Sheikh Mohammed invests in a Coolmore sire - albeit one who is no longer around

Scat Daddy's posthumous surge enough to thaw Godolphin freeze

Scat Daddy can add some bridge-building between superpowers to his posthumous achievementsCredit: Matt Wooley

Breaking with a longstanding tradition of avoiding young stock by Coolmore stallions, Godolphin plunged into the Keeneland September yearling market on Monday to acquire a colt and a filly by Scat Daddy – albeit the significance of the departure is plainly tempered by the unfortunate fact that they belong to the late sire's final crop.

Anthony Stroud, who was signing tickets while working alongside David Loder, said Sheikh Mohammed has given his team a streamlined directive to find "nice horses" – without restrictions on
their sires – in the new era following the departure of longtime bloodstock adviser John Ferguson.

"We believed it would enhance our racing organisation to have some horses by Scat Daddy," said Stroud, who also credited trainer John Gosden with helping in the search for yearlings in Lexington this week. "It would be remiss of us if we don't look at the horses by Scat Daddy and judge them on their merits."

Stroud said he would not describe the purchases so much as a shift in Godolphin's purchasing policy as part of the mission to find promising racing prospects.

"Scat Daddy's a very good stallion who sadly is no longer with us, but he's proven in America and he's proven in Europe," Stroud said.

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Topping the four Godolphin purchases out of Book 1 session was a $800,000 Scat Daddy colt bred in Kentucky by Ben Sangster from the Smart Strike mare Practice, a daughter of Galileo's Grade
3 winner Dress Rehearsal and half-sister to stakes-placed Christophermarlowe. The colt is from the family of multiple Group winner Muthmir and Irish highweight Majestic Queen.

Sangster congratulated Stroud on the purchase and said he was delighted with the price, but declined to reveal how many mares he currently has in America.

"I wish I had more," said Sangster, who keeps his mares at Coolmore's Ashford Stud. "This market is fantastic."

Godolphin's other acquisition by Scat Daddy was a $550,000 filly out of stakes-placed Seanchai, by English Channel and a half-sister to Traffic Guard, who was multiple Group-placed in three countries – notably when second in the Irish Champion Stakes.

In addition Godolphin continued the hunt for offspring by War Front,
another stallion who has been highly successful on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the purchase of a $995,000 War Front colt at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale last month, Godolphin added a colt and a filly here.

The colt, a $550,000 purchase from the Gainesway consignment, was bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds and is out of the Graded winner War Echo, by Tapit and a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Pyro. Sheikh Mohammed has stood Pyro at his Darley Japan stud.

Early in the session, Godolphin bought a War Front filly, bred by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilscheidner. She is out of the Galileo mare Long View, a half-sister to 2,000 Guineas winner Golan and Derby runner-up Tartan Bearer.

"She was a very nice filly from Claiborne, a great nursery, and from a great Weinstock family. We liked this filly very much," Stroud said.

Stroud added that Sheikh Mohammed will decide where these yearlings are sent to be trained.