The Pegasus World Cup hero and the mustard broodmare sire

Bernardini’s influence on the breed will ultimately be significant, as per the aspirations of Darley’s American arm when they launched the champion’s stud career at a fee of $100,000 in 2007.

Now 18, the son of A.P. Indy has made good use of the opportunities afforded to him over the years, notably as the sire of 15 Group or Grade 1 winners. The list includes several who excelled on turf in Europe, namely Godolphin’s Group 1-winning two-year-old Biondetti, and Australasia, two jurisdictions where A.P. Indy himself and other various members of the line have failed to make much impact.

However, it as a broodmare sire where Bernardini is really coming into his own. Despite the relative youth of his daughters, the oldest of whom are 13, they can already account for 11 Grade 1 winners, among them Kentucky Oaks heroine Serengeti Empress, last season’s top Canadian two-year-old Gretzky The Great and Catholic Boy, an elite performer on turf and dirt.