Blackbeard (IRE) – Princess Sinead (IRE) Filly
Gallery
OVERVIEW & VISION
When you strike out to become a trainer and your father is Aidan O’Brien, it’s easy to be stuck in the massive shadow cast by the legendary Maestro of Ballydoyle. Somehow, someway, Aidan’s 2 sons, Joseph and Donnacha, have managed to emerge from the shadow of the giant and have rapidly established themselves as phenom conditioners in their own right.
Eclipse has experienced immediate success with both brothers, but this yearling sales season we linked up with Donnacha for this precocious filly to be domiciled in the Emerald Isle. Donnacha trained the stayer, Teutates, for Eclipse, a Group-winner sold for a massive profit to Hong Kong and now we’re leaning on him to deliver the goods with some fast fillies.
The Freshman sire, Blackbeard, was all the rage with his 1st crop of yearlings to come to market this year and we could not be more enthused about the golden gal we gaveled in at Tattersalls Ireland. A blazingly quick and brilliant runner, this chestnut filly looks to be a chip off the old block with an engine to work with and then some.
Donnacha has been masterful in his development of elite fillies like the multiple Group 1-heroine, Puerta Fortuna and this season he struck paydirt with Havana Anna, a bargain basement buy, just like this gal at €57,000.
This daughter of the hyped Freshman sire, Blackbeard, will be learning the ropes in England at Far Westfield Farm, but should be precocious and head to Ireland to join Donnacha’s yard where we will make no bones about our ambitions to see her be sculpted into a Royal Ascot prospect.
CONFORMATION
Beautiful strong filly that possesses a very active walk that not only turned my head on the sales grounds but also the head of her future trainer Donnacha O’Brien. She marched along like a filly with a purpose with a very strong hindquarter typical of her sire line of No Nay Never and back further to Scat Daddy. She’s a very well-balanced filly with a good shoulder and a strong forearm typical of a faster type of animal that we are looking for to give us some success early next season. Although she already possesses great strength with her April 2nd foaling date, there is every reason to think she will progress further and develop into a very strong precocious filly.
WALKING VIDEO
To see the filly in motion:
EXPERT PEDIGREE ANALYSIS
This filly comes from the first crop of the high class 2yo Blackbeard, who was all about speed and precocity. He very much took after his sire No Nay Never, who made an impressive debut as early as April, before going on to win his first 3 starts including the Prix Morny-G1. Blackbeard made his mark even earlier and was winning for the third time in as many starts when capturing the Marble Hill S-G3 at the Irish Guineas meeting in May. After finishing 4th in the Coventry S-G2 at Royal Ascot and being caught on the post in the Railway S-G2, he soon resumed winning ways and was successful in his final 3 starts. He first took the Prix Robert Papin-G2 (where he set a n.t.r.), before gaining impressive wins in the Prix Morny-G1 and the Middle Park S-G1, two of Europe’s three top-level juvenile contests over 6f. They proved to be his final races and he was retired to stud at 3. He was officially the Champion 2yo in France.
His trainer Aidan O’Brien felt he was very speed orientated, and, although he speculated after his success at Newmarket that he might stay further in time, he believed he would probably prove to be a sprinter. It is worth noting that his younger sister Run Away was placed in listed company at Longchamp over 7f as a 3yo last year, but his 2yo brother Charles Darwin is very much in his mould, breaking his maiden in April and winning 3 of his 4 starts, culminating in the Norfolk S-G2 at Royal Ascot, before injury intervened. Their yearling own sister topped the Goffs Orby Sale, where she was bought for €1,900,000 by M.V. Magnier.
Every sire in his male line, going back 5 generations, was a juvenile group or grade one winner. All have been influential sires too, including No Nay Never, who has a particularly good record with his juveniles. It is worth noting that a third of his nine group one winners are out of Danehill line mares, like this filly.
An interesting feature of this filly’s pedigree is that she is inbred 5 x 3 to Gone West, who is both the grandsire of No Nay Never’s dam and the broodmare sire of Princess Sinead. No Nay Never’s winners inbred to that horse include Chilean / U.S.A. G1W Brooke and the Lowther S-G2 and Princess MargaretS-G3 winner Zain Claudette. Group one winners Big Mojo, Bucanero Fuerte, Excellent Truth and Saffron Beach are among others inbred to that sire.
This filly is closely related to The First and Last (by No Nay Never) who was placed in 3 of his 5 starts in Ireland around a mile. Their dam, Princess Sinead, was a very useful and consistent 2yo, who made her debut in May. After being runner-up in her first two starts, notably in a 6f listed race at Naas, she broke her maiden over 7f at The Curragh. She went on to finish third in the Park S-G3 (only a neck behind the runner-up, subsequent 1000Gns winner Homecoming Queen). After being placed in another group race at The Curragh on her 3yo debut, she went on to put up here best performance when finishing third in the Irish 1000Gns-G1. She has also bred Keeneland and Tampa Bay Downs 3yo winner Bugle of War (by War Front) and current Irish 3yo winner Galaxy Wonder (by Camelot)
She is a half sister to the very successful Brazilian producer Ella Bird, who has bred 3 stakes winner. Interestingly, two of them are by Storm Cat line sires like Blackbeard.
The 3rd dam Kooyonga was a top class race mare and followed up a very successful season at 3 when she won the Irish 1000Gns, to become only the second filly ever, following in the footsteps of Pebbles, to win the Eclipse S-G1, at 4. Like many top race mares she bred nothing in the same league as herself, but 3 of her daughters have become black type producers.
Her dam Anjuli is a half sister to the 2000Gns winner Roland Gardens.
To see her pedigree page, click on the link below:
TRAINER & THE PLAN
Donnacha O’Brien, the son of serial Irish champion trainer Aidan O’Brien, had a short but hugely successful career as a jockey before quitting because of recurring weight issues. At 22, he instantly turned to training and just four months into his fledgling career scooped his first Group 1 via Fancy Blue’s tenacious win in the French Oaks. The same filly landed the Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on her next start. It was Donnacha’s first runner in the UK. He would end his first year as a trainer in Ireland with 17 winners from 107 runners.
As a jockey, he won the QIPCO 2000 Guineas in successive years aboard Saxon Warrior (2018) and Magna Grecia (2019) plus the Investec Oaks on Forever Together in 2018. And Kew Gardens (Long Distance Cup) and Magical (QIPCO Champion Stakes) gave him a glittering Champions Day double in 2019 just five weeks before he quit the saddle.
With a very limited number of runners to train for Eclipse, Donnacha has hit the mark with the Group-winner turned profitable sale to Hong Kong, Teutates, as well as the promising debutante, Deo Vero. He is highly gifted and destined for stardom following in the footsteps of his incomparable father, Aidan O’Brien.
VALUATION
The total 100% valuation for is £65,000 with increments starting at 3%. You can see the chart below for pricing details.
QUESTIONS & COMMITMENT CONTACTS
To ask questions or to make a commitment, please feel free to reach out to any of the following Eclipse team members:
Aron Wellman at Aron@eclipseTBpartners.com or at (310) 968-9559