Lope De Vega poised to take his next step towards world domination

Over the course of the last seven years Lope De Vega has proved himself to be little short of a force of nature.

Despite starting out towards the inexpensive end of the stallion fee ladder, he can now boast 125 stakes performers, comprising 42 Group winners and 35 Listed scorers, while no less than 12 of his sons and daughters have landed an elite event across seven different countries.

Given the pursuit of breeding thoroughbreds is one part art, another part science, it stands to reason that some stallions take a while to find their feet. It may be that they are waiting for bigger or better crops to come through on the back of early results, or perhaps breeders take a crop or two to suss out what works best.