Washington DC (Ire)

Dream Ahead anchors the 2023 Bearstone Stud roster and will stand for an unchanged fee of £7,500. He is the sire of 32 stakes winners (13 group) and four Group 1 winners worldwide led by GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint heroine Glass Slippers (GB). Joining the son of Diktat, as announced on Thursday, is Belardo (Ire) at £6,500. Washington DC (Ire) will command £3,000, down from £3,500 in 2022. Mattmu (GB)'s fee has been reduced an identical amount, and he is priced at £2,000.

Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) became the latest European freshman sire off the mark when the Kevin Ryan-trained 2-year-old gelding Washington Heights (GB) notched a first winner for the Bearstone Stud resident in Wednesday's Scaleby Restricted Maiden S. over five furlongs at Carlisle. 1st-Carlisle, £10,000, Mdn, 6-22, 2yo, 5fT, 1:01.41, g/f. WASHINGTON HEIGHTS (GB) (g, 2, Washington DC {Ire}--Epping Rose {Ire}, by Kodiac {GB}), who ran fourth in his June 7 debut at Wetherby last time, broke smartly to lead from the outset here. Holding sway throughout, the 4-1 third...

2.00 Navan, Mdn, €16,000, 2yo, 5f 164yT AESOP'S FABLES (IRE) (No Nay Never) is the latest potential Royal Ascot star to appear for Ballydoyle in 2022 and a notable one as a half-brother to that meeting's Listed Windsor Castle S. winner Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Along with that sire, whose career win total included the G3 Phoenix Sprint S., this February-foaled bay is also a half to the stable's G3 Chester Vase runner-up Sandhurst (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and he meets Peter Brant's Curragh third Midnight Toker (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}),...

Group 2 winner Mattmu (GB) (Indesatchel {Ire}), who was born and raised at Bearstone Stud, will stand there for £2,500 (Oct. 1st SLF) in 2022. Successful in the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and G3 Phoenix Sprint, the bay was also third in the G1 Nunthorpe S. at York. From a select first crop of foals, Mattmu has a pair of winners from five runners, and one of his winners, Favourite Child (GB), ran second at listed level in France. Terry Holdcroft, owner of Bearstone Stud, commented, "Mattmu has impressed us...

In the third installation of our Value Sires series, we will dig into the sire crop with its first foals born in 2020, and therefore with its first yearlings this year. After some two years in waiting since most of these retired to stud, the judges got the chance at the recently concluded foal sales to lay eyes on the first progeny of most of them, and though it is still incredibly early days, their opinions, corroborated through their actions in the ring, will have an impact on the perception...