MONTJEU.COM

An Independent View of the Bloodstock World

Tag: Montjeu

  • Pour Moi

    Pour Moi’s win in the Derby was further proof that Montjeu is the pre-eminent sire of Derby colts in Europe. Galileo is enjoying a stellar year but Montjeu is still to my mind a better bet to throw a top middle distance colt.  Pour Moi’s performance at Epsom was all the more meritorious as he sweated up quite a lot lot beforehand and Mickael Barzalona stood up in the irons having perhaps misjudged the finishing line.  The sustained run of  Pour Moi was impressive as he made up a lot of ground in the last two furlongs and it reinforced the visual impression he gave in the Prix Greffulhe of a horse with a serious turn of foot.

    Pedigree Assessment

    Montjeu’s major Derby record is seriously impressive. Below is a full list of his Derby and Irish Derby runners to date. Six individual Derby winners since his first crop of three year olds in 2005 (3 Epsom and 3 Irish) is an exceptional record. Breeders have their reservations about Montjeu based on concerns over temperament and the relative failure of his fillies, but the regularity of his production of top class colts should outweigh these concerns.

    Dam- Gwynn

    Pour Moi’s dam Gwynn was unraced but she comes from an outstanding family and it is easy to see why she was sent to Montjeu.  The Sadler’s Wells Darshaan cross has produced countless top class individuals and Gwynn herself produced Gagnoa (by Sadler’s Wells) who was a dual Group 3 winner and twice a runner up in Group 1 company (the Prix Saint Alary over 12 furlongs and the 10 furlong Prix de Diane aka the French Oaks). Pour Moi’s second dam Victoress was a winner in France but an unremarkable broodmare, producing just 2 winners from 10 foals.  However once we hit the third dam, the winning Northern Dancer filly Royal Statute , the family starts to produce some top class individuals.   Royal Statute is the dam of Awaasif (by the 1974 Derby winner Snow Knight) a winner of the Yorkshire Oaks and close third in the Prix de l’Arc.  At stud she was the dam of a classic winner in Snow Bride (by Blushing Groom) who was awarded the 1989 Oaks on the demotion of Aliysa (ironically by Darshan) for a failed drugs test.  At stud Snow Bride become dam of the 1995 Derby, King George and Arc winner Lammtarra (by Nijinksy) so this is a family with plenty of classic connections.

    Konafa (by Damascus)  another daughter of Queens Statute was placed in the 1000 Guineas and started her own dynasty. She is dam of Korveya (by Riverman) a Group 3 winner who achieved renown as dam of champion two year old and French Guineas winner Hector Protector (by Woodman), 1000 Guineas and Champion Stakes winner Bosra Sham (also by Woodman) and French Guineas winner (Shanghai by Procida).

    Pour Moi’s 4th dam Queens Statute was unraced but was the dam of Canadian Oaks winner Menedict by (Menetrier) and a Candadian champion in Dance Act (also by Northern Dancer). Unsurprisingly given the names involved Queens Statute and Royal Statute were part of E P Taylors broodmare band at Windfields farm.

    Conclusion

    Pour Moi’s family has plenty of top class connections. Her dam Gwynn has already shown herself to be capable of producing a Group 1 performer to Montjeu’s sire, Sadler’s Wells. Montjeu is an outstanding sire of Derby class colts and the stated intention for Pour Moi is now the Prix de l’Arc a race in which his trainer Andre Fabre has a superb record. There looks to be a very strong crop of four year olds on the scene this year but they will have a worthy adversary in Pour Moi.

     Epsom Derby
     Year  Horse  Dam (Broodmare sire)  Position
     2005  Motivator  Out West (Gone West)  1st
     2005  Walk in the Park  Classic Park (Robellino)  2nd
     2005  King’s Quay  Glen Rosie(Mujtahid)  10th
     2006  Mountain  Skidmore Girl (Vaguely Noble)  8th
     2006  Papal Bull  Mialuna (Zafonic)  10th
     2006  Snoqualmie Boy  Seattle Ribbon (Seattle Dancer)  16th
     2007  Authorized  Funsie (Saumarez)  1st
     2007  Anton Chekhov  By Charter (Shirley Heights)  12th
     2008  Washington Irving  Shouk (Shirley Heights)  5th
     2008  Alessandro Volta  Ventura Highway (Machiavellian)  6th
     2008  Frozen Fire  Flamingo Sea (Woodman)  11th
     2008  King of Rome  Amizette (Forty Niner)  12th
     2009  Fame and Glory  Gryada (Shirley Heights)  2nd
     2009  Montaff  Meshedd (Gulch)  12th
     2010  Jan Vermeer  Shadow Song (Pennekamp)  4th
     2010  Victor Delight  Apache Star (Arazi)  7th
     2011  Pour Moi  Gwynn (Darshaan)  1st
     2011  Recital  Dibenoise (Kendor)  6th
     
     Irish Derby
     Year  Horse  Dam (Broodmare sire)  Position
     2005  Hurricane Run  Hold On (Surumu)  1st
     2005  Scorpion  Ardmelody (Law Society)  2nd
     2005  Walk in the Park  Classic Park (Robellino)  8th
     2006  Mountain  Skidmore Girl (Vaguely Noble)  6th
     2006  Land Before Time  Last Spin (Unfuwain)  13th
     2008  Frozen Fire  Flamingo Sea (Woodman)  1st
     2008  Alessandro Volta  Ventura Highway (Machiavellian)  4th
     2008  Washington Irving  Shouk (Shirley Heights)  11th
     2009  Fame and Glory  Gryada (Shirley Heights)  1st
     2009  Drumbeat  Maskaya (Machiavellian)  11th
     2010  Jan Vermeer  Shadow Song (Pennekamp)  3rd
     2010  Victor Delight  Apache Star (Arazi)  7th

    2005

    POUR MOI (IRE) 2008 c b
    Montjeu
    (IRE) 1996    		 Sadler’s
    Wells (USA) 1981    		 Northern
    Dancer (CAN) 1961    		 Nearctic
    (USA) 1954
    Natalma
    (USA) 1957
    Fairy
    Bridge (USA) 1975    		 Bold
    Reason (USA) 1968
    Special
    (USA) 1969
    Floripedes
    (FR) 1985    		 Top
    Ville (IRE) 1976    		 High
    Top (IRE) 1969
    Sega
    Ville (USA) 1968
    Toute
    Cy (FR) 1979    		 Tennyson
    (FR) 1970
    Adele
    Toumignon (IRE) 1971
    Gwynn
    (GB) 1997    		 Darshaan
    (GB) 1981    		 Shirley
    Heights (GB) 1975    		 Mill
    Reef (USA) 1968
    >Hardiemma
    (GB) 1969
    Delsy
    (FR) 1972    		 Abdos
    (FR) 1959
    Kelty
    (FR) 1965
    Victoress
    (USA) 1984    		 Conquistador
    Cielo (USA) 1979    		 Mr
    Prospector (USA) 1970
    K
    D Princess (USA) 1971
    Royal
    Statute (USA) 1969    		 Northern
    Dancer (CAN) 1961
    Queen’s
    Statute (USA) 1954

  • Hurricane on a run

    Hurricane Run (Montjeu ex Hold On by Surumu) was his father’s truest son. I have never seen a better example of a horse whose career almost totally mirrored that of his sire. It is worth listing their respective careers from the time of the French Derby in the Summer of their three year old careers. 

    Race  
    Montjeu  
    Hurricane Run  
    Prix de Jockey Club 
    1st 
    2nd 
    Irish Derby
    1st 
    1st 
    Prix Niel 
    1st 
    1st 
    Prix de l’Arc 
    1st 
    1st 
    Japan Cup 
    4th 
    na 
    Tattersalls Gold Cup 
    1st 
    1st 
    Grand Prix de Saint Cloud 
    1st 
    2nd 
    King George 
    1st 
    1st 
    Prix Foy 
    1st 
    2nd 
    Prix de l’Arc 
    4th 
    3rd 
    Champion Stakes 
    2nd 
    3rd 
    Breeders Cup Turf 
    7th 
    6th 

    As you will see Hurricane Run ran in 11 of the 12 races that his sire contested- an incredible statistic. They differed in that Hurricane Run did not contest the Japan Cup at the end of his three year old season.  In addition their runs  in the French Derby are not entirely comparable as that classic was shortened in distance to 10 furlongs in 2005, a change that almost certainly cost Hurricane Run victory in that classic. However their careers are remarkably similar and at his peak Hurricane Run came within a few pounds of his sire. Timeform rated Hurricane Run at 134 as a three year old and 130 as a 4 year old compared to 137 for Montjeu at three and four. The hope at Coolmore is that he will achieve similar success as a sire. The good news for Coolmore is that his three year olds are stepping up considerably on their two year old form and he looks set for a good season.

    First Crop 2 year old Results

    Hurricane Run has 147 representatives in his current crop of three year olds. 18 of them managed to win as two year olds which was a creditable outcome. The best of last years runners was the filly Cochabamba (ex Bolivia by Distant View) who finished her campaign with a close second to Cape Dollar (Cape Cross ex Green Dollar by Kingmambo) in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes. Both of those fillies have genuine classic aspirations and to me represent good ante-post bets for the Oaks for which they are available at around 80-1 on betfair.

    First Crop Three Year Old results

    The table below shows the results for all of the three year olds by Hurricane Run to have raced in the UK so far this year. The races involved are low class affairs, mostly run on the all-weather but the results could hardly be much better. From 11 runs, there have been five wins, four seconds and one third an outstanding strike rate. In addition his early season result in France include Stakes placings for Don’t  Hurry Me (ex Beringold by Bering) and Kreem (ex En Public by Rainbow Quest). It was always to be hoped that his progeny would improve significantly with age and they seem to be fulfilling that promise. This time last year Dubawi started the season with a lot of early low grade winners and it proved a harbinger of an outstanding season and it will be interesting to see whether Hurricane Run can match his success.

    Date
    Track
    Horse
    Dam & Damsire
    Pos.
    Dist.
    03/01/2011
    Wolverh.
    Roi de Boeuf
    Princess Killeen by Sinndar
    5th
    9 f
    08/01/2011
    Lingfield
    Hurricane Higgins
    Mare Aux Fees by Kenmare
    1st
    10 f
    17/01/2011
    Wolverh.
    Sheila’s Star
    Yaselda by Green Desert
    2nd
    9 f
    17/01/2011
    Wolverh.
    Roi de Boeuf
    Princess Killeen by Sinndar
    1st
    9 f
    26/01/2011
    Kempton
    Sheila’s Star
    Yaselda by Green Desert
    2nd
    10 f
    26/01/2011
    Kempton
    Roi de Boeuf
    Princess Killeen by Sinndar
    3rd
    10 f
    25/02/2011
    Wolverh.
    Barbican
    The Faraway Tree by Suave Dancer
    1st
    9 f
    26/03/2011
    Lingfield
    Viking Storm
    Danehill’s Dream by Danehill
    2nd
    10 f
    03/04/2011
    Doncaster
    Barbican
    The Faraway Tree by Suave Dancer
    1st
    10 f
    06/04/2011
    Beverley
    Pretty Diamond
    Cheal Rose by Doctor Devious
    1st
    12 f
    07/04/2011
    Kempton
    Swindy
    Red Passion by Seeking the Gold
    2nd
    10 f

     Hurricane Run’s Pedigree

    Hurricane Run was part of the sensational first crop of Montjeu that also included classic winning colts Motivator and Scorpion. To date we have little evidence of Montjeu’s prowess as a sire of sires, apart from the slightly disappointing Motivator. In his defence we should probably withhold judgement on Motivator as his stud career has been hampered by injuries. Hurricane Run’s dam Hold On was Listed placed and second dam Hone was dam of Group 2 winner Hondo Mondo (by Caerleon). However this is an unexciting female line, largely unfamiliar to UK & Irish breeders. This meant that despite his racecourse prowess Hurricane Run’s stud fee could not be set at more than €30,000 on his retirement. It remained at that level in his second season at stud but is listed as €15,000 for 2011.  It is interesting that Hurricane Run’s dam sire is the 1977 German Derby winner Surumu, who occupies the same place in the pedigree of outstanding German sire Monsun and decent sire Lomitas.

    Conclusion

    This is a critical year for Hurricane Run. He wasn’t expected to make a big impact with his two year olds and they performed respectably but not exceptionally. However the very early signs are that his progeny are coming into their own as three year olds.  It is hoped that just as he was almost a replica of his sire as a racehorse he may come to replicate his success as a stallion. If that comes to pass, his current fee of €15,000 will look like value.

    HURRICANE RUN (IRE) 2002 c b
    Montjeu
    (IRE) 1996    		 Sadler’s
    Wells (USA) 1981    		 Northern
    Dancer (CAN) 1961    		 Nearctic
    (USA) 1954
    Natalma
    (USA) 1957
    Fairy
    Bridge (USA) 1975    		 Bold
    Reason (USA) 1968
    Special
    (USA) 1969
    Floripedes
    (FR) 1985    		 Top
    Ville (IRE) 1976    		 High
    Top (IRE) 1969
    Sega
    Ville (USA) 1968
    Toute
    Cy (FR) 1979    		 Tennyson
    (FR) 1970
    Adele
    Toumignon (IRE) 1971
    Hold
    On (GER) 1991    		 Surumu
    (GER) 1974    		 Literat
    (GER) 1965    		 Birkhahn
    (GER) 1945
    Lis
    (GER) 1960
    Surama
    (GER) 1970    		 Reliance
    (FR) 1962
    Suncourt
    (GB) 1952
    Hone
    (GB) 1974    		 Sharpen
    Up (GB) 1969    		 Atan
    (USA) 1961
    Rocchetta
    (GB) 1961
    Lucy
    (GB) 1966    		 Sheshoon
    (GB) 1956
    Laverock
    (GB) 1961

  • Hurricane Fly and Noble Prince

    Leopardstown today almost witnessed a Grade 1 double for Montjeu. Hurricane Fly was impressive in the Irish Champion Hurdle and Noble Prince came within a short head of winning the Arkle chase. Noble Prince is similar to Hurricane Fly in that he was more than useful on the flat. In fact he was a Listed winner for Andre Fabre and he was a Group 2 placed.

    Noble Prince comes from a very decent German family and was sold as a yearling for €90000 at Baden Baden in 2005. That proved to be a very good investment as he sold for 230,000 guineas at the April 2006 Tattersalls breeze up sales. His subsequent prowess on the flat meant that he fetched €150000 at Arqana sales on the 4th October 2008. Interestingly the 4th October (Arc day) saw him finish a disappointing last in the Prix de Cadran. This was his last run run for Fabre before joining Paul Nolan’s stable. In total he ran 13 times for Fabre (7 times at 3, 6 times at 4) winning twice over 10 furlongs and a listed race over 15 furlongs. His best run was probably when a close second to Coastal Path over 15 furlongs in October 2007. He ran well at four without winning before his final disappointing run in the Cadran.

    Noble Prince was not an immediate success over hurdles and took three runs before breaking his duck at Gowran in April 2009. Since then he won twice more over hurdles but showed gradual improvement without winning including when he ran a good third in a Grade 2 hurdle at Leopardstown at the Christmas 2009 meeting. He also ran well to be fifth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham after meeting some interference and finished last season with a fine fourth in the Grade 1 world series hurdle at Punchestown over 3 miles.

    Sent Novice chasing he made an impressive reappearance at Punchestown in November, before finishing a 5 length second to Realt Dubh in a Grade 1 at the Christmas meeting.

    That margin was reduced to a short head today and he should pick up a top prize sooner rather than later. He was versatile regarding ground on the flat and he has run well at up to three miles over hurdles so there are plenty of options regarding upping in him trip over fences.

    Pedigree

    Noble Pearl, the German trained dam of Noble Prince won only twice but signficantly she went to the paddocks as a Group 1 winner. The highlight of her career came on her second start in the 1998 Gran Criterium at San Siro where she caused an upset at 26-1 when she defeated Zindabad. She failed to add to her tally at three, running without success including when well beaten in the Poule D’Essai des Pouliches behind Valentine Waltz. At stud she started promisingly by producing Noble Stella (by Monsun) who was a five time winner between Italy and Canada including at Grade 3 level. She subsequently visited other lesser German sires such as Acatenango, Kornado and Sholokov without comparable success.

    She is a daughter of Dashing Blade who was a dual Group 1 winner in 1989 winning the National Stakes at the Curragh and a rather substandard Dewhurst (in which Royal Academy disappointed). At three he disappointed in the Guineas, ran somewhat better in the St James Palace and then won the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam. His form was then inconsistent before finishing his career with an easy Group 1 success in the 12 furlong Gran Premio D’Italia. As a three time Group 1 winner he obviously deserved a place at stud but his pedigree was unfashionable and he was retired to Germany. At stud he has done well and is the sire of 50 Black type winners from 896 foals or a respectable 6%. His best offspring include Proudwings (ex Peraja by Kaiseradler) who won the Falmouth Stakes (Gr 2) and was a disqualified from first place in the Prix Jacques le Marois and Group 1 winners Lord of England (ex Loveria by Los Santos) and Faberger (ex Friedrichslust by Caerleon). Dashing Blade was a son of Elegant Air who won a Group 3 Horris Hill stakes at 2 and the Group 2 Tattersalls Rogers Gold Cup at 4. Elegant Air died after only 5 seasons at stud but he also sired Air de Rien who won the Group 1 Prix Saint Alary in 1990. However his overall record of 6 stakes winners from 173 foals is unremarkable.

    Elegant Air is a son of Shirley Heights so Noble Prince is a representative of the famed Sadler’s Wells- Shirley Heights cross that has given us the the likes of In the Wings and Alexandrova and Montjeu has sired Fame and Glory and Montare out of Shirley Heights mares. Noble Pearl’s second dam Noble Girl was a four time winner in Germany. She was a daughter of Esclavo who was a fast German son of Northern Dancer’s first crop son Vice Regal (brother to a much better sire in Vice Regent) who was exported to France after making little impression as a sire in Canada.

    Conclusion

    Noble Prince was high class on the flat and looks top class over jumps. Montjeu is following his sire Sadler’s Wells in becoming an exceptionally useful National Hunt stallion. Noble Prince seems effective from 2-3 miles and on varying ground conditions. With his German background there are some unfamiliar pedigree elements but it is also another example of the very familiar Sadler’s Wells Shirley Heights cross.

    NOBLE PRINCE (GER) 2004 c

    Montjeu

    (IRE) 1996

    Sadler’s

    Wells (USA) 1981

    Northern

    Dancer (CAN) 1961

    Nearctic

    (USA) 1954

    Natalma

    (USA) 1957

    Fairy

    Bridge (USA) 1975

    Bold

    Reason (USA) 1968

    Special

    (USA) 1969

    Floripedes

    (FR) 1985

    Top

    Ville (IRE) 1976

    High

    Top (IRE) 1969

    Sega

    Ville (USA) 1968

    Toute

    Cy (FR) 1979

    Tennyson

    (FR) 1970

    Adele

    Toumignon (IRE) 1971

    Noble

    Pearl (GER) 1996

    Dashing

    Blade (GB) 1987

    Elegant

    Air (GB) 1981

    Shirley

    Heights (GB) 1975

    Elegant

    Tern (USA) 1971

    Sharp

    Castan (GB) 1977

    Sharpen

    Up (GB) 1969

    Sultry

    One (GB) 1961

    Noble

    Girl (GER) 1987

    Esclavo

    (FR) 1976

    Viceregal

    (USA) 1966

    Esclave

    (FR) 1964

    Novenka

    (GER) 1973

    Waidmannsheil

    (GER) 1957

    Nordica

    (GER) 1966

  • Coolmore-dominance in decline?

    Back in April 2010 everything must have seemed rosy down in Tipperary. Eskendereya (Giant’s Causeway ex Aldebaran Light by Seattle Slew) looked set to finally provide one of their sires with a coveted Kentucky Derby victory. In Europe, St Nicholas Abbey (Montjeu ex Leaping Water by Sure Blade) was favourite for the Guineas and Derby. Galileo, Montjeu and Danehill Dancer were established members of Europes elite and the stallion roster contained plenty of unproven but exciting young stallions.

    Fast forward to November and just like the Irish economy, things are looking somewhat grim despite Galileo helping them to an incredible 21st consecutive UK & Ireland sires championship. Galileo had a stellar year with Cape Blanco, Rip Van Winkle, Sans Frontiere, Lily of the Valley and three Group 1 winning 2 year olds in Play Misty for Me, Frankel and Roderic O’ Connor. It was a season comparable with any that Sadler’s Wells enjoyed in his heyday. That however is the end of the good news. After a recent stud visit one source told me that Galileo seemed to be in poor physical shape and had lost a lot of condition. If anything was to restrict his capacity to serve large books next year it would be a serious setback.

    Montjeu

    Montjeu had a disappointing year. St Nicholas Abbey failed to reappear after his Guineas fifth and Jan Vermeer was somewhat disappointing. Fame & Glory did add two Group 1’s but his season ended in disappointment in the Arc. Joshua Tree won the Canadian International but no obvious stars emerged from his two year old crop. He hasn’t suddenly become a bad sire but a Guineas win for St Nicholas Abbey would have helped fill one of the major gaps in his cv. The other gap is of course his relative lack of success with fillies, something which reduces his popularity with breeders.

    Danehill Dancer

    Danehill Dancer had two Group 1 winning fillies in Lilly Langtry (ex Hoity Toity by Darshaan) and Ave (ex Anna Amalia by In The Wings). However his results did not do enough to justify his private fee and to my mind he ranks behind Dansili, Pivotal, Dubawi and Oasis Dream amongst the top miler sires in Europe. Although they still refer to him as the best sire son of Danehill in Europe, Coolmore are aware of his limitations. This is evidenced through their use of Dansili rather than Danehill Dancer for many of their elite mares .

    The Young Guns

    Oratorio and Footstepsinthesand both had their first crop of three year olds. Both could have been expected to see their offspring improve with age. Both disappointed and they now seem pricey at €15000 and €12500 respectively. It would be no surprise to see either or both sold abroad.

    Amongst the first season sires there were no fireworks and no Group 1 winners. Holy Roman Emperor (Danehill ex L’On Vite by Secretariat) came second to Iffraaj but there was a distinct lack of quality amongst the quantity. Aussie Rules (Danehill ex Last Second by Alzao) probably did best of the newcomers with a few Group horses included amongst his winners. Hurricane Run (Montjeu ex Hold On by Surumu) did ok considering no one really expected him to get precocious types. Ad Valorem (Danzig ex Classy Women by Relaunch) produced nothing of note and a similar comment applies to Ivan Denosovich (Danehill ex Hollywood Wildcat by Kris S) who will probably be moved on quickly.

    middle of the road sires

    There is nothing wrong with Peintre Celebre (fee €15,000), Rock of Gibraltar (fee 22,500) or High Chaparral (€15,000) as stallions but their limitations are evident at this stage. High Chaparral should be moved permanently to Coolmore Australia where he is so much more successful and highly regarded.

    Next Year

    2011 sees the first runners for Strategic Prince (Dansili ex Ausherra by Diesis) and Dylan Thomas (Danehill ex Lagrion by Diesis). It has been a number of years since Coolmore have unearthed a promising new sire and the odds are against Strategic Prince making the breakthrough. Dylan Thomas has the advantage of plenty of well credentialled mares but there is a bias against the staying sons of Danehill.

    The end comes quickly

    Coolmore has dominated the European scene for so long that it is unsurprising that we start to raise eyebrows at any erosion of its dominance. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 they had 5 of the top 6 stallions in the UK and Irish rankings. In 2009 they had 3 of the top 6 and in 2010 this was down to 2 of the top 6. Their stranglehold has ended.

    Reasons for decline.

    1.It was inevitable that the massive Arab investment in bloodstock would eventually unearth some top class stallions. This year was a very good year for Darley. Amongst their young stallions Dubawi emerged as a superstar and Shamardal had a fine year. Iffraaj took first season sire honours. King’s Best had two Derby winners in Workforce and Eishin Flash. Cape Cross produced another top class colt in Behkabad. In addition Sheikh Mohammed owns significant stakes in “independent stallions” Invincible Spirit and Pivotal who were 6th and 11th respectively in this years Irish/UK sire table. Juddmonte are sitting pretty with two outstanding young stallions in Dansili and Oasis Dream.

    2. You can’t just go out a find a replacement for either Sadlers Wells or Danehill:)

    3.Too many eggs in one basket. The Coolmore roster was incredibly top heavy with sons of Danehill, and except for Danehill Dancer they have failed to strike gold with them. The assertion that he is an outstanding sire of sires is open to debate in a European context. Their faith in Danehill Dancer to found a sireline via Mastercraftsman, Choisir and Choisir’s son Starspangledbanner may also prove misguided.

    4. Competitors have upped their game in terms of PR, marketing and deal making. Coolmore PR is also becoming a little jaded and it is starting to invite cynicism everytime we hear AP O’Brien describe his latest winner as showing”incredible natural speed but he is so relaxed and settles so well that you could run him in either the July Cup or the Ascot Gold Cup!”

    5. The Maktoum boycott didn’t help and would have influenced some breeders decisions

    6. The euro sterling exchange rate rose considerably over the noughties with a particularly sharp spike in 2008. This made using Coolmore stallions more expensive for UK breeders.

    7. Lack of outcross options. All of the current stallions are Northern Dancer line stallions and breeders will want more options in time

    The future

    A world leader like Coolmore doesn’t just suddenly disappear into oblivion. Galileo is still only 12 and is poised for a period of dominance. However apart from Montjeu the supporting cast appears weak and similarly their American roster is unexceptional apart from Giants Causeway. However they still have the financial resources to buy the best yearlings and the best trainer in the world to manage them. The ending of the partnership with Johnny Murtagh indicates the pressure that is on everyone to produce results- 14 Group 1 wins this year was still deemed a disappointing year. Their dominance might be in relative decline but they are still the best in the game.