Earthlight, the powerful undefeated Champion Two-Year-Old combining blistering speed, G1 precocity and head-down determination complemented by a Classic pedigree – he has all the attributes required to succeed at stud in Australia.
A descendant of the all-to-familiar Shamardal, Earthlight earned the sought-after Champion juvenile title in France, a region renowned for producing stallions suited to Australasia. 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.
Earthlight bears an uncanny resemblance to another impressive son of Shamardal, in Lope de Vega. Both horses were trained in France by André Fabre, and both are handsome chestnuts with white blazes.
Lope de Vega’s impact on Australia has been remarkable, recently siring the winners of the Darley Sprint Classic, TJ Smith Stakes, Lightning Stakes, The Goodwood Handicap, Stradbroke Handicap and Kingsford-Smith Cup. All G1s raced between 1,000m-1,350m.
It doesn’t stop there. This year Lope de Vega had solid yearling results at Magic Millions and Inglis, with his highest-priced yearling selling to Ciaron Maher Racing for $700,000. His other results included $650,000, $480,000, $400,000 and $340,000.
“History never repeats itself, but it does rhyme.” - Mark Twain
Earthlight retired to stud with seven wins, four at Group level. Wearing a three-figure book in his first season at stud in Australia, he has numbers and quality with nine black-type mares, highlighted by former champion juvenile and Golden Slipper winner Forensics.
ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Virage de Fortune and Gimcrack Stakes winner Chantski also visited the stallion.
Earthlight covered 11 Stakes-producing mares, including the dams of Exosphere, Still A Star and Paximadia.
Others included Admiring, a Group-placed daughter of Street Cry, who has also produced the Group-placed Miss Admiration. Estee, a Group 1-placed daughter of the outstanding triple G1 winner Tycoon Lil; Waterloo Bridge, a daughter of Epsom Derby winner New Approach and VRC Oaks queen Kensington Palace.
Three mares in foal to Earthlight were sold at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, making a nice profit on their service. Celandine sold for $310,000, Segalas fetched $160,000 and Zilva made $140,000.
So, it’s no surprise that Earthlight’s return to Australia this season is highly anticipated as the Champion Two-Year-Old prepares for a second season at stud at Northwood Park in Victoria standing for a service fee of $22,000 including GST.
