Roaring Lion Foals Making Noise

“It's one of those cruel things where you don't know whether to laugh or cry.”

There is a noticeable conflict of emotions, too, in David Redvers's voice as he talks about some of the first foals on the ground by Tweenhills's late Cartier Horse of the Year Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy). They are as good as could be hoped for, but they will be all there will be.

“If the horse was still alive, we'd be making some deafening clamour over the quality of the foals he has produced,” Redvers said. “We supported him hugely as you'd expect because he was the best horse we've ever had anything to do with and was just such the complete package. A lot of our best mares went to him and as a result we have the most extraordinary bunch of foals by him.”

The momentum began with the first Roaring Lion foal to be born at Tweenhills, a half-sister to Group 3 winner Astrophysical Jet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})-“she's just a queen, she has so much presence”-and has continued through to G1 St Leger winner Simple Verse (Ire), who produced a filly on Apr. 5.

There is “an absolute belting colt” out of G2 May Hill S. winner Rich Legacy (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}); a “very smart filly” from the Group 3-placed Stroll Patrol (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}); an “absolutely stunning” colt out of Gadfly (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), a half-sister to Classic winner Speciosa (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}); a “gorgeous colt” out of the winning Lope de Vega (Ire) mare Exceedingly Rare (Ire); and a “very smart one” out of G1 Falmouth S. winner Giofra (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Grade III winner and multiple Grade and Group 1-placed Wekeela (Fr) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), bought by Qatar Racing for 1.8-million at Tattersalls December in 2017, had her first foal, a Dubawi (Ire) colt, last year, and she has followed up this year with a Roaring Lion colt that Redvers described as “as quality a foal as we have on the farm at the moment, a very smart colt.”

“They've maintained that quality right the way through, foal after foal that's been born by him is coming out with huge presence, great girth, his incredible shoulder and head,” Redvers said. “It's really quite moving to see them. Every one of them seems to think they're a king. It's going to be very, very exciting seeing them on the racetracks in a few years' time.

Roaring Lion headed a formidable trio to start out at Tweenhills in 2019-well, in the case of Zoustar (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}), start out in the Northern Hemisphere. The Group 1-winning sprinter has led his sire crop Down Under by a wide margin ever since they hit the ground running in 2017/18, and Redvers said his first European foals are in a similar mould physically.

“We've had the benefit of seeing several crops in Australia to know what to expect, and he certainly hasn't disappointed,” he said. “We have some absolute corkers here from his first Northern Hemisphere crop and the exciting thing is that there seems to be plenty of them around other big establishments as well. Peter Stanley tells me that three or four of his best foals on the farm are Zoustars. Henri Bozo tells me the same at Monceaux. One of the best foals I've seen in a long time is the Zoustar out of La Collina (Ire), who is a Group 1 winner. We have outstanding foals here by him. Probably one of the better foals on the farm is a colt out of Wind Fire, who was third in the G2 Norfolk S. and a stakes-winning sprinter. They're exactly what you'd expect; they all have that amazing head, great eye, huge hip and great action. That's what has made them stand out in Australia and that's the sort of horse that's going to really excite people if we ever get to the stage where we're having a bloodstock auction happening again.”

Qatar Racing has supported Zoustar heavily in both hemispheres since buying into him while he was in training. One vote of confidence was the private purchase of Group 1-winning sprinter Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) to join his second book after she had been bought back for 1.1-million gns at Tattersalls last December. She has recently been scanned in foal.

“We've gone all in again,” Redvers said. “We went all in in Australia and bought mares like Solar Charged [the dam of triple Group 1 winner Sunlight] to go to him and he's repaid us time and time again. We've done the same here. We've spent a large amount of money buying sprinting mares from the December sales or privately afterwards. Sheikh Fahad is really committed to the horse and I think he's sending him the best part of 30 mares this year of his own. He's got absolutely stuck in, as have we at Tweenhills.”

Zoustar stands for £30,000 this year, a tick more than the £25,000 he cost in 2019 but an apparent bargain compared to the A$154,000 he commands at Widden Stud in Australia.

Lightning Spear (GB) joined the Tweenhills roster last year after racing until the age of seven. And his last year was his best, with a career marked by many big-race placings culminating his final season with a win in the G1 Sussex S. Lightning Spear was advertised at £8,500, but fertility issues means he has only around 26 foals to be born this year. Redvers said, however, that things are looking up and Lightning Spear will cover around 50 mares this year.

“His fertility seems to have improved quite a lot for management this year,” he said. “He has a better book of mares again this year and at the moment he's stopping them. There aren't a huge number of [foals] but they're exactly what you'd hope for from a son of Pivotal. They have size, scope and a great bit of presence about them. He's never going to make anyone a fortune of money because we'll be limiting the size of his books, but he's a horse that's going to prove, I'm sure, very capable of getting top-class horses. Pivotal has proven such a sensation as a sire of sires, and he's out of a stakes-winning 2-year-old by Royal Academy. It's no wonder he was as sound and tough as he was, because she won a race every year from two to six. He'll be a great horse for the owner/breeder that doesn't want to spend a ton of money but who wants to give themselves a good chance.”