One year after adding three Champions to its roster, Darley Australia will offer another four Champion stallions for the 2021 season. Bivouac, Exceed And Excel’s World Champion Sprinter, will be joined by three outstanding shuttle sires: Pinatubo, Ghaiyyath and Earthlight, every one of them a Champion.
They boast 12 G1 victories and join Darley Australia just 12 months after the arrival of fellow Champions Too Darn Hot, Blue Point, and Microphone.
“These four horses are of a quality that is as high as we could wish for,” said Managing Director Vin Cox. “Any farm would take any one of them in a heartbeat.”
“Each is an immaculately bred son of a prepotent sire. We are immensely proud to have them and can’t wait to offer these Champions to breeders.”
Watch: World Champion Sprinter, Champion three-year-old and three-time G1 winner, Bivouac
Bivouac, who emulated his sire when winning the G1 Newmarket Handicap as a three-year-old, will aim to add a fourth G1 victory to his impressive resume in next month’s G1 T J Smith Stakes. A tilt at Royal Ascot’s prestigious sprint is being eyed before he joins his Champion sire in the breeding barn.
The shuttle trio, who all retired from racing last year after carrying the Godolphin blue with distinction, boast race records that earned them the highest honours, supported by impeccable pedigrees.
Pinatubo is standing his first season at Dalham Hall Stud in the UK having claimed the Horse of the Year title as a two-year-old thanks to a season in which he earned a Timeform rating of 134. That’s higher than Frankel at the same age, and he is the highest-rated European juvenile for 25 years.
The three-time G1-winning son of Shamardal produced the highlight of his career in a nine-length romp in the G1 National Stakes at The Curragh, Ireland, a performance described as the “defining juvenile performance of our time”. He finished his juvenile season unbeaten in six starts.
Watch: Undefeated Champion two-year-old and three-time G1 winner, Pinatubo
Ghaiyyath, the Longines World’s Best Racehorse and Cartier Horse of the Year for 2020, is the best-ever son of the great Dubawi. He took the two strongest races on the planet in 2020 and retired a four-time G1 winner. These elite-level victories saw him beat 11-time G1 winner Enable, seven-time G1 victors Magical and Stradivarius, plus a host of other racetrack stars.
According to trainer Charlie Appleby: “He’s got tactical pace and he’s got gears…He has everything.”
Watch: Champion and four-time G1-winning World's Best Racehorse, Ghaiyyath
Earthlight, who like Pinatubo is a son of Shamardal, earned his Champion title as the leading two-year-old of his generation in France. He was unbeaten in a five-start juvenile campaign, culminating in victory at the G1 Prix Morny in Deauville, followed by a record-breaking triumph in the G1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.
With blistering speed, G1 precocity and head-down determination combined with a Classic pedigree, Earthlight has all the attributes required to succeed at stud.
Earthlight and Ghaiyyath will stand at Darley’s Northwood Park in Victoria; Bivouac and Pinatubo will join the Kelvinside, NSW roster.
Watch: Undefeated Champion two-year-old who was five from five at two, Earthlight
Fees for all four stallions will be announced at a later date.
To discuss your mating plans for 2021, contact a member of our nominations team on 02 6543 9000 or 03 5735 8100, or email hello@darley.com.au.
