Kodiac

When Michelangelo sculpted David, you'd imagine he took the time to stand back, blow the dust off of his brow and marvel at his masterpiece, wouldn't you? Like David, Tally-Ho Stud has taken years of hard chiseling but you must be living in Lalaland if you think Tony O'Callaghan is a man for slowing down and taking in all that has been achieved.  If there's one thing O'Callaghan hates more than arrogance it's idleness. With 200 mares on the farm, considerably more yearlings and foals coming through the system, a...

It has been a basic tenet of bloodstock since the early days that Classic form is to be respected when a colt or a filly retires to stud. Some Classic results stand out, with the 1984 Prix du Jockey-Club often cited thanks to Darshaan (GB) leading home Sadler's Wells and Rainbow Quest in a trifecta of future superstar sires. As regards fillies, the 1990 Prix de Diane takes some beating, with Rafha (GB) coming home ahead of Moon Cactus (GB) and Colour Chart. All three ended up breeding at least...

Goffs has been a lucky place for the Finegan family of Milltown House Stud given they sold a foal at this complex for €250,000 in 2018 and the County Meath outfit reached similarly dizzying heights on Tuesday when a Ghaiyyath (Ire) colt fetched €200,000 to Tally-Ho Stud.  The buyer in this story came in for special mention from Jack Finegan, the third generation of Finegans working on the family farm, who is under no illusions about the role the O'Callaghans of Tally-Ho Stud have played in their success in producing...

Tally-Ho Stud has announced that new recruit Good Guess will stand at €17,500 in 2024 while Mehmas has ben dropped €10,000 to a fee of €50,000. The stud's flagbearer Kodiac, the sire of Good Guess, has also had his fee relaxed from €40,000 to €35,000 for 2024. A statement published on Monday read, "We are delighted to announce that G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess will stand his first season in 2024 at a fee of €17,500. "A 420,000gns yearling from the family of Classic-winning miler Russian Rhythm, Good...

4th-BAQ, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 2:12 p.m. The expectations for JUST JULES (Justify) are high given her $1.05m price tag as a yearling at Keeneland September last year. Purchased out of a partnership by her breeder, the filly is a half to GSW Ballet Dancing (Medaglia d'Oro) and MGSP Untreated (Nyquist). This is also the family of champion 2-year-old filly Halfbridled (Unbridled). Just Jules is drawn inside for trainer Bill Mott. A homebred for Peter Brant, Belle Gambe (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is out of Unaided (GB) (Dansili {GB}),...

Tally-Ho Stud has snapped up G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess (GB) to join its stallion roster for 2024.  Trained by Fabrice Chappet in France, Good Guess had the 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and other high-class horses such as subsequent G1 Prix du Moulin winner Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) behind him when landing his Group 1 at Deauville.  He will stand alongside his sire Kodiac (GB), who has served Tally-Ho proud since joining the roster in 2007, at the stud next year.  "We are delighted to...

DEAUVILLE, France--The return to the V2 Sale at Arqana worked wonders for the middle market trade on Tuesday with eight six-figure lots going through the ring on a day where over €5.5m was spent on 141 yearlings.  The V2 Sale was replaced by the September Sale 12 months ago due to an oversupply of yearlings but an average price of less than €20,000 on 202 horses sold brought an abrupt end to the new concept. With the Tuesday average over double that of last year's September Yearling Sale, reverting to...

DEAUVILLE, France--Ramiro Restrepo has arrived. Fresh off the plane, the first port of call is to pay a visit to Etreham's base in Barn C, where his Hello Youmzain (Fr) colt (lot 38) is based. The Kentucky Derby-winning owner and bloodstock agent has not seen the colt since he purchased him as a foal here at Arqana in December but it doesn't take long to gauge his approval. "Man I am pumped," a larger-than-life Restrepo effuses as the colt exits his stable. There is a certain amount of showmanship to...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features the well-bred Henry Longfellow (Ire) on debut at the Curragh. 13.30 Curragh, Mdn, €20,000, 2yo, c/g, 7fT HENRY LONGFELLOW (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) wins the award as the day's best-bred runner, being the second foal out of the high-class and versatile Ballydoyle sensation Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})...

Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), getting an extra half-furlong to work with following a late-running second-place finish in her five-furlong debut at Belmont June 11, was sent off the even-money favorite Thursday at Saratoga. The bay filly was away well, but was shuffled back to mid-pack. Racing greenly on the turn, she was behind a wall of horses at the top of the lane and was tipped out to the center of the course. She found her best stride in deep stretch and closed with a powerful late flourish to...

It is not exactly a state secret that the team at Tally-Ho Stud, to use that old phrase, prefer their horses to do the talking. This could be misconstrued as a lack of friendliness but if you talk to other members of the bloodstock community about Tony and Anne O'Callaghan and their sons Roger and Henry, you will almost certainly hear variations of the phrase "lovely people". Indeed, within the family kitchen at the stone farmhouse just a short stretch up from the stallion yard a warm welcome is issued...

Is it just me or should France be known as the bloodstock land of opportunity? This is the country that saw Wootton Bassett (GB) and Walk In The Park (Ire) pull themselves up by the bootstraps after entering the stud book at relatively modest sums. There are few serious racing nations that provide as much of a chance for a stallion to flourish than France does. Take Kauto Star (Fr), the greatest staying chaser of the modern era, as an example. He hailed from the largely unheralded Village Star (Fr)...