Royal Ascot assault off the agenda for explosive Australian sprinter Tentyris as Darley announce star colt’s retirement

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Top-class Australian sprinter Tentyris will not run at Royal Ascot in June after Darley announced that he and Ghaiyyath’s dual Group 1-winning son Observer have been retired and will take up stud duties in Australia later this year. 

The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Tentyris – who won the Coolmore Stud Stakes in a record time – had been pencilled in for an overseas trip following his explosive Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes triumph, becoming just the fourth three-year-old colt to win the race in the past 25 years. 

He will take up stud duties at Kelvinside in New South Wales at a fee of A$88,000 (£46,600/€53,520). 

The son of Street Boss won the Todman Stakes as a juvenile and finished a short head second in the Blue Diamond Stakes. His final career start came when he finished last in the TJ Smith Stakes. 

Bred by Godolphin, Tentyris is out of the winning Exceed And Excel mare Deity, a daughter of four-time Group 1 scorer Divine Madonna. 

Observer will become the first son of Darley’s world champion Ghaiyyath to retire to stud, earning his place in the breeding barn following scores in the Australian Guineas and VRC Derby under the tutelage of Ciaron Maher. 

The four-time Group winner will retire to Northwood Park operation in Victoria where he will be introduced at a fee of A$33,000 (£17,480/€20,000). 

Observer will become the first son of Ghaiyyath to retire to studCredit: Getty Images

“Tentyris and Observer are two of the best horses of their generation,” said Darley Australia's head of stallions Alastair Pulford. 

“They’ve won the right races, against the right opposition, and both bring pedigrees that consistently produce at the highest level. Breeders know better than anyone how thin the market is for elite new locally raced stallions this season.

“We’ve seen strong early interest in both and are already speaking with breeders as they plan for the season.”

Another Darley homebred, Observer is from the first southern hemisphere-bred crop of Ghaiyyath, who shuttled to Australia for four seasons and commanded a fee of A$27,500 throughout his time at Darley’s Northwood Park base in Victoria. After covering 103 mares in his first year, numbers fell slightly to 98 and 97 in his next two. After another decline to 79 last season, Darley decided to pull the pin on shuttling duties. 

However, given his winners in the south now total 20 from 48 starters with five of them stakes winners, the operation could be tempted to bring the son of Dubawi back to Australia. Breeders in Australia will not have to wait long for that decision with Darley set to announce their full roster of stallions on Thursday. 

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