Friday 8 November 2019
The Aga Khan proven sires SEA THE STARS and SIYOUNI have both enjoyed tremendous success in 2019 and feature amongst the European elite, with the former ranking third and the latter sixth leading sire.
SEA THE STARS was represented by four Group 1 winners, headed by the triple Group 1 winning Classic filly Star Catcher, the extremely tough Stradivarius and Crystal Ocean, as well as the Australian miler Shraaoh. He has produced more than 100 Stakes performers to this date and in 2020 his fee will increase to €150,000.
His French counterpart SIYOUNI has gone from strength to strength, with his three-year-old crop conceived at €30,000 yielding a Classic winner for the third time and the Prix du Jockey Club winner Sottsass is currently the joint top rated three-year-old in Europe. His crop of two-year-olds shows equal promise having produced four Stakes winners and he broke new grounds with a yearling sold for 1,3 million guineas. His fee will remain at €100,000.
Young recruits HARZAND and DARIYAN have both seen their first yearlings go through the sales ring, yielding profitable returns as they sold for up to 130,000 gns and averaged more than three times their conception fees for both stallions. These positive results bode well for the two sires who will have their first two-year-olds next year. The dual Derby winning son of SEA THE STARS, HARZAND, will stand for €8,000 at Gilltown Stud. DARIYAN, whose sire Shamardal produced three juvenile Group 1 winners this year, will also stand for €8,000 at Haras de Bonneval in Normandy.
ZARAK completes the Aga Khan roster and he will remain at €12,000. The Group 1 winning son of Dubawi and Zarkava covered full books of mares during his first two seasons at stud and his first foals have both class and strength.
