Exceed’s daughters continuing their father’s extraordinary influence
Written by Lydia Symonds via TDN AusNZ on 17 October 2022
Darley stalwart Exceed And Excel is enjoying a brilliant start to the season as a stallion and he hit headlines twice at Caulfield when two of his daughters produced Group 1 winners in the space of five days. We take a deep-dive into the son of Danehill’s (USA) extraordinary talents as a damsire.
If there is anything the last few years have taught us, there isn’t much Exceed And Excel can’t do. He is still siring winners at an impressive rate, recently joining an elite group of stallions to have chalked up 200 stakes scorers and last week he was handed another two Group 1 winners as a broodmare sire which saw his overall tally in that metric swell to 12.
Exceed And Excel - a multiple Group 1-winning son of the influential sire Danehill - retired to stud in 2004 and has so far sired 204 stakes winners, headed by 16 Group 1 winners, while his total tally as a broodmare sire stands at 71.
Since August 1 in Australia, Exceed And Excel’s daughters have produced 62 winners, headed by four stakes scorers and they include two Group 1 triumphants, both of which were provided last week.
The first of those elite-level winners as a broodmare sire was provided last Saturday when the Lindsey Smith-trained Tuvalu (Kermadec {NZ}) landed the G1 Toorak H., before the Chris Waller-trained Madame Pommery (No Nay Never {USA}) added to the tally with her ultra-impressive win in the G1 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield. Tuvalu is out of placed-mare Hangin’ Touch, while Madame Pommery’s dam is the well-related, dual-winning Darley-bred mare Cancel.
This rich vein of form sees the Darley resident sit fourth by total number of winners in the race to be crowned Australia’s Champion Broodmare Sire, while he is fifth by earnings.
A son of fellow Darley inmate Kermadec (NZ), Tuvalu became the first stakes winner bred on this cross, which boasts only one other horse to race, Le Heros, who is also a winner.
Meanwhile, Madame Pommery is the product of a tried and tested nick that has proved potent in the past. The 3-year-old filly is by the Coolmore Stud-based sire No Nay Never (USA), meaning she is bred on the same cross as dual Group 1 winner Ten Sovereigns (Ire), who now stands alongside his father in the Coolmore barn in Fethard in Ireland.
Ten Sovereigns and Madame Pommery headline a nick that has produced eight winners from 10 to race, which fires at stakes winners to runners strike rate of 20 per cent, making it one of Exceed And Excel’s best crosses.
Another successful cross for Exceed And Excel is when his daughters are mated to another Darley sire in Lonhro. This nick has produced 27 winners from 38 winners to race and they are headed by six stakes winners including Group 1 winner Bounding, which strikes at a stakes winners to runners rate of 15 per cent.
Unsurprisingly, another potent cross for the stallion with the former shuttler Medaglia d’Oro (USA), who covered eight books of mares in the Southern Hemisphere. This cross has resulted in 27 winners, two Group 1 scorers, his fellow Group 1-producing sire, Astern and G1 New Zealand Derby winner Crown Prosecutor, while G2 Danehill S. scorer Kallos, who finished second in the G2 Caulfield Sprint on Saturday, is also out of an Exceed And Excel mare.
Over the years, Exceed And Excel’s daughters have shown a special affinity with the late Coolmore sire Galileo (Ire).
Six horses have been produced on this cross and all have made the track, with only one failing to get its head in front. Of those five winners, three are Group / Graded scorers, and these are spearheaded by G1 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) and Magic Attitude (GB), who landed the G1 Belmont Oaks in 2020.
Outstanding numbers
Godolphin Australia's Head Of Sales, Alastair Pulford told TDN AusNZ that looking at Exceed And Excel’s broodmare numbers he is well on the way to becoming one of the great global broodmare sires.
“There is the odd stallion that becomes a great broodmare sire and Exceed And Excel is heading that way I think,” said Pulford.
“His daughters have produced 12 Group 1 winners and although he is getting on a bit, that is still an outstanding number for a relatively early stage in this time of his career.”
Comparatively, Fastnet Rock, who retired to stud in 2005, a year after Exceed And Excel, is also considered one of the world's best damsires and he is represented by 73 overall stakes winners as a broodmare sire, but only six of them are top-flight winners, half of Exceed And Excel’s haul.
Meanwhile, Lonhro, who joined Darley's roster in the same year as the son of Danehill, has chalked up 54 winners as a damsire, but only two of his daughters have produced elite-level winners, with both Gatting (Hard Spun {USA}) and recent G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile (Astern), both out of Lonhro mares.
It is important to note that Lonhro's numbers are perhaps less impressive given the fact he never shuttled to the Northern Hemisphere. Both Exceed And Excel and Fastnet Rock have more progeny on the ground given their years of covering books of mares in both hemispheres.
It's the start of the thoroughbred breeding season! 🐎
As a stallion, Exceed And Excel has made his name siring sprinter/milers, but his daughters can seemingly throw horses that can cover longer distances. He is the broodmare sire of a G1 Belmont Oaks winner and a G1 Epsom Derby winner, while Crown Prosecutor, out of his daughter Riptide, landed the G1 New Zealand Derby.
“What Exceed has achieved already is unbelievable. What is astonishing when you look at it is his diversity as a broodmare sire. His daughters produced the winners of an English Derby and also a great sprinter like Ten Sovereigns, but also Guineas winners like Madame Pommery and Tuvalu, who won a Group 1 over a mile,” explained Pulford.
“Exceed And Excel as a stallion would be more noted as a sire of sprinters or up to a mile, his daughters seem to be capable of throwing high-class horses over whatever distance. What he is doing is amazing.
“Because he imparts so much speed into his progeny, that’s what I thought was the key to his success, however, now I think maybe that’s not the key at all, maybe he just imparts class and that’s really exciting going forward.
“He is such a terrific stallion as we all know, but to get so many daughters who are producing high-class horses in a short space of time. I look back at Habitat and Northfields, who are great broodmare sires and he is going to do similar things I think. He’s on track to become a seriously great broodmare sire.”
One of the most impressive aspects of Exceed And Excel’s story is that while his daughters are writing a new chapter of his stallion career, he himself is also still going strong in the breeding barn.
Only two weeks ago, he was represented by two new stakes winners in Australia, in the shape of brilliant 2-year-old Zulfiqar, who landed the Listed Maribyrnong Trial S. and Excelida, winner of the G2 Rose Of Kingston S. Meanwhile, he is still making his mark in the Northern Hemisphere, with Mischief Magic (Ire) adding to his global tally with her victory in the G3 Sirenia S. in September.
“His total number is 70 and that is a good number for stallions that are no longer with us or retired, but he is still serving and siring winners himself, so it really is impressive. The fact that he is still getting 2-year-old stakes winners is awesome.
“He is still going strong in the barn and he is getting mares in foal and he looks fantastic. We’re delighted with the way he is shaping up his season.”
Mischief Magic (IRE) (2C Exceed And Excel x Veil Of Silence, by Elusive Quality) J :William T. Buick T :Charles Appleby O : Godolphin 🥈 Dramatised (Showcasing) 🥉 Private Creed pic.twitter.com/wCmr4OhWWA
