SUNDAY, 31 JANUARY 2021 ITBA AWARD WINNERS HONORED VALUE SIRES PART 6: The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders= Association honored the human and equine stars of 2020 during a virtual ceremony for PROVEN SIRES its National Breeding and Racing Awards on Saturday evening. The ITBA Hall of Fame inductee for 2020 was the Irish National Stud. Ireland=s Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue accepted the honor on behalf of the Irish State, while President Michael D Higgins wrote a personal message to the Irish National Stud in recognition of its national importance. The popular Wild Geese Award, honoring an Irish national who has made an impact on the industry abroad, went this year to Gordon Cunningham of Curraghmore Stud in New Zealand. Cunningham has been based in the Southern Hemisphere for over two decades and has welcomed and helped nurture many young Irish that have gone to those shores. Tattersalls=s Todd Watt received the Special Recognition Award, while Clare Manning was honored with the Next Generation Award and Derek and Gay Veitch=s Ringfort Stud received the Breeder of the Year award. The equine award winners were as follows: Shiskin (Ire) (Sholokhov {Ire}), Novice Hurdler of the Year; Champ (Ire) Oasis Dream | Juddmonte (King=s Theatre {Ire}), Novice Chaser of the Year; Paisley Park (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}), Hurdler of the Year; Altior (Ire) (High By Kelsey Riley Chaparral {Ire}), Chaser of the Year; Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), 2-year-old filly; Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), 2- As breeding sheds prepare to swing open their doors in the year-old colt; Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), 3-year-old filly; Pinatubo coming weeks, we bring you the final installment of our 2021 (Ire) (Shamardal), 3-year-old colt; and Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi Value Sires series. Gone are the days of dissecting sales averages {Ire}), Older Horse of the Year. and speculating on the comments of the judges; these elder See Monday=s TDN for more on the ITBA Awards. statesmen have proven their mettle on the racecourse, and a few of them are even available at their lowest ever fees. While value exists in all price brackets and for all budgets, we IN TDN AMERICA TODAY have chosen to limit the scope of this analysis to stallions standing in Europe for ,/i20,000 and below, selecting two GREATEST HONOUR ROLLS IN HOLY BULL Greatest Honour blows by competition to take Saturday's sires apiece that stand between 15,000 and 20,000; 10,000 GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park. Click or tap here to go and 12,500 and below 10,000. Cont. p2 straight to TDN America. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • 31 JANUARY 2021 Value Sires cont. winner Siskin, G1 Melbourne Cup winner Twilight Payment (Ire), As we have covered in depth the sire crops up to those which G1 Cox Plate scorer Sir Dragonet (Ire) and G1 Prix Saint-Alary have first-crop 3-year-olds this year, stallions highlighted here victress Tawkeel (GB) on his honor roll in addition to standout will be those with at least two crops of racing age fully behind juveniles Miss Amulet (Ire) and Chindit (Ire). A mark of his them. consistent brilliance is that Oasis Dream is still well-supported in Selecting the final six was far from an easy exercise. There the sales ring, too: his 29 yearlings sold in 2020 averaged were many worthy candidates, and in addition to the raw data i86,669/,76,604. It=s hard to imagine a horse in Oasis Dream=s likes percentages of winners and stakes winners and overall price range with a better chance to get a breeder anything from career performances, other factors taken into consideration a sales horse to a potential broodmare or a top-class runner. included price point and the current trajectory of the horse=s The six years younger Mastercraftsman (Ire) is following a career. similar trajectory; in fact, he has an average of 9.6 stakes winners per crop, versus 8.7 for 15,000 to 20,000 Oasis Dream. From eight crops This price bracket must be of racing age, the grey has one of the most intriguing of supplied 77 stakes winners them all: it includes not only (6.3% of starters) and he gets the ever-reliable Iffraaj (GB) winners at a rate of 62.3% (of and Nathaniel (Ire) at a career- starters). Mastercraftsman has low fees, but also the incredibly 15 Group 1 winners, just two popular Dandy Man (Ire) and off Oasis Dream, and he the rising talent Make Believe likewise gets them at the (GB). But two stallions stand highest level: Alpha Centauri out in this price range on both (Ire) was champion 3-year-old percent of stakes winners to filly and won the Coronation S., runners and winners to Falmouth S., Irish 1000 Guineas runners: Oasis Dream (GB) Mastercraftsman | Coolmore and Prix Jacques le Marois; The (,20,000) and Mastercraftsman (Ire) (i15,000). Grey Gatsby (Ire) took the G1 One would be hard-pressed to nominate a sire in this price Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Irish Champion S., and Amazing range that has compiled a body of work over a career that Maria (Ire) and A Raving Beauty (Ger) each won a pair of compares with Oasis Dream=s. The 21-year-old former G1 July Grade/Group 1s apiece. Mastercraftsman=s 2021 fee of i15,000 Cup winner was fast out of the gate with his first crop and soon is his lowest since 2013, and his crop bred off the back of Alpha established himself as a world-class sire, with the likes of Centauri=s championship season will be 3-year-olds when his Midday (GB), Muhaarar (GB) and Power (GB) among his 17 2022 crop are going to the yearling sales. Group 1 winners. The dark bay stood for up to ,85,000 at Juddmonte=s Banstead Manor Stud, and is this year down to a 10,000 to 12,500 career-low ,20,000. His 9.5% rate of stakes winners to runners There are plenty of horses in this price range across Britain, puts Oasis Dream in a class with sires that stand for many Ireland and France that offer eye-catching statsBwith Coolmore multiples of his fee, and he likewise gets 66% winners/runners. stalwart Footstepsinthesand (GB) and French up-and-comer The dip in his fee goes hand-in-hand with the reality that his Galiway (GB) certainly among themBand once again we landed numbers of stakes winners have leveled off in recent seasons, at Coolmore and Juddmonte for our top two choices: Bated but an average of seven per season since 2016 is still nothing to Breath (GB) (,12,500) and Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) scoff at, and he is still turning out Group 1 winners, with three of (i12,500). his 17 having come since 2016: Muarrab (GB) won the G1 Dubai A Group 2-winning sprinter for Roger Charlton who was Golden Shaheen as a 7-year-old in 2016 while Pretty Pollyanna second in four Group 1s, Bated Breath marked himself out early (GB) and Polydream (Ire) won the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Prix as a prolific source of high-class winners, his first three crops Maurice de Gheest, respectively, in 2018. Oasis Dream has sired including the likes of G2 Rockfel S. and G3 Albany S. winner 122 stakes winners and his daughters have produced 58 stakes Daahyeh (GB), G2 Railway S. winner Beckford (Ire), G2 Dahlia S. winners and five Group 1 winners. He had a remarkable year in and G3 Prix Minerve S. winner Worth Waiting (GB) and G2 2020 alone as a broodmare sire, with G1 Irish 2000 Guineas Boomerang S. and G3 Jersey S. scorer Space Traveller (Ire). TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • 31 JANUARY 2021 Value Sires cont. The bay has continued to build on those results, and in 2020 notched his first Group 1 winner in the GI Matriarch S. victress Viadera (GB). Bated Breath=s juveniles had another outstanding year, too, in 2020, highlighted by Makaloun (GB) winning the G3 Prix de Conde and Cairn Gorm (GB) taking the G3 Prix de Conde. His winners to runners ratio is 60.2%, and the crop bred after his Senior Vice President Gary King first successful season with 3-year-olds are three themselves in Twitter: @garykingTDN 2021. His yearlings are providing a return for their breeders and [email protected] pinhookers, too: 53 sold at auction last year realized an average + 1.732.320.0975 of i50,018/,44,162 that was 4.4x their ,10,000 covering fee. International Editor Kelsey Riley Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry Twitter: @collingsberry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen Twitter: @AlaynaCullen Holy Roman Emperor | Coolmore [email protected] Contributing Editors The 17-year-old Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) has carved out a Alan Carasso truly remarkable stud career that has seen him sire Group 1 Christina Bossinakis winners all across the world and across a great variety of trips. Cafe Racing His 13 top-level scorers range from Guineas winners Sean Cronin Homecoming Queen (Ire) and Romanised (Ire) to G1 Australian Tom Frary and New Zealand Derby scorer Mongolian Khan (NZ) to G1 [email protected] Oakleigh Plate victress Sheidel (Aus) and GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship winner Rich Tapestry (Ire). They can be fast and Irish Correspondent precociousBlike he was as a G1 Phoenix S.