Roster stalwart Lope De Vega (Ire) enjoyed another excellent year with his progeny and will remain at a roster-topping €125,000 at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland. Now the sire of 103 black-type winners since reaching his centennial earlier this year, the chestnut also sired a 1.8 million guineas yearling during the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales. No less than 26 of his progeny have won stakes worldwide in 2022, led by dual Group 1 winner turned $2.7-million Keeneland November alum Dreamloper (Ire). He is also the sire of G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Sweet Lady (Fr), G1 Prix de l'Opera victress Place Du Carrousel (Ire) and Hypothetical (Ire), who won the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 in Dubai.
“Lope de Vega once again confirmed that he is a world leading sire with over 50 black-type horses including 4 Group 1 winners in 2022 alone,” said Ballylinch's John O'Connor. “He has achieved success at the highest level on four different continents and is one of those rare sires who can truly be called a global success. 2022 saw Lope de Vega become one of the youngest stallions in history to sire 100 individual stakes winners, reaching the milestone at the same age as Deep Impact (Jpn) and a year quicker than Sadler's Wells and Into Mischief. Ever popular at the sales, Lope de Vega's yearlings sold for up to 1.8 million guineas and averaged €285,000.”
New Bay (GB) sired an additional two new Group 1 winners in Bayside Boy (Ire) and Bay Bridge (GB), and his fee has almost doubled to €75,000. His dual Group 1 winner Saffron Beach (Ire), first in the G1 Prix Rothschild and G2 Duke Of Cambridge S. this term, is set to go through the ring at Tattersalls' Park Paddocks later this month. Successful in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., Bayside Boy will stand his first season at stud for €15,000.
“New Bay has made an explosive start to his stallion career and confirmed himself as a top-level sire with the winners of the two feature Group 1 races on Champions Day at Ascot,” added O'Connor. “He is one of only six European stallions to sire at least 3 Group 1 winners in 2022. His statistics are impressive too, as only Frankel (GB) and Dubawi have a higher percentage of their runners rated over 100. New Bay's sale season reflected his results on track, with his yearlings averaging €96,000 and making up to 475,000gns.
“Bayside Boy is a very exciting new addition to the Ballylinch roster. He has all the attributes that we look for in a stallion prospect, a top-class 2-year-old and a Group 1 winning miler with an exceptional turn of foot. His sire New Bay is one of the very best stallion sons of Dubawi, and his stakes-winning and group-producing dam is from a high-quality family. He was an outstanding yearling and I'm sure that breeders will be very impressed with both his looks and his athletic walk.”
Arc hero Waldgeist (GB) sees his fee trimmed to €12,500 from €15,000. He is expecting his first runners in 2023. Make Believe (GB), the sire of the globetrotting Group 1 winner Mishriff (Ire), has been lowered to €10,000 from €17,500 in 2022.
“The highest rated horse by Galileo since the outstanding Frankel, Waldgeist has been given an excellent chance to succeed in his stallion career,” said O'Connor. “He is a Group 1 winning 2-year-old that went on to win a vintage Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Waldgeist's first crop was warmly received at the sales, with one in five making over €100,000 and averaging €66,000.
“Make Believe made an outstanding start to his stallion career by siring the exceptionally talented and versatile Mishriff in his first crop. Statistically he is very strong at 3.25% group winners. His yearlings realised up to 220,000gns and averaged over three times his stud fee.”
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