Darley Stallions Well Represented At Magic Millions

This time last year Sepoy (pictured) was best known as a promising young sire who had won two of the world's richest two-year-old races.

Within a few months, however, the colt who had won both the G1 Golden Slipper and G1 Blue Diamond Stakes for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had another major credit to his name.

Among the first of Sepoy's yearlings to be offered for public sale last January was a colt from the Redoute's Choice mare Sister Madly who topped the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale when purchased by America's Spendthrift Farms for $1.2 million.

Three months later another of his sons sold for $1.6 million at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

With the first of this season's major Australian yearling sales due in January, buyers are bracing for more big things from Sepoy and his fellow Darley stallions who are heavily represented among the 1,016 lots catalogued.

Of that total, 41 are by Sepoy, all of them consigned by "outside" breeders.

Among the more notable of them is lot 377, a colt from the speedy racemare Leone Chiara, the dam of the good racehorse and successful sire Star Witness and the well-performed Nostradamus.

Others of note include Lot 468 out of Mysterious Light whose third dam is Piccadilly Circus, the mother of Fastnet Rock; Lot 640, a filly from Sucker Punch, a daughter of Golden Slipper winner Merlene and from the family of G1 Newmarket Handicap winner Miss Pennymoney and multiple stakes winning filly Dear Demi.

As highly anticipated as Sepoy's second crop may be, he is bound to be sharing the attention with the last Australian crop of Darley's outstanding, but ill-fated, Street Cry.

One of the finest dual-hemisphere stallions ever to stand at stud, Street Cry, who died before beginning the 2014 Australian breeding season, has 19 yearlings entered at Magic Millions, each of them sure to provoke great interest.

Darley's Australian managing director Henry Plumptre says the loss of Street Cry, closely followed by that of Commands was a body blow to the organization.

"It was a disaster only mitigated by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed going out and buying three top colts -Hallowed Crown, Brazen Beau and Shooting To Win," Plumptre said.

"But Street Cry was such a dominant influence, it's good to see him represented so well at this sale."

Among the Street Cry yearlings are members of the families of champion racehorse and sire Redoute's Choice, a colt from G1 VRC Oaks winner Arapaho Miss, another from the Danehill mare Amalienborg who is a sister to Blue Diamond Stakes winner Danelagh, who in turn is the mother of AJC Oaks winner Dizelle and Hong Kong Horse of the Year and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner, Vengeance Of Rain.

Another sure to generate attention is Lot 151, Street Cry's colt from the Lonhro mare Deer Valley whose third dam is a half-sister to one of Australia's greatest racehorses, Kingston Town.

Street Cry's last full Australian crop is also represented by colts from the families of Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy, dual Group G1 winner Preferment and South African Group G1 performer Delago Deluxe.

Among the other Darley Australia stallions represented at Magic Millions are Exceed And Excel with 13 lots catalogued, Helmet (16), Denman (13), Medaglia d'Oro (13), Bernardini (8) and Lonhro (7).

The Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale runs from January 6 to 10.