Cloth of Stars Brings Pedigree, Class to Logis

Cloth of Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is the second-highest rated horse to retire to stud in France in the past 40 years. He had just two brilliant fillies-Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire})-in front of him in two G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes. He is from the prolific Niarchos family that includes G1 Prix de Diane winner Northern Trick, and more recently Group 1 winners Main Sequence (Aldebaran), Light Shift (Kingmambo) and Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

That looks like a lot of value for €7,500.

“Everybody will remember him for being the first colt home in the last two Arcs,” said Julian Ince of Haras du Logis, which will stand Cloth of Stars at stud in 2019. “But I think the one thing that people will appreciate is that he was an exceptional 2-year-old: he won the G3 Prix des Chenes and was second in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. He was a fabulous 2-year-old that went on to be a champion older horse.”

For all the talk of his runner-up effort in last year's Arc and his third this year, a length behind those two special fillies Enable and Sea Of Class, Cloth of Stars did in fact collect a Group 1 win of his own last spring when besting Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Prix Ganay. He was a six-time group winner from a mile to 10 furlongs, and had Group 1 form from two to five. His Arc second was rated high enough to win nine of the previous 10 runnings of the great race.

“That's what we look for in France [in a stallion],” Ince said. “We like good 2-year-olds that train on and last a long time. And I think that's what people have appreciated, that in fact he was a top-class 2-year-old that trained on to the age of six. As his trainer Mr. Fabre said to me, 'he was a wonderful horse.' He was a very determined racehorse but with a very, very kind nature.”

Ince said that Cloth of Stars, who was a 400,000gns yearling purchase by Godolphin, will be limited to 120 mares from the start of the season, but more spots may be made available if he takes to his new job well. He said that within 24 hours of the announcement of the horse's retirement to Logis, breeding rights were sold out.

“I think with young horses, it's always a prudent thing to do to not to overload the horse in the very beginning,” Ince said. “If he can handle that, that's great, and we'll open up the book afterwards. But I think it's very important to give the horse a chance, into his new career, by not overloading him from day one.

“He's very much in demand. Breeding rights were sold very, very quickly because people realize to get a horse like this with that high a rating, a top-class 2-year-old; he's a horse that everybody wants and we're absolutely delighted by the response of breeders.”

Cloth of Stars has been at Logis for about a month, and Ince said the response from breeders who have seen him in the flesh has been positive.

“He's not an over big horse,” he said. “But he's a very well- balanced horse. And the one thing we've noticed about him is he's an exceptional mover, and that's what breeders have really appreciated. He's got a great colour, great skin, is a great-moving horse; if the foals look like him, I think everybody will be very happy.”

Cloth of Stars apparently gained some accolades from his master trainer Andre Fabre, too.

“A couple days after the horse arrived at the stud, Mr. Fabre phoned us and he was describing the horse and just said to me that he was a horse with wonderful conformation, he thought he had a lot of character and was a very determined racehorse but that he is an exceptionally kind horse as well, and that's exactly what we've seen at the farm; he's got such a good temperament. He's a very kind horse and you know you can do anything with him. We're very, very delighted to have the horse with us.”