Marquetry; Excellent Art; Midas Touch; Most Improved; Orientate;
Photo by Bronwen Healy
* NOTED G1 winner and sire Marquetry has died at the Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Kentucky at the age of 26.
The son of Conquistador Cielo, who won 10 of his 36 starts and earned just shy of $3 million for his owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, was euthanised following an accident in his stable.
Marquetry began his racing in England before moving to the US under the care of the late trainer Bobby Frankel.
Frankel took him to G1 wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup, Eddie Read Handicap and Meadowlands Cup.
Retired to stud at six he originally stood at Vinery Stud in Kentucky before moving to Stonewalls Farm in Florida.His notable progeny have included champions Artax and Squirtle Squirt, both winners of the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint.
He was retired from stud duties in 2010 due to declining fertility.
* COOLMORE Stud has sold former shuttle sire and G1 winner Excellent Art to India's Poonawalla Stud.
Excellent Art shuttled to Australia for four seasons from 2008 and with his oldest southern hemisphere progeny now three has produced 15 first crop winners including NZ stakes winner Absolut Excelencia.
A son of Pivotal, he has been more successful with two Irish bred crops that include six stakes winners in Europe.
Excellent Art won the G1 St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2007.
* GALILEO's much travelled son Midas Touch, who raced in Australia for Lloyd Wiliams, will go to stud in Kentucky at War Horse Place near Lexington.
The six-year-old is now owned by brothers Carlos Luis and Jose Antonio Uzcategui and wil begin his stud career on a fee of $US10,000.
He is being gioven his opportunity in Kentucky as the demand for sons of Galileo in America is on the rise.
As an example his triple G1 winner Cape Blanco was the busiest sire in the US last year, covering 220 mares.
Midas Touch was originally trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien to win two races including the G2 Derrinstown Derby Trial where he beat At First Sight.
He went on to be placed in the Irish Derby and St Leger before he was purchased by Williams and imported to Australia as a Melbourne Cup horse.
His failed to win a race for Williams but was placed in the G1 Underwood Stakes and G2 Makybe Diva Stakes.
Midas Touch is out of the Darshaan mare Approach, a Listed-winning half-sister to French Guineas winner and sire Aussie Rules.
MOST Improved, winner of the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012, has been purchased by Coolmore Stud and will race for Aidan O’Brien in 2013 beofre starting a stud career.
The four-year-old son of Lawman was also third in the G.1 Dewhurst Stakes at two.
He is out of the Linamix mare Tonnara, a half-sister to French G3 winner Albisola.
FORMER Arrowfield Stud shuttler Orientate has been transferred from Kentucky to stand at Northview Stallion Station in Maryland.
The 15-year-old sire, who shuttled to Australia for two seasons in 2003 and 2004, had been based at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky for his entire stud career.
The son of Mt. Livermore, a G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winer, sired 431 winners from his first seven crops including 35 stakes winners, among them G1 winning mares Lady Joanne and Intangaroo.
Orientate left just 75 foals in two seasons in Australia but left the black-type performers Beyonce’s Star, Marveen and Bermaise.
Orientate is also the broodmare sire of last season's champion US 2YO colt Shanghai Bobby.
