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Tag: Kodiac

  • TALLY-HO- AS CLEVER AS A FOX AS THEY HUNT FURTHER SUCCESS

    Tally-Ho Stud in Westmeath has emerged from the pack to become the third-largest operator in the Irish flat stallion market, sitting just behind industry giants Coolmore and Darley. In 2026, the farm will stand eight stallions, a blend of proven performers and unproven but commercially appealing young sires.

    To the dismay of traditionalists, Tally-Ho has no hesitation in having its stallions cover over 200 mares. With a sizeable broodmare band of their own, the O’Callaghans ensure that each stallion receives a strong initial book of mares. Their strategy is built on scale: more runners mean more chances for success, and Tally-Ho executes this numbers-driven model exceptionally well. Less is never more in this model.

    If the initial crops fail to excite, Tally-Ho is quick to remove underperforming stallions from the roster. When I last reviewed their line-up in 2021, they stood seven sires; but since then, Cotai Glory, Galileo Gold, Inns of Court, and Kessaar have all been moved on after failing to deliver the desired results on the track.

    Over time, the O’Callaghan family has built a strong reputation for producing successful stallions with a consistency that goes beyond mere luck. It would be no great surprise to see that streak continue in the years ahead.

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    Below is my review of the stallions on their roster for 2026.

    1. Mehmas €70,000 ( €70,000) (2014 Acclamation ex Lucina by Machiavellian size 15.3 or 16.0 depending on which website you believe)

    Verdict: At the price- meh…but for now he still has mass appeal

    Wise Approach’s victory in the Middle Park and Believing’s Group 1 success in Meydan brought Mehmas’s tally of top-level winners to nine. His yearlings also performed strongly in the sales ring: 110 sold for an average of €135,000 and a median of €108,000, a good return from a crop conceived at €60,000. His career bears striking similarities to that of Dark Angel—both similarly bred, both retired at two, and both upgraded modest mares early in their careers before earning access to better ones as their reputations grew.

    Wise Approach emerged from a crop of 206, and Mehmas will have 187 two-year-olds hitting the track next season—ample ammunition to maintain his momentum. Breeders know what to expect with Mehmas. He gets good two year olds and sprinters, with some staying a mile. This profile suits the commercial market. There will be more stamina laden pedigrees amongst the mares to have visited him in recent crops so he may get some who stay or mature at a different rate to his previous best.

    At €70,000 there isn’t a lot of margin of error in his price. He has rewarded those who used him to date but unless he starts to get some classic/Guineas types, he risks plateauing as a commercial sire.

    2. Starman €40,000 €10,000 (2017 Dutch Art ex Northern Star by Montjeu size 16.1 h)

    Verdict: May still be upside/ things looking up

    Champion first season sire, 40 winners from 113 runners with 4 Group winners including a Group 1 winner. The success was reflected at the sales with an average of €102k and a median of €65k for a crop that was conceived at €15,000. A lot of breeders will have gone home from the sales very happy indeed. The big word of caution about his performance is the sheer volume of offspring that gave him a significant advantage over his rival first season sires. With 211 representatives he had what would traditionally be four or five crops worth of runners so 5 stakes winners is not exceptional. In his defence, his percentage of winners/runners was also very good. He will have 140 two year olds in 2026 to keep his name in lights but if he has a quiet year purchasers suddenly start noticing all the inevitable dross in such large books.

    The next question is whether he can build on that first season? Interestingly, he was unraced at two, and a mere Listed winner at three before showing his best form at four winning the Duke of York and July Cup en route to champion sprinter status. This gives hope that progeny will not alone train on but could improve. He seems to be reliably throwing sprinter types rather than seeing his broodmare sire Montjeu exerting any stamina influence. That is of no concern if he can continue to deliver the winners. Tally-ho have resisted the temptation to go overboard with the fee hike and that should ensure bumper books to come as well as leaving something for the commercial breeder. All told he is sensibly priced for next season.

    3. Kodiac €20,000 ( €25,000) (2001 Danehill ex Rafha by Kris size 16. 0 1/2h

    Verdict: I’m bearish on him/time for hibernation

    Kodiac is the rags to riches sire who brought Tally-Ho stud to new heights. He has served breeders well over the years and out-performed as a sire of sires. At 25 he is obviously in the dotage of his career and there will be concerns about his fertility. There is also the belief that the progeny of a stallion generally decline with age. Kodiac is still capable of getting results on the track but at this stage he is easy to overlook unless you had a particularly good deal arranged for perhaps a young mare.

    4. Maranoa Charlie €20,000 €na (2022 Wootton Bassett ex Koubalibre by Galileo

    Verdict: Just one of a lot of pretenders to succeed Wootton Bassett

    Another son of Wootton Bassett to arrive on the roster and this one is more typical of what we expect from Wootton Bassett. Maranoa Charlie was very impressive on his first 3 starts winning by daylight including the Prix Thomas Byron. The season finished with a disappointing defeat at odds on in the heavy ground Criterium International. He returned at three and won the Prix Djebel over 7f before a series of defeats in City of York Stakes, the Prix Jean Prat and the Prix Texanita. However a most welcome Group 1 came his way when he was a comprehensive winner of the Prix de la Foret. He is out a Galileo mare and his second dam Kheleyf’s Silver is the dam of Tiggy Wiggy, who was one of the horses who helped propel Kodiac to the top table. It’s not a deep pedigree but being by Wootton Bassett out of a Galileo mare should seem sexy enough for most breeders.

    Maranoa Charlie is a much more typical Wootton Bassett than King of Steel and the markets usually prefer that predictability. He will be competing head on with Coolmore’s new sires Henri Matisse (€20,000) and Camille Pissarro (€30,000), but both of these were dual Group/Grade 1 winners. Tally-Ho is one of the few operations that can allow him the opportunity to compete on equal numerical terms. With more and more sons of Wootton Bassett coming on stream it may prove difficult to stand out and he is fully priced relative to his Coolmore rivals.

    5.King of Steel €15,000 €20,000 (2020 Wootton Bassett ex Eldacar by Verglas size 17.0 h)

    Verdict: Interesting to see can they turn this one to gold

    This is an outlier on the Tally-Ho stallion roster. He is very big, wasn’t precocious and stayed well enough to finish second in the Derby. The positives are that he did win a Champion Stakes, was runner up in a Derby and on ratings is the best son of Wootton Bassett at stud in Ireland. His pedigree is free of Sadler’s Wells and would suit a large portion of the Irish mare population. Aside from Tally-Ho, his racing owners Amo promised to support him at stud with suitable mares. The negatives are that he is from a relatively modest distaff line, his size seems more suited to the National Hunt realm and he missed a season and his reputation dimmed after he was kept in training but failed to appear at four. The stallion barns are also rapidly filling with other sons of Wootton Bassett who are competing for the same mares.

    Wootton Bassett’s sons haven’t really shone with Almanzor not living up to expectations and Wooded not attracting much notice. This fellow stayed better than most and was also different in that he matured later. Wootton Bassett defied predictions and this lad may also surprise. It will be interesting to see if the Tally-Ho broodmare band clicks with him.

    6. Big Evs €15,000 €17,500 (2021 Blue Point ex Hana Lina by Oasis Dream size 16.0 h)

    Verdict: Big Ifs but a big chance

    You can understand why Tally-Ho wanted Big Evs. He was a top two year old by a fashionable sire from a very strong female line and he trained on quite well. In a market that rewards speed and precocity his race record reads well. A Royal Ascot winner of the Windsor Stakes, he won the Molecomb and Flying Childers before picking up a Grade 1 at the Breeders Cup Juvenile Sprint. He resumed winning ways at three picking up a Listed prize before finishing 3rd to Asfoora and Regional in the King Charles III Stakes at Ascot. He then defeated Asfoora and Believing in the King George Stakes at Goodwood but didn’t feature in his final two starts in the Nunthorpe and Breeders Cup. Overall he won 6 of his 11 starts and he never ran beyond 5 furlongs. In hindsight he was very well bought at 50,000 guineas. Blue Point has made an impressive start to his stud career and will stand for a new high of x in 2026. Big Evs is the first of Blue Point’s sons to go to stud but he will be joined in 2026 by Rosallion. Big Evs’ dam was only modest on the track but his granddam is the unbeaten Cheveley Park winner Queen’s Logic and her dam Lagrion is the dam of classic winners Dylan Thomas and Homecoming Queen. It is a prolific female line that is one of the best of the modern era.

    Nobody will be using Big Evs in the hope of getting a classic type. He is all about satisfying the commercial need for speed and precocity and if he can deliver those he will keep the market happy. He has to have a better chance than most to deliver a return at the sales but whether he will also deliver on the track is a big if.

    7. Good Guess €12,500 €12,500 (2020 Kodiac ex Zykina by Pivotal size 16.0 h)

    Verdict: Your guess is as good as mine

    It’s understandable that Tally-Ho would stand a son of Kodiac. Good Guess was a Group 1 winner of the 7 furlong Prix Jean Prat and also won the Grp 3 Prix Djebel. The Jean Prat isn’t always the strongest Group 1 but he won well -albeit the likes of Chaldean and Charyn who were well behind weren’t at their best. His overall race record was 4 wins from 9 starts and a Timeform rating of 121 indicates that he was good but lacked the wow factor. He comes from a strong Cheveley Park family with his granddam being Guineas, Coronation and Lockinge winner Russian Rhythm. Sons of Kodiac have done reasonably well despite covering at cheaper fees with Coulsty, Ardad and Price of Lir all being Group 1 sires. Hello Youmzain has got better opportunities in France but to me hasn’t really justified his fee and Kodi Bear hasn’t kicked on after a promising start. Good Guess will have 171 runners in his first crop in 2027 so he will have plenty of chances to succeed.

    8. Persian Force €10,000 €8,000 (2020 Mehmas ex Vida Amorosa by Lope de Vega size 16.0h)

    Verdict: Surprised by the fee increase

    Another former Amo horse, he gives a lower cost entry point to the Mehmas line. He has a passing similarity to his sire as a Group 2 winner of the July Stakes and he was placed in the Phoenix Stakes, Prix Morny and Coventry Stakes. He was precocious enough to win the Brocklesby and he is aimed at the precocious speed sector. His dam was unraced but has also produced Gubbass who is a Group class full brother to Persian Force. Overall its an underwhelming female line. We don’t have a lot to go on in terms of Mehmas as a sire of sires. Supremacy had his first two year olds this year for Yeomanstown and they didn’t wow. In general, the early sire sons from rags to riches sires tend to be a bit light on the distaff line and this hinders their chances. As a horse who failed to win a Group 1 from a modest female line I don’t see Persian Force as representing good value. He had decent yearling sales in 2025 but it was still very surprising to see him get a fee increase.

  • Tally-Ho Stud- leading the chasing pack?…

    Coolmore and Darley dominate the Irish flat stallion ranks and there is quite a gap back to the chasing pack. Tally- Ho stud has made significant progress in recent years and now has claims to be the ‘best of the rest’ in terms of their stallion roster. Their roster would be even more impressive if they hadn’t prematurely lost Red Clubs and Society Rock.

    The stud was founded by Tony and Anne O’Callaghan (a sister of John Magnier). They are commercially astute and know how to maximise their assets. The covering figures for 2021 illustrate that point with Mehmas covering 292 mares, Kodiac 239, Inns of Court 184 and Cotai Glory 113…. A portion of these numbers can be accounted for by foal shares and their own band of mares but they are also clearly very good at sourcing, pricing and making stallions that the market desires.

    Below is my review of the seven stallions on their roster for 2022.

    1.Cotai Glory €8,500 (€5,000) (2012 Exceed and Excel ex Continua by Elusive Quality)

    Verdict: Overpriced (slightly)

    Stayed in training until he was five and retired with a record of 4 wins from 30 starts. He never won above Group 3 level although he did everything but win the Flying Childers (Grp2), as he swerved and unseated his jockey just before the line. He was also only beaten a neck by Profitable in the Kings Stand as a four year old. He cost 75,000 guineas as a yearling which was below the median for Exceed and Excel that year and indicates that he comes from a relatively ordinary distaff line.

    He retired at €6,000 and had 126 foals in his first crop. At the time of writing he has had 84 runners and 34 winners headlined by Atomic Force who won the Grp 2 Prix Robert Papin. He also had an Italian Listed winner and Eldrickjones who was runner up in the Coventry. His good results on the track saw his yearling median jump from €10,894 to €29,216. There are quite a few sons of Exceed and Excel all at stud for under 10k including Bungleinthejungle, Buratino, Kuroshio, James Garfield and Burwaaz. The expectation with them is that they will produce speed and precocity and these are popular traits in the market. Cotai Glory has delivered so far and to be fair, his results warranted a price increase and his yearling median did likewise. My slight quibble is that although he got plenty of winners, I’d have liked to see a bit more quality. He has a smaller crop of two year olds for 2022 (69) and I’m not sure he will still be as in demand when selling yearlings in 2024.

    2.Galileo Gold €7,000 (€5,000) (2013 Paco Boy ex Galiciux by Galileo)

    Verdict: Good Value

    I thought he had an excellent first crop that exceeded expectations. Ebro River won the Phoenix Stakes, Oscula who cost just €4,000 as a yearling won a Grp 3 and System won a Listed race. In addition, there were 3 other horse who picked up placed black type. At the time of writing his record stood at 24 winners from 61 runners from a total crop of 108 foals conceived off a €15,000 opening fee. He will have a smaller second crop of 62 two year olds in 2022 conceived at €10,000.

    His sales returns rebounded after his first crop success with his yearling median increasing from €16,350 to €26,240.

    Galileo Gold won the Vintage Stakes at 2 (Grp 2) but was better at three winning the Guineas on his reappearance and later adding a St James Palace. He was kept in training at four but he managed only one disappointing start in the Lockinge.

    The big concern about Galileo Gold was his pedigree or more particularly his sire Paco Boy . Paco Boy was banished to Turkey and with only 3% stakes winners no tears were shed at his departure.

    Galileo Gold’s female line is solid. He is out of a Galileo mare and Goldream is under his second dam. His fourth dam is Floripedes, the dam of Montjeu.

    Paco Boy didn’t stop Galileo Gold being a top class horse and he doesn’t seem to be stopping him as sire. I think he is underrated and represents good value.

    3.Inns of Court €5,000 (€5,000) (2014 Invincible Spirit ex Learned Friend by Seeking the Gold)

    Verdict: Undecided

    A useful sort from 5 furlongs to a mile, he won his only start and two, stood up to 4 seasons of training and compiled a decent looking record of 7 wins and 7 places for 18 starts. His best runs were probably when just touched off in the Prix Jacques le Marois (8f) as a three year old and in the Prix de la Foret (7f) as a four year old. He won the Prix du Gros-Chene (Grp 2) over 5 furlongs as a five year old so he was clearly versatile regarding trip. His female line is good, with his grand-dam Lune D’Or winning the Premio Lydia Tesio when it carried Grp 1 status and she in turn was dam of top class Japanese performer Fierment.

    There are no shortage of sons of Invincible Spirit to choose from in Europe (19 listed on stallionguide.com). Invincible Spirit is described as a successful sire of sires based on Kingman and I Am Invincible in Australia but he has had his fair share of disappointments as well (Born to Sea, Charm Spirit, Shalaa) and others who were somewhere in between (Lawman, Mayson). Just as it would be a mistake to dismiss Galileo Gold because of Paco Boy, it would also be a mistake to assume a son of Invincible Spirit will succeed. I certainly don’t think as an unproven sire he warranted 184 mares this year but arguably such demand shows he is competitively priced.

     4. Kessaar €5,000 ( 5,000) (2016 Kodiac ex Querulous by Raven’s Pass size 15.3h

    Verdict: Fairly Priced

    Retired at the end of his two year old career. He ranks as one of the better sons of Kodiac on the track winning the  Grp 2 Mill Reef Stakes and the Grp 3 Sirenia Stakes. His overall record was three wins from 7 starts and he was 4th on his only run in a Grp 1 (the Criterium International).

    Sons of Kodiac are very fashionable right now with Ardad, Kodi Bear and Coulsty all delivering good results and he does seem to have a better strike rate with his sons than many other sires (including the previously mentioned Invincible Spirit). This may account for Kessaaar’s yearlings selling well in 2021 with a median of €28,152 off an €8,000 initial fee. Kessaar will have his first runners in 2022 so there is added risk/potential reward to using him next year . He come from an unremarkable female line but so are many of the early sire sons of Kodiac. If you think he is going to be the next son of Kodiac to out-perform then the fee he probably represents a fair bet at the price.

    5. Kodiac €65,000 ( €65,000) (2001 Danehill ex Rafha by Kris size 16. 0 1/2h

    Verdict: Overpriced

    The Kodiac story/fairytale is well known now. He never won a stakes race, raced until he was five and only got his chance at stud because of the first crop success of his half brother Invincible Spirit. He started at €5,000 and was available at €4,000 in his third and fourth seasons. Despite this, he has become the golden goose that has brought Tally-Ho stud to new heights. He is an ultra reliable sire of two year old winners and he is now acquiring a reputation as a sire of sires. He has attracted very large books at €65k since 2019 and €50k since 2017.

    The downside is that his percentages are not great for a horse at his fee. He has now had 1586 foals of racing age and 77 Stakes winners, working out as a modest 5%. His tally of only 6 Group 1 winners is underwhelming and to me he has plateaued despite getting better mares. Commercially, if anyone is paying the list price and not on a foal share then there is not a lot of profit in him at his listed fee. His yearling median was €92,850 in 2021 but was only €54,766 in 2020. He will be 21 in the next covering season and I would have thought something around €50k would be more appropriate at this stage.

    6. Mehmas €50,000 ( €25,000) (2014 Acclamation ex Lucina by Machiavellian size 16.0 h)

    Verdict: Overpriced

    He stood at €7,500 in 2020 so the hike to €50,000 tells you that he has made a very impressive start to his stud career. He has obvious parallels with Dark Angel, both being by Acclamation out of Machiavellian mares and retired at the end of their two year old career. Dark Angel won a Middle Park (Grp 1) and Mill Reef Stakes (Grp 2) , Mehmas won the Richmond and July Stakes (Grp 2) and was third in the Middle Park. Comparing stats and accounting for book sizes, Mehmas has made a more impressive start. He has two Grp 1 winners in his first crop (Supremacy and Going Global) and an impressive 12 Stakes winners from the 141 foals in that crop. He has continued the good work with his two year olds of 2021 which included three Grp 2 winners (Lusail, Malvath and Caturra) .His yearlings median in 2021 jumped to €65,242 a great return off a €10,000 fee.

    He has a smaller crop of two year olds next year 57 foals so his star may dim a little . I thought he deserved a chunky hike but felt that €40k might have been better. Commercially the massive/excessive crops (292 mares covered this year ) are bound to have an impact at the sales and I don’t see huge upside at his €50k price. To move to the next level commercially he will have to start showing he can get classic prospects rather than just two year olds/sprinters and a wait and see approach might be more prudent at his new price.

    7. Starman €17,500 ( na) (2017 Dutch Art ex Northern Star by Montjeu size 16.0 h)

    Verdict: Overpriced

    Unraced at two, ‘only’ and only a Listed winner at three he showed his best form at four. This year he won a Duke of York Stakes (Grp 2)before an impressive performance in the July Cup that earned him champion sprinter status. He failed to follow up that success though, finishing 3rd in the Prix Maurice De Gheest and a short head second to Emaraaty Ana in the Haydock Sprint Cup. His final career stats were 8 runs, 5 wins and two places.

    His pedigree is reasonable with its share of black type but Starman is easily the best in the family. His dam was a modest winner over 10f at Bath who also produced a stakes performer by Kodiac. The second dam was unraced but produced two Stakes horses.

    Dutch Art at times promised to be an important sire through the likes of Slade Power, Garswood and Mabs Cross but he proved unreliable both with his fertility and with his runners on the track. His sire son Garswood failed to make the grade as a sire and was sold for just 40,000 guineas this summer and previously a first crop son Caspar Netscher suffered fertility issues.

    With doubts over his lack of precocity, his relatively modest page and his unproven sire line I think he is too risky at that price…

    Final Word:

    With Kodiac entering the twilight of his career, Tally-Ho are fortunate to have another money making machine emerge in Mehmas. One criticism of the stud is that they don’t participate in the ITM Irish Stallion Trail. It’s obviously an inconvenience to open the doors but it’s the right thing to do to help showcase the industry to racing and bloodstock fans. It’s disappointing that Tally-Ho have opted out as they could well afford it…..

  • 2014 End of Season Awards- ‘The Victors’

    Now that the European season is almost over, it’s time to hand out my end of year awards (The Victors)

    1. Stallion of the year: Galileo who else? It’s easy to take for granted his year on year domination, but it really is extraordinary. This year so far he has sired another Derby winner in Australia, classic winner Marvellous, Group 1 winners Tapestry and Adelaide. Amongst his older horses Noble Mission has earned the right to stop being referred to as simply Frankel’s brother. More significantly the pipeline looks incredibly strong with Group 1 winning two year olds in Gleaneagles, Together Forever and Found and an even more exciting prospect in John F Kennedy. He does have all the advantages of the best mares and large books but he keeps producing the goods in a way few stallions in history could match.

    2. Flop of the Year: Fastnet Rock. Just to show that Coolmore don’t always get it right. Sensational in Australia, Coolmore reverse shuttled him and patronised him with some of their elite mares. He had a slow start with his European two year olds in 2013 but we waited and waited for them to burst onto the scene in 2014 but it never really happened. The Coolmore boys recognised the game was up and sold a job lot of 9 of his yearlings to the Australian OTI syndicate. He has fallen far short of expectations (I would have expected at least 2 Gr 1 winners from that book of mares) and no tears will be shed if he doesn’t return to Ireland.

    3. Breakthrough sire of the year: Kodiac. When he retired to stud in 2007 Kodiac had a modest race record with no Stakes wins to his name and his best run being a fourth in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. However he had plenty to recommend him on pedigree being a son of Danehill out of a classic winner in Rafha who was the dam of rising stallion Invincible Spirit. His initial fee was €5000 and that dropped in year 3 and year 4 to €4000. Plenty of winners started to follow and after a proliferation of two year old winners in 2013 his fee reached €10000 in 2014. This year, since the beginning of the season he has been an unstoppable force with his two year olds and more importantly some have demonstrated considerable quality notably. The highlight for Kodiac was the speed machine that is Tiggy Wiggy and for good measure Kodi Bear stepped up on his previous runs to come second in the Dewhurst. In addition the 3 year old Coulsty won a group 3 as did the 6 year old Jamesie. His recent sales results include a large number of six figure sales and he is set for a very significant and justified fee hike in 2015.

    4. Second Crop Sire of the Year: Le Havre. Hard to call this award as it could have gone to Sea the Stars, Mastercraftsman or Le Harve. Sea the Stars had a huge amount to live up to being one of the outstanding horses of the era, being a half brother to Galileo and having covered an outstanding book of mares. He has not disappointed having sired a superstar filly in Taghrooda, and a scintillating winner of the German derby in Sea the Moon as part of a very impressive haul of 10 stakes winners. Mastercraftsman had a lesser book of mares than Sea the Stars ((althought not a bad book of mares given his initial fee was €20000) but surpassed expectations by delivering two classic winners in Kingston Hill and the Grey Gatsby. However my selection is Le Havre who despite having won a Prix du Jockey Club was retired at a fee of just €5000. He has repaid his supporters in spades with a dual classic winner in Avenir Certain, a Group 2 winner in Auvray and the high class Le Hoguette amongst 6 stakes winners. He has earned the right to much bigger and better books in 2015.

    5. First season sire of the year: Lope de Vega. For most of the season I had the name Starspangledbanner pencilled in for this award. He looked like he had the makings of a fine stallion getting a pair of impressive Royal Ascot winners in The Wow Signal and Alexander Anthem from a depleted first crop (due to fertility issues). However although The Wow Signal added a Group 1, the lustre has slightly faded from this pair and no other stakes winners have emerged. In contrast the offspring of Lope De Vega have really come good as the season progressed and he can already boast of four Group winners headed by recent Dewhurst winner Belardo, backed up by Italian Group 2 winner Here Look and a pair of Group 3 winners in Burnt Sugar and Royal Razalma. In addition Endless Drama put up a most impressive performance when winning today at Naas as he towered over his rivals in every sense. Given that Lope de Vega was better at three when he emulated his own sire Shamardal by winning the French Guineas and Derby Ballylinch Stud must be hopeful that his momentum will continue. Lope de Vega retired at a fee of €15000 and stood for €12500 for the past two years but a big hike is to be expected.

    6. Performance of the Year: Sole Power in the Nunthorpe Stakes. Sole Power is a standing dish in the top sprints and won the Nunthorpe back in 2010 (at which time I wrote about his pedigree (https://www.montjeu.com/archives/295). His winning performance in this year’s edition really had to be seen to be believed as he showed remarkable acceleration against high class sprinters.  Enjoy it for yourself here