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ARJAN STULEN |
Weblog: Approaching bloodstock from outside the box
New Approach has much appeal as a stallion, according to our blogger
PICTURE: Edward WhitakerHere's an Approach that is clearly hard to resist
It's January and thus the time the first foals are born and the time that breeders are making their final mating plans for the forthcoming season. Decisions are made based on a stallion's proven record or on the belief that a stallion will do well in the future. If I were to select a stallion that I thought would do well this year, I would back New Approach, whose first runners are two-year-olds.
Among the things that he has in his favour are the fact that he was an outstanding racehorse. An unbeaten, champion two-year-old, he won both the National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes.
On his seasonal debut as a three-year-old, New Approach was beaten only a nose by Henrythenavigator in the 2,000 Guineas, this result being another confirmation of his precocity and his speed.
Finishing second again to Henrythenavigator in the Irish Guineas, New Approach came back to Epsom to claim the Derby. Having now shown that he also stayed well, he went on to finish third in the Juddmonte international before winning both the English and Irish Champion Stakes, beating Twice Over by six lengths in his final race.
On breeding, there is another great case to make for New Approach. Not only is he by sensational stallion Galileo, he is out of Park Express, herself a Champion Stakes winner and dam of horses such as Shinko Forest and Dazzling Park, the latter being the grand dam of Alfred Nobel, who won the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes and has his first foals on the ground in 2012.
Some other elements that might indicate New Approach’s ability are that another son of Galileo-turned- stallion is Teofilo. He, like New Approach, won the National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes as a two-year-old. Teofilo had his first runners in 2011, among them four Stakes winners. One of them is Parish Hall who won the Dewhurst stakes beating Power and is now a possible Derby horse.
If the above does not sound convincing enough, look at the 26 yearlings by New Approach that were sold lastyear for more than 100,000 Guineas.
In the end, only time will tell, but it all looks good to me.
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