Fees have been announced for the 11 stallions on the Darley stallion roster in Japan in 2021.
An exciting new addition is G1-winning sprinter and Champion racehorse for Godolphin, Tower Of London. Rated the best speed horse in Japan last year, Tower Of London broke the track record when landing the G2 Sankei Sho Centaur Stakes en route to victory in a fast time over a high-class field in the G1 Sprinters Stakes. He will stand at a fee of 1.5 million yen.
A Group winner at two, three and four, Tower Of London is by record-breaking Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass who in turn was by a world record-breaker. He hails from a superb female family that has no fewer than 21 G1 winners under the first four dams.
He joins fellow Champion sprinter Fine Needle (2.5 million yen), who also won the G1 Sprinters Stakes, plus the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen. Fine Needle’s first foals arrived this year and include a half-sister to G1 performer My Gi Gi and close relatives of Manduro, Debussy and Order Of St George.
Pyro, who will also stand at 2.5 million yen, retains his position as one of Japan’s leading dirt stallions and is sire of a superb 77% winners to runners from his stock aged three and up. This year, he has sired G3 Leopard Stakes first and third Kenshinko and Blank Cheque, plus a further three Stakes performers and several very promising juveniles.
Global superstar and magnificent dual Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow, who won G1 races every year from two to five on both dirt and turf, was a very popular addition to the Darley stallion roster this year, covering over 150 quality mares. He won at the highest level every season he raced including the G1 Criterium International at two, a victory that ensured his position as the best two-year-old colt in France that year. His fee will be 2.5 million yen.
Brilliant Breeders’ Cup hero Talismanic has been well supported in his first two seasons at stud, covering 216 mares. The best US-bred son of leading sire Medaglia d’Oro and from the family of Deep Impact, Talismanic will stand at a fee of 1.8 million yen.
The roster is completed by American Patriot, Discreet Cat (both at 1.5 million yen), Admire Moon, Furioso, Hawkbill (all standing at 1 million yen), and Monterosso (0.5million yen).
Shotaro Kajiya, Nominations Manager, said, “Tower Of London has shown outstanding speed and comes from an internationally prestigious family. With these important attributes, I am even more excited about his future as a stallion than his career as a racehorse.
“We look forward to welcoming breeders to the Darley Stallion Complex and showing them the strength of our 11-stallion line-up.”
