Tally-Ho Stud mourns loss of Fairyland dam Queenofthefairies

Tally-Ho Stud is mourning the loss of Queenofthefairies, the dam of last year's Lowther and Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Fairyland, after the Pivotal mare died last month aged 12.

Queenofthefairies has had two yearlings sell for 925,000gns apiece at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale - Fairyland and the mare's two-year-old Muhaarar filly, who was bought by Shadwell.

"We bought Queenofthefairies as an unraced three-year-old because we had her half-brother Dream Ahead, who we sold at the Doncaster breeze-up sales," said Roger O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho.

"We thought Dream Ahead was a quality horse and so we purchased Queenofthefairies when she appeared at the Tattersalls July Sale."

Tally-Ho acquired Queenofthefairies for 32,000gns, and ten days later Dream Ahead opened his account by nine lengths in a Nottingham maiden on debut, before following up in the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes on his next two starts.

"We tried to sell her after Dream Ahead became the highest-rated two-year-old in Europe in a long time," recalls O'Callaghan. "But no one wanted to buy her, and so we kept her and she's been very good to us.

"Fairyland was different class as a foal. She was always different, always stood out from the crowd. The Muhaarar two-year-old filly was a later foal but was quite nice and lightening struck twice with the pair of them."

Fairyland enjoyed a brilliant juvenile campaign in the colours of Evie Stockwell, winning four of her five starts. As well as her Lowther and Cheveley Park wins, she also defeated Van Beethoven and Land Force in Listed company at the Curragh.

Tally-Ho has another daughter of Queenofthefairies to keep the line going in Asrafairy, a five-year-old Zebedee mare carrying to Mehmas, the July and Richmond Stakes scorer who is a €10,000 option for breeders at Tally-Ho this year.

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