One year after adding three Champions to its roster, Darley previously announced that another four Champions will join its roster in 2021, three outstanding shuttle sires: Pinatubo (Shamardal), Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) and Earthlight (Shamardal) will join local hero Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) who contests the G1 TJ Smith Stakes on Saturday, 10 April and whose fee will be announced at the conclusion of his racing.
Leading the Champion shuttle trio is Champion two-year-old Pinatubo. Undefeated in six unchallenged victories including two at G1 level including the G1 Dewhurst Stakes, Charlie Appleby described him as the ultimate professional.
“As an individual, he was a horse who had a great constitution,” Appleby recalls. “He was mentally very laidback but physically very strong. I can see how Pinatubo will fit into the Australian industry. He had an abundance of natural speed, as well as the strength to be a precocious 2-year-old."
Pinatubo will stand at Kelvinside, New South Wales at a fee of $44,000 (inc GST).
Another Chalie Appleby-trained Champion, this time crowned the best racehorse in the world, Ghaiyyath was earmarked a champion from early on.
A €1.1 million foal at Goffs, Ghaiyyath proved the perfect sales horse and perfectly bred being a son of Dubawi from the G1-winning Galileo mare Nightime. He backed these credentials up with the perfect racetrack performance.
“He was just a horse who, as he got older and stronger, he really showed his natural pace, but he could also stay, which is a great attribute," Appleby reflects. "The exciting thing about him was the pace that he could put into a race – and I’ve always put him and Blue Point under the same banner in that they were two very exciting horses to watch in the morning, but also they delivered in the afternoon."
Ghaiyyath will stand at Northwood Park, Victoria for a fee of $27,500 (inc GST).
The third Champion for 2021 is Shamardal's speed-specialist son Earthlight. Crowned undefeated Champion two-year-old, Earthlight displayed blistering speed winning five from five and running a course record in the G1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, and they've been racing there for over three centuries.
Earthlight has a striking resemblance to another son of Shamardal in Lope De Vega. Both were trained by André Fabre, both won two G1s, both are chestnut and both have a striking white blaze.
Earthlight will stand at Northwood Park in Victoria at a fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
