Group 2 winner Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}–Vida Amorosa {Ire}, by Lope De Vega {Ire}), placed three times at the highest level, has been retired to stand at stud in 2023, Amo Racing's Tom Pennington confirmed to the TDN on Sunday morning. A stud farm and fee for the precocious juvenile will be announced in the very near future.
“Persian's done an incredible job, to be honest,” Amo Racing's Kia Joorabchian told Nick Luck during Luck On Sunday. “He's done everything that Mehmas has done. Arguably, according to Richard Hannon, who trained both, he's a better-looking version of his father. And he's got a better pedigree.
“He has started in March, running [in] everything, from almost every Group 1 there was, coming second in most of them. He's never had a bad run. He's followed the footsteps of his dad from start to finish. His father retired at the end of his 2-year-old career. [Mehmas] has had a fantastic career as a stallion. His father will stand today at €60,000. [We looked at that] and thought he could follow in the footsteps of his father [at stud].”
Bred by Tom Lacy, the March foal was sold for €75,000 from Ringfort Stud to Tally-Ho Stud during the Goffs November Foal Sale in 2020. He entered the Amo Racing fold after hammering for €225,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale in 2021. Sent to the yard of Richard Hannon, he ran out a 4 3/4-length debut winner at Doncaster in March. Also a winner at Newbury two months later, he was second in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot, but returned to winning ways with a 1 1/2-length score in the G2 July S. at Newmarket on July 7. Second in the G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh in August, he filled that role again in the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville later that month. Third in the Sept. 24 G1 Middle Park S., Persian Force was fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in November and retires with a mark of 8-3-3-1 and $350,183 in earnings.
A full-brother to the G2 Richmond S. third Gubbass (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Persian Force hails from the family of dual Group 3 winner Garrus (Ire), by Mehmas's sire Acclamation (GB), as well as G1 Phoenix S. and G1 National S. hero Danehil Dancer (Ire) (Danehill), who became a successful sire.
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