'We're very honoured to have him' - Bearstone Stud delight as Belardo strikes at the highest level

Belardo's first top-level winner in Saturday's Frank E Kilroe Mile Stakes at Santa Anita, Gold Phoenix, gave his new team at Bearstone Stud plenty to celebrate. 

The Dewhurst and Lockinge Stakes winner moved to Bearstone from Kildangan Stud in November after six years at Darley's Irish base, and the signs are that the son of Lope De Vega could have his name in the headlines with more frequency in the coming years, thanks to the quality books he has covered recently. 

The Shropshire stud's manager Mark Pennell said: "We're very honoured to have Belardo standing here. After his first two seasons, his strike-rate was only beaten by Dubawi, Frankel and Kingman in terms of black-type winners, which is pretty impressive for a young sire and now he's got his Grade 1 winner.

"Belardo in his 2021 and 2022 seasons covered 215 mares, so he's got quite a lot of runners coming up for him and I think he's great value for the commercial breeder."

Even before acquiring the 11-year-old, Bearstone were already very familiar with the stallion having bred and sold one of his six individual Group winners in Prix Miesque scorer Lullaby Moon. 

She was a 16,000gns purchase by Dan Tunmore and GB Horseracing at Tattersalls Book 2 in 2019 before making a much improved 230,000gns to Tally-Ho Stud at the December Mares Sale two years later, and hopes are high her yearling half-sister can turn heads when offered this autumn. 

Bearstone Stud's Belardo full-sister to Group 3 winner Lullaby Moon as a foalCredit: Bearstone Stud

Pennell said: "We bred Lullaby Moon from his first crop and we've got a full-sister to her to sell this year as a yearling, which is quite exciting as she's a smart filly."

With the move to Britain, Belardo has been a popular choice with breeders as a son of Lope De Vega, whose fee at Ballylinch Stud stands at €125,000. At £6,500, there seems to be plenty of incentive to use his dual Group 1-winning son, already responsible for two Group/Grade 2 winners to go with Gold Phoenix, who himself was a Grade 2 winner in 2022 in the Del Mar Handicap.

Pennell said: "He's covering another solid book of mares this year and has been received very well. 

"He's hopefully going to keep going forward now and he's a nice alternative to his sire, who is probably out of reach for more commercial breeders. 

"He stamps them as very solid types and as very powerful individuals, and he's a very neat horse himself with a great temperament."

The stud is home to four stallions, with the others being the top-class Dream Ahead, Mattmu and Washington DC. The last-named, a stakes-winning and Group 1-placed sprint son of Zoffany, had his first crop of runners last term, among them Listed Two Year Old Trophy third Washington Heights and dual winner Magicdollar. 

Glass Slippers: top-class mare produced a Dubawi colt as her first foal this yearCredit: Patrick McCann

Hopes are high his stock can continue to progress, while Dream Ahead is at the other end of scale as an established Group 1 sire and Mattmu, in turn, is a very promising individual from smaller crops to date.

Pennell said: "Washington DC's holding his ground, he's still got plenty to run for him so we're hoping he's going to keep on improving. 

"Dream Ahead is a very established sire and he's got another solid book of mares this year, so we're very pleased with him."

Pennell also had news of of the team's triple Group 1-winning sprinter Glass Slippers, a daughter of Dream Ahead who won the Abbaye, Flying Five and Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint for the Kevin Ryan yard. 

The popular seven-year-old has her first foal on the ground, a colt by supersire Dubawi, and is carrying to another champion sire. 

"Glass Slippers is in foal to Frankel now," says Pennell. "She's got a beautiful colt who we're very excited about and he's a good, solid individual."

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First Grade 1 winner for Belardo with Gold Phoenix's gritty Frank E Kilroe Mile victory