Frankel among elite young sires set to cover Car Colston Hall mares

Nicholas and Jane Forman Hardy must have been looking into a crystal ball when they acquired the then three-year-old Woodman filly Wiener Wald - unplaced in all five starts - for $210,000 at the 1995 Keeneland November Sale.

Their operation, Car Colston Hall Stud in Nottinghamshire, continues to reap dividends from that purchase, with Brando seeing off subsequent Group 1 winner Aclaim in an intense renewal of the Prix Maurice de Gheest in August to become the fourth elite winner for the family and fifth overall bred by Car Colston Hall.

"Brando's been great for the stud, he's been extremely consistent and is always there or thereabouts in the top sprints," says Jonathon Smithers, who manages the stud.

Car Colston Hall - whose stated aim is to breed and produce top-class racehorses - continues to motor along, though Argent Du Bois, the dam of Brando, is now enjoying her retirement after producing a colt foal by Cape Cross in 2016.

Sant Elena is the stakes-performed dam of Reckless Abandon - whose five-start unbeaten juvenile campaign culminated in success in the Middle Park Stakes and Prix Morny - and Best Approach, a Grade 2-placed son of New Approach in Japan. The 15-year-old Efisio mare is in foal to Oasis Dream and will be covered by his Banstead Manor studmate Frankel this year.

Encore L'Amour, a Listed-placed Azamour mare, is in foal to crack sprinter Shalaa and set for a rendezvous with Siyouni, while Wiener Valkyrie, a Grade 3-placed Shamardal mare out of Wiener Wald, is lined up for New Approach.

"Sant Elena is our standout mare, so we wanted to get a big cover into her. Frankel sired Group 3 winner Elarqam out of an Efisio mare and the Galileo cross worked well with Best Approach," says Smithers.

"Siyouni's one of the most exciting young stallions out there at the moment and we wanted to send Encore L'Amour to a proven sire.

"New Approach sired French Group 2 winner Strathspey out of a daughter of Shamardal and we're hoping he'll stamp some class into Wiener Valkyrie's next foal."

Tom Eaves can afford to look back at his rivals as Brando puts in a powerful display in the Prix Maurice de Gheest

Free Rein, a Dansili daughter of Sant Elena, has been chosen for Acclamation, a son of Royal Applause whose daughter Ticker Tape - bred by Car Colston Hall - won the American Oaks and Keeneland Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes in 2004.

Centime, an 11-year-old sister to Ticker Tape and dam of Encore L'Amour, is in foal to bullet sprinter Muhaarar and is set for a liaison with the upwardly mobile Lope De Vega, sire of Group 3 winner Steel Of Madrid out of a Royal Applause mare.

"The hypothetical foal will be inbred, like Wiener Valkyrie, to the high-class racemare Terlingua through Storm Cat and Wiener Wald," Smithers explains.

Forest Crown, an 11-year-old Royal Applause daughter of Wiener Wald, finds herself on Fastnet Rock's dance card for 2018, after her Iffraaj colt provided a memorable moment for the Car Colston Hall team when knocked down for 450,000gns at last year's Book 1, a record price for the operation.

Riot Of Colour, a nine-year-old 'niece' of Racing Trophy hero Crowded House and Wiener Valkyrie, is in foal to Enable's sire Nathaniel and will this year visit Havana Gold, sire of last year's Prix Morny second Havana Grey.

"Forest Crown's quite a small mare and tends to throw small foals, so hopefully Fastnet Rock will put some size into her," says Smithers. "The mating should physically suit her and allows similar inbreeding to the dam of Storm Cat.

"Havana Gold sired Group 3 winner, Treasuring, out of an Excellent Art mare, from only one runner for the cross, so it was a bit of a no-brainer to send Riot Of Colour to him."

Downhill Dancer, a seven-year-old daughter of Wiener Wald, by Montjeu, is in foal to Starspangledbanner and will return to French champion sire Le Havre.

Completing the list are maiden mares Crowning Glory, a winning daughter of Speightstown, and Fair Daughter, an unraced daughter of Nathaniel and the last daughter out of foundation mare Wiener Wald.

Crowning Glory will join Encore L'Amour and Downhill Dancer on the boat to France, where she will visit Dabirsim, whose flying start with his first runners saw his fee climb from €9,000 to €30,000 at Haras de Grandcamp, while Fair Daughter is booked into Farhh, sire of last year's Acomb Stakes scorer Wells Farhh Go.

"Hopefully Dabirsim can breed some size into Crowning Glory' first foal," says Smithers.

"Dabirsim is by a Royal Academy mare, from the family of Storm Cat, and therefore the mating allows inbreeding to Crimson Saint, granddam of Storm Cat and dam of Royal Academy.

"We'd love to get a Group 1 winner back here to breed from - Sant Elena has a two-year-old Kingman filly called Wild Abandon in training with Ralph Beckett, so hopefully she'll show something.

"We've had a lot of success from the one family and we haven't bought a mare in over a decade. We're doing very well with the breeding we have."

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