By Alayna Cullen Birkett
The recent foal sales have seen many freshman sires facing their first tests as their progeny go under the hammer, and the progeny of Derrinstown Stud's G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) have caught the eye of many judges. He has achieved prices of up to 170,000gns at Tattersalls, and €170,000 at Goffs. The TDN's Alayna Cullen caught up with Stephen Collins of Derrinstown Stud to talk about the stallion.
TDN: There has been a bit of buzz about Awtaad's first foals. Can you remind us about his achievements on the racecourse?
SC: After he won impressively as a 2-year-old, we knew that we had a top-class colt in the making. He won the Madrid H. on debut at three, carrying top weight, by five lengths, and followed this up with a very convincing victory in the Listed Tetrarch S. Obviously, hopes were high for a good run in the Irish 2000 Guineas. He ran a great race to beat Galileo Gold (GB) in a very quick time. He rounded off an outstanding year by winning the G2 Boomerang S. at Leopardstown on Champions Weekend in excellent style. His trainer Kevin Prendergast stated that Awtaad was as good a horse as he had ever trained–high praise indeed.
TDN: How would you describe his physique?
SC: Awtaad is a beautifully balanced horse, 16.1hh, possessing an outstanding physique, tremendous shoulder with a deep girth and very strong hip and hindquarters. He is a very correct individual possessing good bone and has a wonderful athletic action. In fact, it is very hard to fault him and probably most importantly he has a wonderful temperament, which he seems to be passing on to his offspring.
TDN: I am sure he was quite popular when he retired. Was there a criteria mares needed to have to visit him?
SC: Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum is a great supporter of his own stallions and he has particular affection for Awtaad, being a homebred Classic-winning son of Cape Cross. Cape Cross, as we all know, is the sire of stallion sensation Sea The Stars (Ire). Sheikh Hamdan decided to send Awtaad 14 mares including Ezima (Ire), the dam of his outstanding champion Taghrooda (GB), in his first year. Awtaad was heavily oversubscribed with a book limit of 120 mares. We were fortunate to be in a position to select 60% of his book, which were either black-type performers or producers. Breeders were hugely supportive of Awtaad and we at Derrinstown are delighted to see them being rewarded in the sales ring. Awtaad was very competitively priced at €15,000 and his foals at Goffs averaged over four times his stud fee–a remarkable return for breeders.
TDN: What has been the general consensus on his foals from breeders?
SC: It appears to be that his progeny are very strong bodied, wonderfully balanced with an athletic step. They also seem to possess a great temperament, like their sire.
TDN: Is he stamping his stock?
SC: There is no question that he is stamping his stock. Knowing what we have on the farm and having seen what is available from breeders at the foal sales, we are delighted with his progeny and we continue to have great confidence in the stallion. We have supported him continuously with quality mares over the last two years and it is our intention to send him a further 15 mares in 2019.
TDN: What have been some of the sales highlights for the young stallion?
SC: Awtaad enjoyed a great Goffs sale with a foal average above €60,000 for 21 sold, the highlights being Sheikh Hamdan's purchase of the Swordlestown Little colt for €170,000 and a very nice filly from Corrin Stud, purchased by JC Bloodstock for €100,000. (Editor's Note: after this interview was conducted, Awtaad had a colt sold for 170,000gns to Abbeylands Farm at Tattersalls, and Shadwell also bought a colt for 140,000gns).
TDN: Markaz (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) has also had his first foals selling at the recent sales. How would you sum up his results?
SC: Markaz has made a steady introduction to the commercial foal market. Bearing in mind that he stands for a fee of just €6,000, his foals have sold well, making up to €65,000 in Goffs and he appears to have a couple of very nice foals for sale at Tattersalls. It wouldn't surprise us if that top price was bettered in Newmarket. (Editor's Note: Markaz had foals sell for 60,000gns and 40,000gns at Tattersalls).
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