Breeding Notes - Stallion Feature

For clients of ours who'd like to know a little more about thoroughbred breeding, I'll start to write some interesting articles on various aspects of thoroughbred breeding.

The first is a brief feature on that marvellous racehorse and sensational winner producing stallion, Royal Academy, (pictured here with the great Lester Piggot in the saddle).

Royal Academy is by all means an outstanding stallion. A top class individual who cost $3,500,000 at the Keenland (USA) July sales in 1988, and standing 16.1 1/2h hands high, he's a Champion sire of over 100 individual Stakes Winning racehorses in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. His sons and daughters have won over $65M between them, and never a racing season goes by without him providing the racing public with an outstanding horse to cheer on.

His sire was the great Nijinsky, who many rate as the one of the best racehorses ever to have lived. Winner of the English and Irish Derbies, 2000 Guineas, St Leger, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, (the Cox Plate of Europe), and the Dewhurst Stakes (all G1's), he was Europe's Champion galloper of his era. At stud, he also (as you would rightfully expect) became a champion stallion, and his best son at stud is Royal Academy.

Royal Academy was the winner of his 2yo maiden race by an astounding 10 lengths. He went on to claim Newmarket's prestigious G1 July Cup (1600m), the G1 Breeders Cup mile in the USA, and the G3 Tetrarch Stakes (1400m), in addition to finishing runner up in the Irish 2000 Guineas.

Commencing his stud duties in 1991, he is to date the sire of 1207 runners for 825 individual winners, a winners to runners ratio of 68.4%. He has produced 135 Stakeswinning racehorses in addition to 87 Stakesplaced horses. In total, his progeny have earned in excess of $98M in prizemoney!

From our point of view, we have had three Royal Academy's in our team. The first was the erratic Caribbean Royale who had three race wins and five trainers! The second is our very promising 3yo filly With Honours, (racing next Saturday), and the third is our new season 2yo filly from Juanita who is being trained in Sydney by Gai Waterhouse, (just 1.5 shares remain...)
Royal Academy's profile along with all his latest stats and figures can be viewed here:

http://www.stallions.com.au/list/royal_academy.asp

- Peter Morley