO Sire, and stakes winner Regia Marina. Like his sire, Frosted is a striking grey, taller at 16.1½ hh.
Also at Northwood Park is Commands’ Gr1 Canterbury Stakes winner Holler, a bay 16.1 hh, who also won the Gr2 Australia Stakes 1200m and Gr3 Red Anchor Stakes at 1200m, and finished second in the Gr1 William Reid Stakes.
Holler, by the outstanding Danehill sire Commands, is the immediate family of Yell, the Champion Australian Sprinter, duel Group 1 winner Anthems and Group 2 winner Lamasery.