News

Darara and Claba Di San Jore nominated in the Racing Post 

15th May

DARARA and Claba Di San Jore have been nominated for the Racing Post ‘battle of the broodmare’s competition.
The duo are among 40 short-listed mares for the award which is voted for online by the racing public.
Darara needs little introduction. She was purchased as one of Watership Down Stud’s foundation mares for 470,000 Irish Punts at Goffs in 1992.
Darara had already demonstrated that she was a top-class racehorse, winning the Group 1 Prix Vermeille in the colours of her owner and breeder, HRH Aga Khan. In fact, she comes from one of his most prolific families being a half-sister to champion Darshaan and Dalara, dam of multiple Group 1 winner Daliapour.
The first two foals she produced under Watership Down-ownership sold for 500,000gns each. Kilimanjaro, a colt by Shirley Heights, was second in the King Edward VII Stakes while Rhagaas, a colt by Sadler’s Wells, was third in Prix du Jockey Club.
In 2000 her colt by Sadler’s Wells sold to Demi O’Byrne for 3.4million guineas at Tattersalls Houghton Yearling sale – a record which still stands for a yearling sold in Europe. Diaghilev won a Group 3 in France before being sold to Hong Kong where, under the name River Dancer, he took the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
The best was yet to come and in 2005 produced Dar Re Mi, by Singspiel. She went on to become Darara’s third individual Group 1 winner, following River Dancer and Darazari, who had been top class in Australia.
 
She landed the Irish Pretty Polly Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks as a four-year-old before winning the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic the following year, taking her career earnings to £2.7million.
 
Darara’s final foal in 2007 was Rewilding, a colt by Tiger Hill. He was bought at Tattersalls for 500,000gns by John Ferguson and went on to become one of the leading middle-distance colts of his generation. He won the Great Voltigeur Stakes at three before following in his half-sister’s footsteps and taking the Dubai Sheema Classic in 2011. 
 
Rewilding then went on to claim the scalp of Australian champion So You Think in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
In total she produced 12 foals, four individual Group 1 winners and two more who were Group 1 placed, earning a combined total of £7,250,000 in prizemoney. Her progeny that were sold as yearlings made a total of 4,900,000gns. She died last year, aged 29.

Claba Di San Jore is a new mare to the Watership Down - roster having been purchased at last December’s Tattersalls Sale for 575,000gns.

Claba di San Jore, a 14-year-old daughter of Barathea, has already produced Awelmarduk, winner of the Italian Derby, Crackerjack King, who won last year’s Premio Presidente della Repubblica, and Jakkalberry, a Group 1 winner in Italy and a Group 2 in Dubai.

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Watership Down Stud Foundation Mare Silver Lane Dies

 7th of May 2013

SILVER Lane, the last of Watership Down’s four founding broodmares, has died, aged 28 at Paca Paca Stud Farm in Japan.

A daughter of Silver Hawk, Silver Lane was the first broodmare to take up residence at Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber’s Watership Down Stud in 1993.

On the track, Silver Lane ran in the colours of Ecurie Fustok. She won the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte over a mile at Longchamp before finishing third behind the dead-heaters Melodist and Diminuendo in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh.

She fitted the bill as a perfect foundation broodmare as not only was she a top-class racehorse, she also had looks to match and a blue-blooded pedigree.

She was one of 12 winners out of her dam, Straight Line, an unraced daughter of Chieftain II. Straight Line also produced Hawkster, a multiple Grade 1 winner in America and the Group 1-placed Silver Kite.

Silver Lane exceeded all expectations and was a key factor in the expansion and promotion of Watership Down Stud.

In 1994 she foaled a colt by Nureyev called Black Hawk. He ended up as one of the leading performers in Japan winning two Group 1s and earning prizemoney of over £3.5million.

She also produced another Group 1 winner in Pink Cameo (French Deputy), who took the NGK Mile Cup in Tokyo 2007.

Her other Stakes performers include Starmaniac, Kauai Lane and Shakespeare.

Her progeny also reached lofty heights in the sales ring most notably Shakespeare (Rainbow Quest) who sold for 2.2million guineas as a yearling in 1998. 

Her yearling colt by Darshaan was also sold as a yearling for 400,000gns at Tattersalls in 2003 whilst in Japan Pink Cameo was sold as a yearling for 71,000,000 JPY and Kauai Lane for 35,000,000 JPY.

Simon Marsh, general manager of Watership Down Stud, said: “Silver Lane was the first foundation mare at Watership Down Stud. She was a very good race filly and transferred much of her ability into her offspring, which included two Group 1 winners in Black Hawk and Pink Cameo.

“Not only did her progeny do us proud on the racetrack, they also allowed us to develop Watership Down and Kiltinan Castle Stud after Shakespeare sold for 2.2million at Tattersalls in 1998.

“She was the last survivor of our four foundation mares and it is the end of an era now they have all gone. Thankfully, we have a number of their daughters and grand-daughters and their legacies are continuing through them.”

Silver Lane was soon joined at Watership Down Stud by Darara, Crystal Spray and Sumoto, making up their quartet of foundation broodmares. 

Darara went on to become one of the best broodmare’s ever, producing four individual Group 1 winners, including Rewilding and Dar Re Mi. The latter is now in foal to champion Frankel.

Crystal Spray produced Group 1 winner Crystal Music, among other Stakes performers, and is the great grand-dam of this year’s Derby hope and recent Group 2 winner, Ocovango. 

Sumoto’s legacy is living on through her daughter, Twyla Tharp, who sold for a sale-topping 1.7million at last season’s Tattersalls December Sale and through her daughter The Fugue, winner of the Group 1 Nassau Stakes.

Last year’s Tattersalls December Sale purchase, Claba di San Jore was bought to inject a new bloodline into Watership Down Stud. 

A daughter of Barathea, Claba di San Jore had already proven herself to be a prolific producer with her sons Jakkalberry, Crackerjack King and Awelmarduk all winning Group 1s. Just last weekend the family received another boost when Celticus was the impressive winner of a Listed race in Milan. Celticus is out of Bois Joli, a winning daughter of Claba di San Jore. He is now being aimed at the Italian Derby.

Ocovango Remains Unbeaten

6th May 2013

OCOVANGO is firmly on target for a bid at Classic glory having taken his unbeaten record to three with a commanding win in the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud on Saturday.

The Watership Down Stud-bred colt races in the colours of Prince Faisal and is trained by the French-maestro Andre Fabre.

Following his impressive Listed win last month, Ocovango was sent off the odds on favourite for Saturday’s contest and won in cosy fashion under jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot.

Boudot established an early lead aboard Ocovango and set a decent tempo up front.

He had many of his rivals stretched with over three furlongs to run and it was only second-favourite Bravodino who mounted a challenge.

That challenge however, was short lived and Ocovango went on to score well by half a length.

He is now the second-favourite behind Dawn Approach for the Epsom Derby on 1 June. Fabre also used this race as a stepping-stone to Derby glory with 2011 winner Pour Moi.

A son of champion sire Monsun, Ocovango is the first foal out of Crystal Maze, an unraced daughter of Group 1-winning two-year-old Crystal Music.

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Ocovango in Listed strike

1st April 2013

WATERSHIP Down Stud-homebred Ocovango kept his unbeaten record intact with an impressive victory in the Listed Prix Francois Mathet at Saint-Cloud on Sunday afternoon. The son of Monsun, now three, won his maiden on debut at the same course last autumn giving off the impression that he was an exciting prospect. He confirmed that yesterday and oozed class when tracking the pace under Pierre-Charles Boudot. He took up the running 200m from home and soon went clear before being eased down to record a length and a quarter-victory over Park Reel.

Ovovango carries the colours of Prince A A Faisal and is trained by multiple- Champion trainer in France, Andre Fabre.

He is the first foal out of Crystal Maze, an unraced Gone West mare who herself is a daughter of Group 1 winner Crystal Music

Group 2 triumph for Jakkalberry

11th March 2013

JAKKALBERRY, a son of Watership Down’s mare Claba Di San Jore, landed the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold at Meydan on Saturday.

By Storming Home,

Jakkalberry has won a group 1 in italy as well an american st leger and finished close third last season’s melbourne cup.

He beat a high-class field in Saturday’s race, earning a tilt at either the Dubai Sheema Classic or the Dubai Gold Cup on World Cup Night (30 March).

He was ridden by Ryan Moore who always had Jakkalberry in a handy position before striking the front inside the closing stages.

Once in front, Moore just kept his mount up to his work and the pair recorded a half-a-length victory over Await The Dawn.

Trainer Marco Botti said: “He was due to run last week but was a bit quiet so we waited for this. He will have needed that so it was a bit of a surprise. We could step him up in trip for the Gold Cup or run in the Sheema Classic again.”

Jakkalberry is one of three Group 1 winners out of Claba Di San Jore. She was purchased for Watership Down Stud at the 2012 Tattersalls Breeding Stock Sale for 575,000gns.

The Fugue remains in training at four

LORD and Lady Lloyd Webber’s champion filly The Fugue has been kept in training as a four-year-old.

Trained by John Gosden, the daughter of Dansili emerged as the best of her generation last year with her win in the Group 1 Nassua Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, the obvious highlight. That day, under a cool ride by Richard Hughes, she swept from last to first to win cosily, beating four individual Group 1 winners (Timepeice, Was, Nahrain and Izzi Top).

She was mightily unlucky to have recorded just one top-flight success last season and will go down as one of the unluckiest losers of a classic ever when a fast-finishing third in the Oaks at Epsom, having been hampered on a number of occasions.

She also went down to Shareta by a narrow margin on unsuitably rain-softened ground in the Yorkshire Oaks before finishing her season with another third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. Once again, the expression ‘dressed up with nowhere to go’ applies as The Fugue was full of running but the gaps never came for jockey William Buick and he passed the post still on the bridle, beaten just over a length by Zagora.

The Fugue’s Nassau Stakes triumph added to her tremendous placed efforts and her win in the Group 3 Musidora Stakes at York saw her crowned Cartier Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. 

Plans for The Fugue are in fruition but there is an exceptional programme for older fillies in Europe and fingers crossed she can add to her tally of wins this year.

Lady Madeleine Lloyd Webber said: “I am delighted that The Fugue remains in training. We do not retain that many yearlings each year so to get one as good as her is very special.

“She gave us some wonderful days last season and fingers crossed she can do the same this year.”

Treasury Devil strikes at Gulfstream Park

4th March 2013

TREASURY Devil provided Watership Down Stud with a winner ‘across the pond’ when scoring at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, 2 March.

The son of Bernardini won an Allowance Optional Claimer worth just shy of $58,000. Up in trip to 1m3f, Treasury Devil covered the ‘firm’ turf course in 2:13.53, beating Exclusive Strike by a length and a half.

Thomas Brandebourger, assistant to trainer Christophe Clement, said: “He has improved since his last race and is more fit as well. He ran great. We're very happy with him. He likes the distance and we knew with the longer distance he would do better.”

Now five, Treasury Devil was formerly trained in the UK by John Gosden. As a juvenile he won twice and as a three-year-old he was placed on every start, including a decent third behind Ocean War in the Listed Newmarket Stakes at Newmarket.

Dar Re Mi to visit Frankel

1st January 2013

ALL at Watership Down Stud are excited to be sending multiple Group 1-winning mare Dar Re Mi to Frankel this spring.

Dar Re Mi is a daughter of the stud’s foundation mare Darara, who bred no less than four individual Group 1 winners.

The daughter of Singspiel is expecting a foal by Dubawi any day now and she will then travel to Banstead Manor Stud near Newmarket to be covered by the world champion.

Watership Down Stud manager Simon Marsh said: "We think he [Frankel] really will suit her well, and inject plenty of speed. She's by Singspiel, so both Sadler's Wells and Danehill are far enough away in the pedigree."

Dar Re Mi landed three Group 1 races during four seasons on the track, including the Sheema Classic, a race won by her Tiger Hill half-brother Rewilding the following year.

Dar Re Mi’s half-sister Evita (by Selkirk) is heading to the Irish National Stud to be covered by top-stallion Invincible Spirit.

She has a foal by Manduro and her two-year-old, by Oasis Dream, is likely to head to the breeze-up sales later this spring.

Group 1-winning two-year-old Crystal Music is in-foal to Dubawi and she is penciled in to return to the leading Darley-stallion again this season.

Crystal Music, winner of the Fillies’ Mile, is the dam of Stakes-performer and recent US-winner Treasury Devil (Bernardini).

Claba Di San Jore, who was bought at last year’s Tattersalls December Sale, will also be covered by Dubawi.

Marsh added: "Claba Di San Jore is in foal to Dubawi and will visit him again this year. The Dubawi/Barathea cross works extremely well. She's already the dam of three Group 1 winners and she's only 14 so she's a great addition to our broodmare band."

Twyla Tharp tops Tattersalls December Sales

4th December 2012

TWYLA Tharp was always expected to cause fireworks when she entered the sale ring at Tattersalls in December and that she did, making the top price of the week at 1.7million guineas.