Soldier's Call has joined the roster at Ballyhane Stud and while he's new to the stallion yard, he's already well-known to many people at the farm. Joe Foley bought the son of Showcasing as a yearling and his wife, Jane, broke and pre-trained the colt before he was sent to training with Archie Watson. During the launch of last week's EBF Ballyhane Stakes, Joe took the time to reflect on Soldier's Call racing career and his early days at the farm.
Soldier's Call's British-bred dam Dijarvo, a daughter of Iceman (GB), had won the Listed Prix la Fleche at Maisons-Laffitte before being sold on to race in America, where she was later bought by Hodge and repatriated through agent Chad Schumer. Dijarvo produced just four foals—with Soldier's Call being second in line—before she died in 2018 at the age of nine. For Foley, much of the appeal in buying her Showcasing yearling was not only because he was by a stallion whose profile was rising swiftly on the back of some impressive progeny performances, but also because he was hewn from a consistently fast damline.