Phoenix Of Spain Bought By Irish National Stud

THE CURRAGH, Ireland—It may not have been the way the Irish National Stud wished to announce the news but it could have had no finer advertisement for a new stallion signing than the explosive victory of Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas.

A huddle of excited breeders who had been shrewd enough to have taken a share in the horse ahead of his Classic season cheered the winner back to the enclosure and the cat was very quickly out of the bag with regard to future plans for the imposing grey.

“We were going to make an announcement later in the week as really this day is all about Phoenix Of Spain's owners Tony Wechsler and Ann Plummer,” said Irish National Stud manager Cathal Beale.

“These horses appear on our radar quite early and, being by Lope De Vega and out of a good mare who has produced three other stakes horses, we went to have a look at him. Patrick Diamond and Gary Swift do a lot of work on this and they went to see him after he was second in the Vertem Futurity and said they really liked him. He's impossible not to like him: he's a big, strong, old-style horse.”

Having run fourth on debut last July, Phoenix Of Spain returned at the end of that month to win a Wolverhampton maiden, a victory that was backed up by his first stakes win at York's Ebor meeting in the G3 Acomb S. He final two runs of the season saw him finish second behind each of the two horses who vied for favouritism over the last few days for the Irish 2,000 Guineas. Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was his conqueror in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster while Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) took top honours when Phoenix Of Spain returned to the Yorkshire track for the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy.

Beale continued, “Looking at him, you wouldn't think he would run at two, never mind being as good as he was, so we hoped that as a 3-year-old he would improve, though we didn't dare dream of what just happened there. His pedigree and everything about him suggested he would be a better 3-year-old and through Geoffrey Howson and Matthew Houldsworth, who look after his owners, we got talking, and we had a good back and forward for a few weeks, then got the deal done. It's been a pleasure ever since because they are fabulous people and the story should be them.”

In time, Phoenix Of Spain will be a welcome addition to the Irish National Stud's stallion row, which currently hosts one of the most influential stallions in the world. Now 22, Invincible Spirit has already had a Guineas winner in his own right this season with Magna Grecia, while his son Kingman (GB) supplied Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Persian King (Ire) and is enjoying one of the most eye-catching starts a stallion has made in many a year. Furthermore, another son, I Am Invincible (Aus), is one of the most sought-after stallions in Australia.

“Invincible Spirit is a real legacy horse for us and his mother even more so is a breed-shaper through the likes of Kodiac and Gustav Klimt,” Beale said. “Rafha (GB) is moving almost into Urban Sea territory at this stage and I think that's the foundation of Invincible Spirit's ability. As a sire of sires he has I Am Invincible, and Kingman looks to be a really exciting stallion, then there's Charm Spirit (Ire), and Cable Bay (Ire) has started well, and hopefully National Defense (Ire) can do the same for us.”

He added, “A couple of our clients have already got involved and taken shares in Phoenix Of Spain and fair play to them because they took a punt. We allowed people in at that stage and then we said we would close him until the end of the season. We haven't made any major decisions but the plan was always that he would retire at the end of his 3-year-old season, but we'll let the dust settle and see what happens. I don't think we expected that today. Charlie may have but we didn't, and to do that first time out, I don't think it's been done for 45 years, and it's testament to Charlie to have the confidence and the ability to swerve the Guineas at Newmarket when he wasn't quite happy with him. But this is very special from our point of view: it's our home Classic and the first one at the new Curragh, so it's just wonderful.”

Amid the many smiling faces at the Curragh after Phoenix Of Spain's three-length victory were those belonging to Michael Fitzpatrick, who pinhooked the Classic winner as a foal for 78,000gns and resold him at Book 1 of Tattersalls October Sale for 220,000gns, and Geoffrey Howson, who bought him as a yearling on behalf of his longstanding octogenarian clients, Tony Wechsler and Ann Plummer. One with a tear in her eye along with a smile was agent Cathy Grassick, who bought Phoenix Of Spain's dam, Lucky Clio (Ire) (Key Of Luck {Ire}), for 17,000gns for his breeder, Cherry Faeste, who died last year.

“Cherry lived to see him win but it was her funeral on the day Phoenix Of Spain was beaten by Too Darn Hot,” said Grassick, who confirmed that Lucky Clio is now back in foal to Lope De Vega. “Cherry was the most amazing breeder. She only had two mares originally, including the dam of [Grade 2 winner] Grandeur. Her husband Arild is here today and has kept the mares on at their Tourgar Stud, and they come to us at Newtown Stud for the breeding season.”