One week on, there is still much to digest after all of those dominating displays of destruction in Dublin. But on a bloodstock note, nothing more so than the prominence of a certain bloodline.
In the jumping world, bloodstock trends are either non-existent or completely governing.
Think Denham Red – completely unheralded - the most foals he ever had in a single year was 30 and now posthumously he is the sire of both Un De Sceaux and last weekend’s 10 length Arkle winner, Energumene.
In contrast, there are the leviathans of the scene such as Sadler’s Wells who for example so far this season has had six individual sons produce Grade One winners (Chacun Pour Soi, Flooring Porter, Bob Olinger, Bristol De Mai, Politologue and Paisley Park) as well as another three through grandsons (Abacadabras, Ballyadam and Min).
With that in mind, it is of course imperative to sit up and take note when significant strides are being made from a single source of DNA. And that source, through many different streams, is Monsun.
Monsun was a three-time German Group One winner and the son of Königsstuhl stood in his homeland at Gestüt Schlenderhan for his entire stud career, the latter half for which he was actually blind.
From a total of 642 runners (which is about half that of an average sire these days), Monsun produced 512 winners and 113 Stakes winners, 22 of whom won at the highest level.
More than half of those Group One winners took honours on the main stage more than once including six-time Group One and French Oaks winner Stacelita and four-time Group One and King George winner Novellist.
And a huge percentage of Monsun’s best performers either already have or presently are creating a storm in the jumping world today. With regards top British and Irish performers, the seeds were sewn quite some time ago.
From Monsun’s very first crop born in 1997, emerged four Group winners including German Derby winner Samum and a Cologne Group Two winner called Network. The former, from only 360 runners, sired four Group One winners on the flat as well as Henry De Bromhead’s dual Grade One winning novice chaser, Notebook. While the latter became one of France’s leading jumps sires and is best known for his nine-time Grade One winning son Sprinter Sacre as well as Delta Work and Le Richebourg.
Focusing on National Hunt influence, the next son of note to appear was born in 2001 in the form of Breeders’ Cup Turf, German Derby and Coronation Cup winner Shirocco. Initially standing on the flat for seven years at Sheikh Mohammed’s Dalham Hall, Shirocco did produce six top-flight flat winners and now resides at Glenview Stud in Ireland. But from his very first crop, bursting onto the scene at the same time that Sprinter Sacre won his first Grade One in 2012, was Annie Power.
That duo went out on a high in 2016 when Sprinter Sacre regained his Champion Chase Crown and Annie Power won the Champion Hurdle. Putting their sire line in the limelight at that time would be an understatement.
Monsun’s 2002 crop gave rise to triple Group One winner Manduro who, standing as a flat sire, produced horses to the calibre of Vazirabad and also sired Grade Two Hurdles winner Baradari. But that crop also yielded Arcadio, a Group Two winner and one of the first sons of Monsun to stand in Ireland at Arctic Tack Stud. That sire who died last year has so far been best represented by Grade One winning Novice Chaser Hardline from one of his initial crops bred off a very low fee.
The following crop yielded three Group One winning colts and all three now stand as National Hunt sires. Both Schiaparelli and Getaway were secured after glittering Group One winning careers to immediately join the jumping ranks in 2011. The former retired to Overbury Stud and was last year represented by Cheltenham festival winner Indefatigable. While the latter retired to Grange Stud and has had an uninterrupted supply of top-level performers including Grade One Christmas hurdle winner Verdana Blue, The Big Breakaway, The Big Getaway, and most recently, last weekend was Sandown’s Grade One Scilly Isles winner Sporting John.
The third sire from that crop was Gentlewave who retired to stud in France and only last year relocated to Britain’s Yorton Farm. His jumping flagbearers include cross-country hero Easysland and Poker Party.
Shortly after, along came the Niarchos Family owned and bred Monsun son, Maxios. Following two Group One wins in France, Maxios retired to stud in Germany in 2014 and sired German Oaks winner Diamanta from his second crop. Just last year, Maxios was procured to stand at Coolmoore’s Castlehyde branch and last weekend joined the Grade One producing party when Quilixios won the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown.
As well as Sporting John and Quilixios, there was also a third son of Monsun producing black-type last weekend. Aizavoski who stood at Arctic Tack Stud from 2013 to 2018, produced the young Whatdeawant to come from nowhere to place third behind Kilcruit in the Grade Two Future Stars bumper (from extremely small crop numbers due to sub-fertility).
As well as all of these, we also have the even younger sons of Monsun at National Hunt Stud including Vadamos who recently transferred from Tally-Ho to Coolmore’s Grange Stud and whose oldest progeny are three this year; Ocovango standing at The Beeches Stud whose eldest just turned five; and Masterstoke who recently transferred to Yorton Stud Farm from France whose eldest are six. As well as a number in France such as Bathyrhon, Manatee and Triple Treat.
Sprinter Sacre and Annie Power may have created the Monsun-line storm almost a decade ago, but Quilixios, Sporting John and Notebook have bolstered all the faith and patience stallion masters and breeders have placed in these talented staying genes.
The future is bright.