CAPE BLANCO is off to a tremendous start in the Northern Hemisphere as a first season sire which is fantastic for a new stallion that was Champion 3yo Stayer in Ireland and Champion 4yo Stayer in the USA.
CAPE BLANCO
So to have his first crop 2yo’s out and running over the short courses north of the equator is very encouraging as whatever they are doing now, they should be so much better as older horses over further distances.
He has sired 38 runners: 6 Winners; 7 Placed; and 19 additional runners that have won prizemoney.
That’s 32 prizemoney winners from 38 runners (84.2%).
I
mportantly CAPE BLANCO progeny are proving versatile, having progeny win in the USA (2), GB (2) and Russia (2). These horses have won from 1100m up to 1700m.
Whilst of the 7 placegetters – 5 are placed in the US and 2 are placed in GB.
CAPE BLANCO
Coolmore’s vigorous advertising campaign for Cape Blanco in the USA undoubtedly gave him an even stronger chance as a stallion – he covered the most mares in the 2012 US breeding season covering 220. That made history as the highest stallion by mare numbers in the U.S.A. He covered 141 mares in his second season at stud in the USA.
Just as early success is essential to an aspiring two-year-old in the starting gate, it is just as important for a sire to make a memorable debut in the breeding barn.
In this regard, his fate often rests in the hands of management.
The prestigious Coolmore Stud operation is confident in Cape Blanco and provided him the ample support needed around the globe to cultivate this young stallion’s career.
SIRE: CAPE BLANCO
• A Son of the best sire in the World
GALILEO
• Wonderful racehorse and one of the most dominant sons of Galileo to ever race
•
Champion 3YO Colt in Ireland in 2010 (Intermediate & Long). Champion Turf Male in USA in 2011. 9 wins–3 at 2– 7f to 1½m, £2,575,144, Irish Derby, Gr1, Belmont Man o' War S., Gr1, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S., Gr1, Leopardstown Irish Champion S., Gr1, Arlington Million S., Gr1, York Dante S., Gr2, Fairyhouse Futurity S., Gr2, Leopardstown Tyros S., Gr3, 2d Ascot King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S., Gr1, 4th Longchamp Prix Ganay, Gr1, Meydan Dubai World Cup, Gr1
• Unbeaten 2YO Won Fairyhouse Futurity Stakes-Gr.2 (7f) Won Leopardstown Tyros Stakes-Gr.3 (7f)
• Dual Gr.1 winner as 3YO Won Irish Derby (12f) - Won Irish Champion Stakes (10f) - Annual Timeform Rating of 130 at 3
• Unbeaten in 3 x Gr.1 races on turf as 4YO Won Man o’ War Stakes (11f) - Won Arlington Million (10f) - Won Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (12f) - Eclipse Award: Champion USA Turf Horse of 2011
• By the world's most commercial sire Galileo (8 individual Gr.1 winners in 2014 alone!) CHAMPION SIRE - 2014 Great Britain Stallion Premiership CHAMPION SIRE - 2014 Ireland Stallion Premiership Sire of 177 individual SW including 46 individual Gr.1 winners
• CAPE BLANCO - First-crop Karaka yearlings sold up to $450,000
CAPE BLANCO RACE RECORD:
DESCRIPTION:
CAPE BLANCO - Gr1 Arlington S.
He was unbeaten in three starts as a 2 year old in Ireland, including the Gr3 Tyros Stakes (1400m) at Leopardstown and the Gr 2 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Fairyhouse.
He began his three-year-old career with a win in the Gr2 Dante Stakes (2000m) at York, beating subsequent Gr 1 English Derby winner Workforce, and went on to win the Gr 1 Irish Derby (2400m) at The Curragh at just his sixth start.
He followed a second placing in the Gr 1 King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Ascot with his second Gr 1 success, in the Irish Champion Stakes (2000m) at Leopardstown, beating Rip Vin Winkle by 5 1/2 lengths with a dominant front running performance.
He resumed as a four-year-old with a gritty fourth placing in the Gr 1 Dubai World Cup before he rounded out his career with three Gr 1 wins in the United States, taking out the Man O' War Stakes (2200m) at Belmont, the Arlington Million (2000m) and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic International Stakes (2400m).
In those American wins, he twice beat Gio Ponti and Deans Kitten, rated two of the best horses in the US and his performances there led to him being named leading male turf horse at the Eclipse Awards.
CAPE BLANCO – SALES DATA
Cape Blanco’s first-crop yearlings have been well-received. The high majority were retained to be raced by their breeders. Of the 69 to sell in the USA off an advertised fee of $17,500 USD, they averaged
$78,794, USD (4.6 times Service Fee) and a top price of
$545,088 USD.
In the Southern Hemisphere the figures were equally as good. 45 yearlings that were sold in New Zealand and Australia, off a $14,000 NZD Service Fee they averaged
$96,044 (6.9 times Service Fee) whilst the
26 fillies averaged $106,403 (7.6 times Service Fee).
When you see Cape Blanco in the flesh you’ll be awestruck by his presence and scope.
He is a strong and robust individual, with good length of rein and length to his back that is required for middle distance / staying races. He stands at 16.1 hands. He’s a big chestnut that possesses plenty of depth to his girth, he has the good bone needed to remain the sound horse which he was.
Cape Blanco with his incredible looks and conformation which matched his race record and with the highly successful Coolmore Stud conglomerate behind his marketing drive, it was easy to see how Cape Blanco proved to be the most popular stallion in the USA in 2012 by the number of mares bred to him.
Being a son of Galileo, the most popular stallion son of the great sire Sadler’s Wells, who stands at Coolmore in Ireland, it was a natural choice that Coolmore’s American stud, Ashford, would become the Northern Hemisphere base to kick off for Cape Blanco.
Ashford Stud regularly produces some of the highest covering figures in the States, and in 2012, five of the seven stallions who covered the most mares stood at the farm.
Following Cape Blanco (220) were Scat Daddy (217) in second, Uncle Mo (211) in fourth, Majestic Warrior (167) in sixth, and Giant’s Causeway (166) in seventh.
In addition to his good looks and famous sire, Cape Blanco attracted mares because of his athletic prowess.
Cape Blanco’s first foals arrived in 2013.
Sadler’s Wells best son Galileo, gained accolades on the racecourse and then building on that, became the most important stallion in Europe.
Galileo was a classic winner; He has sired classic winners, including victors in the English Derby.
Almost overnight, they have turned the “long-distance classic” back into the most popular and important racing test for bloodstock in the world.
And as a result of these mighty achievements, Galileo has earned the title of the best stallion in the world.
Of all of Sadler’s Wells sons to have gone to stud, Galileo progeny display a notable amount of speed and their pace generally allows them to be placed effectively by their riders throughout a race, so to make a move when it is to their advantage and to win if they are good enough.
That is what Cape Blanco did in all his races and those are the qualities of great European-bred or raced sires who have excelled in Australia and the USA. Examples of these sires who in turn became breed shapers include Nasrullah, Nijinsky and Ribot.
And it stands to reason that an operation such as Coolmore, abounding with the blood of Galileo should look worldwide for opportunities to place the right horse with the right qualities in the right spot to earn greater opportunities of success.
Part of the logic by Coolmore to race Cape Blanco in the USA was to show the Americans in their own backyard, how good a racehorse he was and to win these important Group 1 events in front of many of the breeders who would use such a high-end stallion and who would want access to Galileo blood.
Cape Blanco’s sire Galileo was already well known to USA racing. He had sired important winners, such as Red Rocks, who won two Gr1’s; the Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Man o’ War S.
Coolmore’s logic was sound. With the natural speed of the Galileo stock and with the enthusiasm that he injects into their racing, this was brilliant marketing by Coolmore.
Galileo’s stock would adapt perfectly to racing in the US and our Southern Hemisphere.
ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL – HIS PEDIGREE
He is the product of an overall high-quality cross, sired by the world’s best stallion at stud, and out of a mare from a successful female family.
Cape Blanco catapulted himself into the headlines. (1) He made history, (2) defeated world-class horses under gruelling conditions and (3) performed well on turf and synthetic (4) Was Champion 3yo in Ireland and (4) Champion Turf Horse in the USA.
The chestnut stallion played a fundamental role in Galileo progeny’s international successes during the 2011 racing season.
Cape Blanco’s pedigree suggests a future of success as a leading sire of top horses on the track and Cape Blanco’s bloodlines suggest his most successful crosses could come with mares descending from the Sir Ivor sire lines. The young sire’s leaner build and pedigree imply particular success with Sir Tristram and Zabeel whilst Danzig, Giant’s Causeway and Storm Cat mares should suit well, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SHUTTLE
SIR PATRICK HOGAN – CAMBRIDGE STUD & COOLMORE STUD - 3 Seasons with CAPE BLANCO
Sir Patrick Hogan has achieved just about everything there is to achieve in breeding and racing.
The Cambridge Stud boss, who bought and stood stallion greats Sir Tristram and Zabeel, savours his successes as much as anyone but he was positively bubbling with excitement in 2012, when he revealed news of an exceptional new stallion acquisition for the New Zealand and Australasian breeding industry.
Cambridge Stud introduced CAPE BLANCO - the five-time Gr1-winning son of Galileo which he agreed to stand under a commercial arrangement with Coolmore Stud.
It's a deal that Sir Patrick worked hard to make happen before the Coolmore Team agreed to his terms and the astute studmaster found it hard to contain his excitement.
"I'm really excited because I like the horse,'' Sir Patrick said.
"I'm excited about the horse because he won five Gr 1 races and the three he won in America were the top of the list.
"He was game every time he ran and he had a great turn of foot, which you need in a stallion these days. He beat horses like Workforce, Rip Van Winkle, Gio Ponti and Deans Kitten, and beat them well.
"Everyone loves Galileo and you can't get a better sire line in the world, going back through Sadler's Wells and Northern Dancer.''
Cape Blanco was a superior racehorse. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, Cape Blanco won nine of his 15 starts, five at Gr1 level and the quality of his performances in Ireland, England and the United States led to him being described as a ``Trans-Atlantic superstar''.
It also led to Cape Blanco beginning his stud career at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky, where he has already satisfied Sir Patrick's strict demands for fertility.
"I'm so excited about this horse because you can't buy this kind of stallion any more. If he was for sale, our kind of money couldn't buy him,'' Sir Patrick said.
"We've done this type of deal twice before with Cape Cross and Stravinsky, two stallions that we couldn't purchase, but they proved how commercial and popular they were.
"Zabeel is retired so Cape Blanco is going to be a huge horse to have on the farm.
"He fits the bill because we've got a good backup for our premier-bred mares.
"In Cape Blanco we're getting access to a five-time Gr1 winning horse, who is beautifully bred as a son of the world champion sire Galileo and out of a mare [Laurel Delight] who won four races and was speedy enough to win at five furlongs [1000m] and who has been such a good producer that she was named 2010 Irish broodmare of the year.''
Cape Blanco's sire Galileo has produced 199 individual stakes winners and Sir Patrick has noted the presence of Round Table in his new stallion's maternal pedigree, a sire who has proved to be a successful cross with Sir Tristram and Zabeel-line mares.
Sir Patrick admitted a potential disadvantage of not owning Cape Blanco meant that if he became successful as a sire, Coolmore for purely commercial reasons, would transfer him.
However, he expected to get at least three seasons from him at Cambridge Stud.
"One could say get the best out the horse for as long as we can. The bloodlines are available in New Zealand and the access is there for breeders,'' he said.
"It's done no harm in the past with Cape Cross, Stravinsky, High Chaparral and Montjeu. That blood is out there and propping up our pedigrees.
"If he becomes a champion sire, there's every chance I would lose him back to Coolmore, but at least we've got the opportunity for three years.''
Sir Patrick set his service fee for Cape Blanco at $14,000 - a significantly lower figure than that wanted by Coolmore Stud.
CAPE BLANCO MOVES TO JAPAN FOR 2015 Northern Hemisphere Season
Owned outright by Coolmore Stud, the Eclipse Champion Cape Blanco (by Galileo), has been standing at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud and shuttled to New Zealand’s Cambridge Stud since retiring from racing in 2012.
However after 3 highly successful seasons at Ashford, in 2015 the astute Coolmore Stud agreed to terms to stand Cape Blanco for the Northern Hemisphere season at the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association (JBAA) stallion station in Hokkaido, Japan.
Cape Blanco headed to Hokkaido after completing his 2014 Southern Hemisphere season at Sir Patrick Hogan’s Cambridge Stud in New Zealand.
In a brilliant tactical decision by Coolmore, Cape Blanco became the first son of Galileo to stand at stud in Japan. With three top books of big numbers of mares in the USA and New Zealand, Coolmore have now exposed the highly successful Japanese breeding industry to the Galileo bloodline to work its magic with some of the best broodmares in the world that reside in Japan.
Cape Blanco is an exciting young prospect with his oldest progeny in the Southern Hemisphere having just turned 2yo’s the future looks bright for this stallion based upon early success.
