Yeomanstown Stud

It is the most wonderful time of the year. No, I'm not talking about Christmas, but the upcoming foal sales.  What is it that we all love about this time of year? Surely much of the attraction about the foal sales revolves around seeing the progeny of first-season sires and predicting who is here to stay and who will be banished to the memory banks in the years to come.  The best part of the whole thing is you get to put your money where your mouth is and there...

Yeomanstown Stud's flagship sire Dark Angel (Ire), who reached a landmark 100 individual stakes winners in 2023, will remain at a fee of €60,000 in 2024. His top performers of the year have included Khaadem (Ire) and Art Power (Ire), whose victories at Royal Ascot and on Champions Day brought Dark Angel's total of Group 1 winners to 15, while his six-year-old son Alfareeq (Ire) won his second consecutive G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan in March. The G2 Prix d'Harcourt winner Shaman (Ire) will have his first runners next season...

St Albans Bloodstock's 4-year-old homebred filly Heredia (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Nakuti {Ire}, by Mastercraftsman {Ire}) took seven attempts to make a stakes breakthrough, doing so in last month's Listed Dick Hern Fillies' S. at Haydock, and continued her belated rise up the ladder with a career high in Saturday's G3 Virgin Bet Atalanta S. at Sandown. The Richard Hannon trainee settled into a smooth rhythm after breaking from the outside stall and raced in rear for most of this one-mile test. Making eyecatching headway out wide once into the straight,...

It was fitting that Dark Angel's 100th stakes winner should have come in the Dick Hern S. at Haydock, a milestone which the ultra-reliable Yeomanstown Stud-based stallion reached thanks to the victory of the St. Albans Bloodstock home-bred filly Heredia (GB). Dick Hern, who sent out 16 British Classic winners including three winners of the Derby as well as his best horse Brigadier Gerard (GB), would have thoroughly approved of Dark Angel. Hern was an archetypal 'old-school' trainer who excelled with every type of horse. Late in his career he...

Marc Chan's 2021 G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and G1 Criterium International hero Angel Bleu (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Cercle De La Vie {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) had been in and out of form in eight outings since registering those career highlights as a juvenile and backed up a fourth in last month's G2 Summer Mile with a last-gasp win in Saturday's G2 William Hill Celebration Mile at Goodwood. Fourth through halfway and scrubbed along approaching the quarter-mile marker, the 9-2 chance was afforded a dream seam underneath the stands' side rail...

Shadwell's ultra-consistent Alflaila (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Adhwaa {GB}, by Oasis Dream {GB}) had not been sighted since annexing October's G3 Darley S. at Newmarket, but was ready, willing and able to deliver a decisive burst for a career best in Saturday's G2 Sky Bet York S. on the Knavesmire. The Owen Burrows trainee, who also saluted in last term's G3 Strensall S. at this venue, employed patient tactics from flagfall and settled into a smooth rhythm with just one rival behind until turning for home. Taking closer order in the...

Last year's G3 Prix de Cabourg victor The Antarctic (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Anna Law {Ire}, by Lawman {Fr}) opened this term with a third in Navan's Listed Committed S. and led from pillar to post in Sunday's G3 Goffs Lacken S. at Naas. His eight-race juvenile campaign included three encounters with Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never), hitting the board behind that now-retired former stablemate in the G2 Prix Robert Papin, G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park. The Antarctic broke sharply and led along the far-side rail from flagfall. In...

Karl Burke notched an exacta in last term's Listed Clipper EBF Marygate Fillies' S. at York and repeated the dose when once-raced winner Got To Love A Grey (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Regatta {Fr}, by Layman) outlasted stablemate Dorothy Lawrence (GB) (Soldier's Call) in this year's renewal of the straight five-furlong dash. Got To Love A Grey went postward as the 5-2 second choice,  coming back off a six-length tally at Nottingham last month, and broke sharply from the far-side stall to seize an immediate lead. Unflustered on the front end...

DEAUVILLE, France--It would seem that Arqana has pulled off the impossible. Ask ten different people at the sales a certain question and you'd usually end up with ten different opinions. But there is one thing on which everyone patrolling the sales grounds in Deauville can apparently agree, and that is that a pretty stellar line-up of horses has been assembled for the Arqana Breeze-up Sale. The only thing they can't agree on is which horse is likely to top the sale. We'll know that by Saturday evening, and it is...

Yeomanstown Stud's Invincible Army (Ire) (by Invincible Spirit {Ire}) added his name to the growing list of winner-represented first-season sires on Sunday as his son Love Billy Boy (Ire) scored on debut at Musselburgh. Sent off the 9-4 favourite for the five-furlong Race To A Cure For MND EBF Novice S., the £90,000 Goffs UK Premier purchase who races in the famous Roldvale Ltd silks travelled strongly for Sean Levey held up behind the leading pair. Making smooth progress to hit the front 1 1/2 furlongs down, the Richard Hannon-trained...

Out and about on the opening day of the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail One of the early highlights of the year for pedigree buffs and casual observers, the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail, got underway with a bang on Friday with heavy footfall reported at over 30 of the stallion farms taking part in the two-day extravaganza.  The TDN Europe team were out and about in the Kildare area on Friday and visited Kildangan Stud, The Irish National Stud, Yeomanstown Stud and Derrinstown Stud before venturing further south on Saturday.  Don't...

The G1 Middle Park S. winner Supremacy (Ire) sired his first reported foal on January 4 at Yeomanstown Stud. The dark bay colt is out of Majestic Endeavour (GB) (Shamardal). Also a winner of the G2 Richmond S., Supremacy, from the first crop of Mehmas (Ire), covered a book of 187 mares in 2022, which included 75 stakes performers or producers. He stands for €10,000 at Yeomanstown Stud this year.