Danehill Part 6: The passing of the baton as Redoute's steps up

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

On May 13, 2003, Danehill (USA) died suddenly in a freak paddock accident at Coolmore in Ireland. It was news that naturally rapidly reverberated around the bloodstock world. Only days earlier, his sons Clodovil (Ire) and Catcher In The Rye (Ire) had run first and second in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at Longchamp. Posthumous stars such as Elvstroem, Darci Brahma (NZ), George Washington (Ire) and Duke Of Marmalade (Ire) would follow across both hemispheres.

Danehill had already been a champion sire in Australia six times by that stage while three British and Irish titles would follow in the years after his death.

At the time, there were around 60 sons standing in Australia alongside a sizeable group based in Europe. There was a natural anticipation that some of them would raise their heads and contribute to Danehill’s legacy, starting with those based at Arrowfield and Coolmore Studs, the driving forces between Danehill himself.

In the aftermath of the ‘Dutch Auction’, in which Coolmore assumed full ownership of Danehill over Arrowfield Stud on a valuation of $24.27 million, Arrowfield’s John Messara vowed to secure the horse’s best sons.

“I knew we had lost an irreplaceable stallion, who went on to become the most dominant influence on Australian breeding in the modern era,” he recalls. “For a fleeting moment I considered winding up Arrowfield, but I decided to go the other way and take control of Danehill’s best sons.”

That included retiring G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Flying Spur to a roster that already included another winner of that iconic 2-year-old event in Danzero, Danehill’s first major runner.

“I had already secured Danzero and Flying Spur before the Danehill auction and yes, Flying Spur was particularly special,” says Messara. “He was an outstanding foal, out of a Mr. Prospector mare from a potent North American family initially imported into New Zealand by Ra Ora Stud and he carried Arrowfield’s silks to victory in three major Group 1 races including the 1995 Golden Slipper.”

Coolmore, meanwhile, were in the enviable position of being able to advertise a new high-performing Danehill colt each new season until the stream ran out towards the late noughties. In Europe, they appealed to a cross-section of the market, ranging from the likes of Dylan Thomas (Ire), Duke Of Marmalade, Oratorio (Ire) and Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire) at the higher end to cheaper inmates such as Aussie Rules (USA), Catcher In The Rye and Spartacus (Ire).

The combination of natural speed and precocity is catnip to the commercial breeder and many of those more affordable sons were extremely popular. A handful, such as Danehill Dancer (Ire) and Tally-Ho Stud’s Kodiac (GB), worked out, giving a number of smaller breeders a helping hand along the way. And even some those who were moved on became important in their new homes; Catcher In The Rye, a multiple Group 1-producing sire in Argentina, springs to mind.

Indeed, cast an eye over the various sons that stood at stud and while six have broken that magic 100 stakes winner landmark, plenty of the other lesser sons have also had their moment in the sun at one time or another. Yes, a horse like Desert King (Ire) didn’t live up to initial hopes but he did sire an icon in Makybe Diva (GB). Duke Of Marmalade, Dylan Thomas and Oratorio, some of whom are viewed with suspicion in a pedigree nowadays, each also sired Group 1 winners early on in their stud careers prior to their exports or change in code.

Coolmore also suffered its share of misfortune with the early deaths of Group 1-winning colts Horatio Nelson (Ire) and Landseer (Ire) on the track and infertility of George Washington, who left behind one foal - the stakes-placed Date With Destiny (Ire) - prior to his ill-fated return to racing. Champion sprinter Mozart (Ire) also succumbed to colic after just one season leaving behind just 86 foals. They included the G1 Middle Park S. winner Amadeus Wolf (Ire) and G3 winner Dandy Man (Ire); the latter is now a well-regarded source of juvenile speed in Europe.

Thus today, the line boils to down to a handful of powerful branches.

At Arrowfield, Danzero sired his own winner of the G1 Golden Slipper S. in Dance Hero while Flying Spur left behind 13 Group 1 winners including Alverta, who was trained by Paul Messara to win the G1 Coolmore Classic, and Casino Prince, who remains in service at Vinery alongside his Group 1-winning son All Too Hard. However, for all their accomplishments both Danzero and Flying Spur were eclipsed at stud by Redoute’s Choice, a three-time champion sire for Arrowfield whose sons Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt came to fulfil a similarly important role.

As for Coolmore, it developed Fastnet Rock into a dual-hemisphere success story as well as Danehill Dancer, who rose from humble beginnings to forge a line currently spearheaded by grandson Starspangledbanner.

Darley has also been a key element to the story as the driving force behind Exceed And Excel, another brilliant stallion who successfully crossed the tricky divide across both hemispheres.

And while Juddmonte’s Dansili never shuttled, some of his imported progeny raced in Australia with great success. As it was, he rose to become one of Europe’s leading sires with 24 Group 1 winners to his credit.

Redoute's Choice

Like Danehill before him, Arrowfield cultivated Redoute’s Choice into a Southern Hemisphere phenomenon. Appropriately, he was from Danehill’s final Arrowfield-sired crop and having rattled off wins in the G1 Blue Diamond S., G1 Caulfield Guineas, G1 CF Orr S. and G1 Manikato S. for Rick Hore-Lacy, retired to stand under Messara’s eye alongside Danzero and Flying Spur.

However, Arrowfield’s association with the horse stretches back further, as Messara explains.

“I was the underbidder on his dam Shantha’s Choice at the 1994 Melbourne (Inglis Premier) Yearling Sale when she was knocked down to trainer Lee Freedman, who then introduced me to his Sri Lankan client Muzaffar Yaseen,” he says. “She had a lovely pedigree but could manage only a provincial win in Victoria. She was ultimately retired from racing and I was approached for a service to Danehill for her first season at stud. I readily agreed and so Redoute’s Choice was conceived during Danehill’s final season at Arrowfield.

“I followed his career with much interest and was very impressed when he won a Listed Race at his first start. I remember ringing Rick Hore-Lacy to ask what race he was targeting next and was aghast when he said that the colt would run seven days later in the Blue Diamond, a race he won brilliantly.

“Redoute’s Choice never left my sights after that. I secured 50 per cent of the colt in 1999 after his Caulfield Guineas win and managed his racing career from that moment until his retirement.

“I found Mr Yaseen and his team to be easy people to work with and Yaseen was a man of his word. It was a happy and profitable association for two decades until its natural conclusion with Redoute’s Choice’s death in 2019.”

Redoute’s Choice stood his first season in 2000 and out of that first crop emerged dual Group 1 winner Lotteria. It was his second-crop, however, that really showed his strengths. There were the brilliant 2-year-olds Stratum, Fashions Afield and Undoubtedly, between them winners of the G1 Golden Slipper S., G1 Sires’ Produce S. and G1 Blue Diamond S., but it also contained Snitzel, whose win in the G1 Oakleigh Plate set the scene for his highly successful stud career.

There was further brilliance in a third-crop that contained maybe the best of all in David Hayes’ Miss Finland. Bred by Gainsborough Stud and bought for $450,000 as a yearling by Arrowfield, she extended the line’s Golden Slipper dominance in the 2006 renewal under Craig Williams and remained equally potent as an older horse where she became one of those rare beasts capable of carrying her speed over a range of distances, notably when successful in the G1 Cadbury Guineas over a mile and G1 VRC Oaks over 1m4f (2400 metres).

Miss Finland was the first filly to complete the Golden Slipper - VRC Oaks double, a champion 2 and 3-year-old filly of her generation and named 2006 Sportsman Horse of the Year. Another top daughter, Samantha Miss, was the champion 3-year-old filly of her generation while Lankan Rupee, a brilliant sprinter, was Horse of the Year in 2013-14. More recently, five-time Group 1 winner The Autumn Sun was the champion 3-year-old colt in 2018-19.

In what was a bold venture, Redoute’s Choice also spent two seasons reverse shuttling to the Aga Khan Studs’ Haras de Bonneval in Normany, France. European breeders had already been exposed to Redoute’s Choice blood, albeit at a lower level, by Elzaam, a Northern Hemisphere-born colt who was second in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot and later stood with success at Ballyhane Stud in Ireland. It was an exciting addition to France and one that was well-received across Europe.

Yet while he threw horses of the calibre of German Group 1 winner Danceteria and multiple Group 2 scorer Enbihaar, those two French crops didn’t come close to matching his Australian record.

When all was done and dusted, Redoute’s Choice sired 182 stakes winners and 40 Group 1 winners. In keeping with history, the best of the line has been harvested by Arrowfield via sons such as Snitzel, a champion in his own right, Not A Single Doubt, who rose from humble beginnings, and The Autumn Sun, whose first crop already contains three Group 1 winners. There are also others coming through the pipeline in outside hands, notably Coolmore’s King’s Legacy, the G1 Sires' Produce S. and G1 Champagne S. winner, and Yulong’s Alabama Express, whose first-crop already contains six stakes horses.

“Redoute’s Choice had everything: physique, pedigree, outstanding performance and great charisma,” says Messara. “He had a tremendous will to win, evident especially in his 1999 Caulfield Guineas victory, but he had a very robust and equitable temperament, just like his sire.”

Snitzel has seamlessly taken up the baton at Arrowfield, his record capped by four sires’ titles and 19 Group 1 winners. Now rising 22, he also has a number of sons coming through including In The Congo at Newgate and new Coolmore recruit Shinzo to complement the Group 1 sires Shamus Award, Russian Revolution and Trapeze Artist.

“I passed by Snitzel as a yearling due to his size,” recalls Messara. “He had blistering speed and was unlucky early in his career. It took me a while to make the jump to buy him, but he promptly rewarded us by winning the Oakleigh Plate in very heavy conditions.

“With time, he developed into a lovely stallion who has made his own, indelible mark on Australian breeding and racing as a four-time Australian Champion Sire and four-time Australian Champion Sire of 2-Year-Olds. That takes some doing in an intensely competitive era, and he is maintaining his excellence, which is a credit to his class and vitality and the outstanding care of our team at the farm.”

Ironically, Danehill’s overwhelming success, which has led to such a Danehill-centric gene pool, has restricted Snitzel somewhat.

“It’s been difficult for Danehill-line stallions operating in Australia, which is laden with Danehill genetics,” says Messara. “But both Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt have better records than most – in particular, when mated with mares whose maternal grand-dams or grandsires are by Danehill.”

He adds: “It’s a little early to see if The Autumn Sun will do as well with mares bred this way but so far that combination has produced four winners, including G1 winner Vibrant Sun.

“All of that said, we generally try to avoid Danehill in-breeding because the overall figures remain poor in what is now a large sample size.”

Snitzel retired to stud with a weight of expectation. By contrast, Not A Single Doubt started off at $13,750 in light of a racing career topped by a pair of Listed wins in the Canonbury S. and Zeditave S. Although a slow-burner, he ultimately wound up with 83 stakes winners including 16 at the highest level. Of course the list includes one of the current stars of the Australian stallion scene in Extreme Choice.

“Not A Single Doubt is surely one of the best and most heart-warming stallion stories in Australia,” says Messara. “He actually stood six seasons at $13,750 (inc. GST) and despite being a precocious 2YO stakes winner himself, he didn’t add a stakes winner to his stud record until his first-crop runners were almost four.

“We may never know why it took that long, but as soon as (Group 3 winners) Doubtful Jack and Squamosa appeared, followed by (Group 3 winner) Karuta Queen, the cork flew off the champagne bottle and the stakes winners started to flow.

“He rose to his final fee of $110,000 purely on performance and along the way he generated wonderful rewards for many breeders who had supported him at lower fees, and sired a stream of top performers in almost every category. Not A Single Doubt is a great lesson in not judging a stallion too early!”

Not A Single Doubt died in June 2022 but his legacy is assured in the short term through Extreme Choice, whose own racing career was highlighted by a win in the G1 Blue Diamond S. That son might be restricted by fertility issues but that hasn’t stopped him from producing a trio of Group 1 winners out of a collection of barely 70 foals in his first two crops. They include champion Stay Inside, who now stands alongside his sire at Newgate Farm.

Other sons of Not A Single Doubt such as Anders, Doubtland and Farnan, another winner of the G1 Golden Slipper S., could also play a role in the story.

As far as Arrowfield is concerned, there is a new chapter in the rise of The Autumn Sun. Representative of a powerful merger between Arrowfield and the Aga Khan Studs, he was bred at Arrowfield out of the Galileo (Ire) mare Azmiyna (Ire), which made the five-time Group 1 winner a natural fit for the stud when it came to retire him following his championship racing career.

“We like to stand stallions that have been bred and raised at Arrowfield because we know more about those horses and that is an advantage when it comes to breeding,” says Messara. “The Autumn Sun is an incredibly well-credentialled stallion. Bred as he is on the same, but reversed, cross as Frankel, he was never going to leave precocious stock. However, what his first-crop 3-year-olds have done is exceptional and I think he is showing us that he is going to live up to our haughty expectations of him!”

To recap, The Autumn Sun’s first group of 109 3-year-olds are capped by the Group 1-winning filles Autumn Angel, Coco Sun and Vibrant Sun. Indeed, there was a landmark moment of Danehill proportions back in April when daughters Vibrant Sun, Private Legacy and Coco Sun filled the first three places in the G1 Australasian Oaks at Morphettville.