'The signs are encouraging' - U S Navy Flag crowned champion first-season sire in New Zealand

Former Coolmore resident and shuttler U S Navy Flag has repaid The Oaks Stud's faith in him by being crowned New Zealand’s champion first-season sire of 2022-23 just weeks after he was acquired by the farm.

The son of War Front, a multiple Group 1 winner for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore with wins in the Middle Park, Dewhurst and July Cup, was sold to the Cambridge-based stud less than two months ago. Having held a commanding lead on the freshman sire standings for more than four months, the eight-year-old has sired seven winners in New Zealand for progeny earnings of NZ$373,000. 

Among those were Listed Castletown Stakes winner Chantilly Lace, while To Catch A Thief and Aprilia were both placed in the Group 1 Manuwatu Sires' Produce Stakes, with the former also third in the Group 1 Sistema Stakes.

The Oaks Stud’s general manager Rick Williams said: "I think he reached the top of the standings in about April and kept going at a good rate from there, and it’s great to have it now confirmed that he’s champion first-season sire. He had a very good year, he just missed in a couple of Group 1s, and he has a very good percentage of stakes performers."

U S Navy Flag's run of winners has continued, with the latest coming at Tauranga last Saturday in the form of the promising Naval Anthem, who made it two wins from as many runs. 

"The winners have come at a good rate, and he’s also had a very good number of impressive trial winners who haven’t yet raced," Williams added. "That’s always very encouraging as well. A few of those have gone to Hong Kong now, but if they do well up there, that can only be a good thing for us too in the long run. We couldn’t have asked for much more.”

The stallion's stats have meant he has finished second on the standings for all sires of two-year-olds in New Zealand this season. He is behind Satono Aladdin, whose earnings of NZ$680,735 came largely from Karaka Million 2YO winner Tokyo Tycoon. 

"While the first-season sire premiership is important, I’m even more interested in how all of the sires of two-year-olds stack up," Williams added. "Obviously whoever sires the Karaka Million winner always comes out on top in terms of prize-money, and that’s Satono Aladdin this year.

"But U S Navy Flag is in second place, beating a lot of proven and top-class sires by prize-money and also with his number of individual stakes performers. They’re not speedy squibs either – they’re finding the line late, which suggests they might be able to get up over a bit more ground as three-year-olds. So it’s so far, so good.

U S Navy Flag with Ryan Moore after his July Cup winCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"The spring is always so important for a young sire moving into their second season, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens over the next few months."

Williams is confident the team made the right decision to snap up U S Navy Flag, whose best northern hemisphere first crop performers are stakes winners Ocean Vision and Love Reigns.

"He wasn’t really cracking it in the northern hemisphere, so his value had dropped compared to what he was worth when he came off the racetrack as a multiple Group 1 winner, but it was still a fair bit of money to pay,” he said.

"But we did have quite a lot of confidence in him, and we had heard some really positive feedback about a number of his progeny.

"The problem with a decision like this is that you can be made to look a little bit stupid about 12 months down the track. I think we’ve all had that happen to us in this game at one time or another. But the signs are encouraging with this horse, and we’ve got some reasons to be positive. Onwards and upwards from here, hopefully."

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