TUESDAY, 16 JANUARY, 2018 It was already clear by the time of his premature death in 2015 SCAT DADDY WELL at the age of only 11 that Scat Daddy was an extremely good stallion. It is now clear that he was a great one. REPRESENTED IN IRELAND Scat Daddy was a very good racehorse. He was one of the best juveniles in the USA in 2006 and then one of the best 3-year-olds the following year, when his form was good enough to see him start third favourite in the GI Kentucky Derby. However, he ran badly in that race and was found subsequently to have damaged a tendon. As so often proves to be the case with tendon injuries, even minor ones, this setback meant that Scat Daddy's season was over. Inevitably, his retirement was announced the following month. In this case, retirement meant recruitment to the Coolmore roster at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Michael Tabor having had the foresight to buy a significant share in the horse following his GII Sanford S. triumph 11 months previously. Cont. p2 Caravaggio at Coolmore Stud | Amy Lynam for ITM IN TDN AMERICA TODAY PEDIGREE INSIGHTS: INSTILLED REGARD By John Berry Andrew Caulfield investigates the pedigree of GIII Lecomte S. Pilgrims doing the rounds of the extremely successful and hero Instilled Regard (Arch). Click or tap here to go straight to popular Irish Stallion Trail will have seen some exciting new TDN America. stallions as well as the established stars. Possibly the most familiar of the new recruits on view was the charismatic grey sprinter Caravaggio, a winner at Royal Ascot in each of the past two seasons. Possibly the least familiar was El Kabeir, a 6-year-old who had never left the United States prior to his recent arrival at Yeomanstown Stud and whose best win came in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs in 2014. Despite their differing profiles, though, there is one strong link between the pair: both are providing Irish breeders with a valuable opportunity to tap into the genes of their sire, the late and much lamented Scat Daddy (Johannesburg). In the current era which has seen a worrying narrowing of the spread of sire-lines, it is always a pleasure to see a dominant stallion emerge from one of the less ubiquitous lines. Scat Daddy did descend from the seemingly ever-present Northern Dancer (Nearctic) but not via one of the usual sources. So many of the Northern Dancer-line stallions (particularly in Europe) come via Sadler's Wells or Danzig that Scat Daddy, who descended from the great patriarch via Johannesburg, Hennessy, Storm Cat and Storm Bird, could be seen as a breath of fresh air. TDN EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL • PAGE 2 OF 8 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 16 JANUARY, 2018 Scat Daddy | Coolmore Scat Daddy Well Represented in Ireland Cont. from p1 At the time of Scat Daddy=s retirement, his sire Johannesburg was looking as if he might be an influential link in the Storm Bird branch of the Northern Dancer line. Johannesburg had been an outstanding 2-year-old in 2001, emulating the achievement of Arazi (Blushing Groom {Fr}) 10 years previously of being champion 2-year-old of both Europe and the USA. Scat Daddy was a member of Johannesburg=s second crop. When he retired from racing in the summer of 2007 and moved to Ashford Stud, (Ironically, this proved to be a slightly misleading Scat Daddy joined a roster on which his father was still very advertisement as Daddy Long Legs, a lanky stayer, is far from the popular at a fee of $65,000. However, Johannesburg=s status typical son of Scat Daddy. He is, though, true to type in that he soon began to wane. His fee was hugely reduced in advance of had plenty of ability and was effective on both turf and dirt, as the 2009 season, and he was subsequently moved on (to Japan). he confirmed the following spring when taking the G2 UAE As his father fell from favour, so did Scat Daddy, despite still Derby at Meydan). being totally unproven at stud. His fee in his first season (2008) Since then, Scat Daddy=s reputation has grown year on year. It was $30,000, but it had already been reduced to $10,000 for his was high when he died in 2015 and is even higher now. The fourth season before he had even had a runner. brilliantly fast No Nay Never really put Scat Daddy on the map At the start of the current century, the Storm Bird branch of with a string of excellent performances spread over England, the Northern Dancer line looked set to thrive thanks to Storm France and the USA in 2013 and =14, at the ages of two and Cat, North America=s Champion Sire of 1999 and 2000. Storm three. His feat of registering a superb win as a juvenile at Royal Cat=s best son Giant=s Causeway was a champion racehorse in Ascot and then following up in the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville Europe in 2000 and has gone on to top the North American was matched in 2016 by the brilliant Lady Aurelia, another General Sires= Table three times (2009, 2010, 2012). But it is inmate of Wesley Ward=s barn. Lady Aurelia then joined now looking as if Johannesburg, a son of Storm Cat=s Grade Caravaggio in scoring at the Royal Meeting in both 2016 and =17, I-winning son Hennessy, is the branch=s key component. Scat her second victory there coming in the G1 King=s Stand S.) Lady Daddy is largely responsible for this situation. Aurelia=s first Royal Ascot victory made her the second Scat Daddy began having runners in 2011 (when, as mentioned successive Scat Daddy filly to take the G2 Queen Mary S. for above, his nominations were readily available for a mere Wesley Ward, following the triumph in 2015 by Acapulco, who $10,000). He had an instant advertisement in Europe that year had gone on to finish second at weight-for-age in the G1 when his well-named chestnut son Daddy Long Legs carried Nunthorpe S. at York later in the summer. Michael Tabor=s colours to victory in the G2 Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket. Cont. p3 TDN EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL • PAGE 3 OF 8 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 16 JANUARY, 2018 Scat Daddy Well Represented in Ireland Cont. Furthermore, Caravaggio and Lady Aurelia were not the only Scat Daddy offspring to score at Royal Ascot in 2017, where the stallion was also represented by Sandringham H. heroine Con Te Partiro, another of Wesley Ward=s charges. No doubt inspired by the early success of Daddy Long Legs, the Coolmore team has more recently made sure that plenty of sons of Scat Daddy have found their way into Aidan O=Brien=s Ballydoyle stable. Caravaggio, impressive winner of his first six races including the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot and the G1 Vice President, International Operations Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh as a 2-year-old in 2016 and Gary King the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2017, has been the Twitter: @garykingTDN star so far. However, he might not hold that honour indefinitely [email protected] with the stable=s current 3-year-olds including the Scat Daddy + 1.732.320.0975 colts Mendelssohn, Sioux Nation and Seahenge. Last term the former (who had cost $3,000,000 as a yearling at Keeneland in International Editor September 2016) stamped himself as a live Classic contender on Kelsey Riley whichever side of the Atlantic his connections choose when he Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] followed up his second place in the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket by taking the G1 Breeders= Cup Juvenile Turf at Del European Editor Mar. Sioux Nation won the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot and the Emma Berry G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh while Seahenge (a Twitter: @collingsberry $750,000 Keeneland yearling) landed the G2 Champagne S. at [email protected] Doncaster. Associate International Editor Heather Anderson Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen Twitter: @AlaynaCullen [email protected] Contributing Editor Alan Carasso Twitter: @EquinealTDN Cafe Racing Sean Cronin Tom Frary [email protected] No Nay Never | Amy Lynam for ITM Irish Correspondent Daithi Harvey To date, Scat Daddy=s worldwide tally of progeny Grade/Group 1 victories stands at 43, the latest top-level strike having come Regular Columnists when G1 Kentucky Oaks runner-up Daddy=s Lil Darling took the Andrew Caulfield G1 American Oaks at Santa Anita at the end of December. That John Berry was the seventh Grade/Group 1 triumph of 2017 for a son or Kevin Blake daughter of Scat Daddy, a total which included the victory in the Tom Peacock GI Beverly D S. at Arlington of Dacita (Chi) who ranks as arguably the best of several stars produced by the stallion during his South American shuttling stints. Cont. p4 TDN EUROPE/INTERNATIONAL • PAGE 4 OF 8 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • 16 JANUARY, 2018 Scat Daddy Well Represented in Ireland Cont. Caravaggio has now joined No Nay Never at Coolmore; while Scat Daddy, of course, is still unproven as a sire of sires. But he El Kabeir has come to Ireland to stand at Yeomanstown Stud. looks to have a very good Simultaneously, the super-tough chance of making a huge Tu Brutus (Chi), a nine-time posthumous contribution in this winner who scored in stakes respect. The first yearlings by No company on six occasions, takes Nay Never (who stands at up stud duties at Crestwood Coolmore in Ireland) made a Farm in Kentucky.