TUESDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2020 DEIRDRE TO VISIT GALILEO IN 2021 TARA STUD'S A new direction in the extraordinary odyssey of the Japanese HOMECOMING KING mare Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}BReizend {Jpn, by Special Week {Jpn}) began on Monday when the 6-year-old left her adopted home of Newmarket to begin her stud career in Ireland. Her first mating is planned to be with Coolmore's champion sire Galileo (Ire). Bred by Northern Farm and raced by Toji Morita, Deirdre's first three seasons of racing were restricted largely to Japan, where she won five races, including the G1 Shuka Sho. She also took third in the G1 Dubai Turf on her first start outside her native country. Following her return visit to the Dubai World Cup meeting in 2019, Deirdre travelled on to Hong Kong and then to Newmarket, which has subsequently remained her base for an ambitious international campaign. Cont. p6 River Boyne | Benoit photo IN TDN AMERICA TODAY VOLATILE SETTLING IN AT THREE CHIMNEYS By Emma Berry and Alayna Cullen GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. winner Volatile (Violence) is new to On part of its 70-mile journey across Ireland, the River Boyne Three Chimneys Farm in 2021. The TDN’s Katie Ritz caught up flows not far from Tara Stud in County Meath, but the stallion with Three Chimneys’ Tom Hamm regarding the new recruit. named in its honour has taken a far more meandering course Click or tap here to go straight to TDN America. simply to return to source. Approaching his sixth birthday, River Boyne (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) is back home from America and about to embark on a stallion career five years after he was sold by his breeder Derek Iceton at the Goffs November Foal Sale. On Sunday, his full-brother will pass through the same sale ring, and potential buyers would do well to reflect on the career of his elder sibling, described by Iceton as a "hard-knocking horse". While River Boyne had the speed and precocity so beloved of the commercial market, he also had the durability which should be high on the list of pre-requisites for a new stallion. In this regard, his racing career was markedly similar to that of his perennially popular sire Dandy Man, who retired to Ballyhane Stud at the age of seven with 30 races under his belt. It is perhaps no surprise to see the name of Ballyhane's Joe Foley in the sales returns as the pinhooker of River Boyne--a i20,000 foal who became a i65,000 Goffs Sportsman's yearling and had his first three starts at two in Ireland for Gordon Elliott. But it was following his reappearance in the ring at the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale that his career really started to flow. Cont. p2 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 11 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2020 River Boyne Cont. from p1 Irish breeders incredibly well over the last number of years. And Bought by Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal, River this is the first son of Dandy Man to come to stud. So I'm Boyne moved to the Californian stable of Jeff Mullins and won delighted he's back. Obviously, I'm delighted we bred him. I his first two starts at Santa Anita, including the Listed Pasadena think he's exactly what the market wants and we stood him at a S., followed later in his very competitive price to try and 3-year-old season by victory in keep my customers happy." the GIII La Jolla H. From that day River Boyne enters stud at on, he never finished out of the i5,000, standing alongside first four, winning two Grade II Tara's two sons of Dark Angel contests as a 4-year-old before (Ire), Alhebayeb (Ire) and earning his Grade I laurels with Estidhkaar (Ire). Despite the victory in the Frank E. Kilroe obvious sentimental lure of Mile in March this year. standing a stallion he bred, "I followed him through all of Iceton insists River Boyne had to his racing career," recalls Iceton, pass other tests first. who has recently welcomed He says, "You know, the first River Boyne home to Tara Stud. Click above to watch Alayna Cullen speak with Derek Iceton of Tara question you ask yourself when "He is a really noble, proper, Stud on new recruit River Boyne. you bring a colt to stud is, would hard-knocking horse. Tough, I use that horse myself? And, if sound and consistent throughout his whole career. So that's the you have to think more than two nanoseconds about it, you sort of horse I wanted for my customers here." shouldn't be standing him. So, whether I bred him or not, he was He added, "What they're looking for is a sprinter/miler type, always a horse I was going to go for. I was very fortunate, I had a who is correct. And I often say that the cheaper the horse is, the lovely line of communication with his owners in California, who more correct the individual has to be. Dandy Man has served have been incredibly kind to us during his racing career.@ Cont. p3 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 11 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2020 River Boyne Cont. He added, AAnd then when he was being retired I got in very quickly and got on board. So I'm going to stand the horse on his own merits. We breed plenty of good horses around here. He's been an exceptional one in the last couple of years but he wouldn't be here [other than for the fact that] he's the right horse for the job." Senior Vice President Gary King Iceton continues, "The people who are buying the foals and Twitter: @garykingTDN the yearlings are looking for those foals that have a walk and fill [email protected] the eye. [River Boyne] has got the walk. There's no reason why + 1.732.320.0975 his progeny won't have a walk. So, it's important, again, if somebody comes to look at a stallion here, they can make up International Editor their mind within about three steps of him walking out the door. Kelsey Riley Is this horse for me or not? Does he fill your eye? Does he have Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN that little bit of zing about him that you'd like to use? You know, [email protected] if you have to look at him a couple of walks up and down, I think European Editor the answer then will be a 'no'." Emma Berry As well as that "little bit of zing", there's no doubt that sire Twitter: @collingsberry power counts for an awful lot when launching a new stallion [email protected] and, in this regard, River Boyne can rely on some reflected glory from the exploits of Ballyhane Stud's flagship horse. Cont. p4 Associate International Editor Heather Anderson Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen Twitter: @AlaynaCullen [email protected] Contributing Editors Alan Carasso Christina Bossinakis Cafe Racing Sean Cronin Tom Frary [email protected] Irish Correspondent Daithi Harvey Regular Columnists Chris McGrath | John Berry | Kevin Blake Amy Lynam | Melissa Steele IN TDN AUS/NZ TODAY HALF TO GOLDEN SIXTY SET FOR MAGICS A Capitalist (Aus) half-sister to Hong Kong Group 1 winner Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d’Oro) will sell at Magic Millions next month. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Aus/NZ. River Boyne | Benoit photo TDN EUROPE • PAGE 4 OF 11 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2020 River Boyne Cont. people see what the foal is like, and see what daddy is like, it's "Dandy Man is a hell of a sire," Iceton says. "And, I suppose probably a relatively unique marketing ploy," says Iceton. one other thing about Dandy Mans, they're very good looking, Reflecting on River Boyne's younger days, he adds, "As a foal, colts and fillies, but they've done particularly well in Hong Kong. he always had that great walk. He always had a great attitude. So a lot of those good colts were And, to be quite honest, I hadn't getting bought to go to Hong seen him from the time he went Kong, and of course they have from Europe to America and been gelded, so there is no came back here. And, with a coming back from that. It just certain degree of trepidation goes to show how sound and when the truck arrived in, I tough they are. Because, unless thought, God, I hope I'm going they X-ray properly, unless they to like this horse. I hope he's were sound enough through and everything he was. So once he through, they wouldn't be there. got off the truck, he was Look at any decent card in Hong absolutely clean-limbed, he still Kong and just look at the has the walk, he still has a great number of Dandy Man's attitude, which actually comes [offspring] that are running from his mother. His mother's there at the highest level. So I just a lovely, lovely mare." was lucky this fellow went west Their dam Clytha (GB) (Mark rather than east." Derek Iceton of Tara Stud | Tattersalls Of Esteem {Ire}) was bred at Usk River Boyne's brother goes through Goffs on Sunday as lot Valley Stud by Kevin Mercer and, though she was winless in her 602, one of three foals being brought to the sale by Tara Stud.