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.
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