Newsells Park Stud's Blue Hen Shastye Dies After Foaling

Newsells Park Stud manager Julian Dollar has led the tributes to the multiple Group 1-producing Shastye (Ire) (Danehill), who has died at the age of 21 shortly after giving birth to a Dubawi (Ire) colt on Sunday.

The dam of five individual black-type performers, including Group 1-winning brothers by Galileo (Ire), Japan (GB) and Mogul (GB), who are now stallions, the progeny of Shastye have been sensational on the track and in the sales ring.

Described by Dollar as “one of the most inspirational and life-changing horses” he has ever been associated with, Shastye's progeny fetched over £15 million at public auction and they also delivered where it mattered most.

Japan, a 1.3m guineas yearling, famously put Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) to the sword in the 2019 G1 Juddmonte International at York a month after winning the G1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.

Mogul, who fetched 3.4m guineas as a yearling, also won the Grand Prix de Paris in 2020 and bolstered Shastye's reputation as a Group-1 producing phenomenon by snaring the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in 2020.

Dollar said, “Many an hour has been spent with Shastye or her progeny. Often because they were special, and you often knew you were in the presence of something special, but mostly because Shastye was just such a lovely mare and such a pleasure to be around. She was the best therapy any man could have and I already know I owe her more than I will ever realise.”

Shastye, a half-sister to the 1998 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triompohe winner Sagamix (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), was a dual winner and was placed at Listed level when in training with John Gosden. She was bought by Klaus J Jacobs and John Warren as a 4-year-old at the Tattersalls December Sale in 2005 for 625,000gns and almost single-handedly put Newsells Park Stud back on the map after it was renovated by the Jacobs family in 2000.

Her terrific relationship with Galileo, highlighted by Japan and Mogul, was the overriding theme of her brilliant career as a broodmare.

Sir Isaac Newton, the top-priced colt when sold for a whopping 3.6m guineas at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2013, was also by Galileo, as was Secret Gesture, who finished second in the Oaks at Epsom in 2013 and was controversially demoted to third after finishing first past the post in the Beverly D S. at Arlington Park in 2015. She later sold for $3.5 million at Keeneland's November Sale to John Ferguson.

The ink may not have run dry on the story behind Shastye's progeny by Galileo as Skylark (GB), who was knocked down for 3.4m guineas in 2020, is in training with Aidan O'Brien and, while she has yet to grace the track, holds Group 1 entries.

Shastye was said to have succumbed quickly and peacefully after hemorrhaging following the birth of her Dubawi colt. She leaves behind her a legacy and record that will be hard to match, and Dollar counts himself lucky to have been associated with such a renowned producer of top-notch talent.

He said, “She was wonderful for the stud and we wished she could have lived forever but it just wasn't to be. One of the things I was most proud of was how fantastic she looked. She was just the most special mare and a lot of us at Newsells feel we owe a lot to her. I feel like I owe her a huge amount. Not only to get the stud going for the Jacobs family and kept us going when but she was also one of our best adverts when it came to selling the stud.”

Asked if there was a particular highlight during his long and successful association with Newsells Park's blue hen, Dollar added: “There were lots of highlights and obviously going for the Oaks with Secret Gesture as part owners with Qatar Racing Ltd was great but, in a funny way, the day John Warren, who was an agent for the Jacobs family at the time, came to see Sir Isaac Newton as a yearling stands out. It was about three weeks before the yearling sales and he looked at him for some time. I remember him asking us if we had him insured. When we told him that we hadn't he said that we better do so and not for anything less than a million pounds.

“We went to the sales with huge expectations and he really stood out as an excellent specimen. We expected him to make over one million, we never had a horse to make over a million, but we fully expected him to make that. We had every indication that it was going to happen but, when he made 3.6 million guineas, we were blown away. I was standing next to Andreas Jacobs and we were pretty amazed by it all and gave each other a big hug. He said to me 'my Dad would be so proud.' Even though it was a sale and not a race, it was a very special moment, and it was the first time I experienced taking a horse through the ring that made over a million, let alone what he made.”

A statement released by Newsells Park Stud on Monday read, “The exploits of [Shastye's] progeny, most notably formed from her wonderful partnership with the extraordinary Galileo, gave us all the most unforgettable moments, whether they came amid the silence of a hushed sales ring, or accompanied by the roar of the crowd at Epsom, York, Longchamp or Sha Tin.

“When Newsells Park Stud was put up for sale at the end of 2020, it was Shastye that stood out more than any other mare to prove what was achievable. Shastye put Newsells Park Stud back on the map, made the stud commercially successful and helped to attract a new, considerate, enthusiastic and passionate owner in Graham Smith-Bernal to take on the custodianship of the stud for another generation. Rest in peace you wonderful, wonderful lady.”