It is rare to find a stallion which ticks all the boxes, but Darley may have discovered a rare jewel in their globetrotting Group 1 winner Modern Games.
Winner of his maiden on Newmarket's July course, Modern Games went from strength to strength during his juvenile season, recording an easy victory in the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes on the Rowley Mile before taking the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in November 2021.
A French Classic campaign beckoned and Modern Games made a winning reappearance in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) before placing third behind Vadeni in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) on his only career start beyond a mile. Trying open company for the first time, the colt out-ran expectations when chasing home Baaeed to finish second in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes – one of only two horses to get within two lengths of the champion miler during the 2022 campaign.
Modern Games enhanced his globetrotting credentials with a victory in the Canadian Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and returned to the US for a second tilt at the Breeder's Cup meeting in November, winning the Group 1 Breeders' Cup Mile in comfortable style. Despite his international resumé, Modern Games was still missing a domestic Group 1 and returned to the UK in May 2023 as a four-year-old to claim the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes, beating subsequent multiple Group winner Chindit.
Upon retirement from Charlie Appleby's yard in mid-August, Modern Games was the holder of multiple accolades. His five Group 1 wins in four different countries at two, three and four-years-old was nothing short of exceptional and confirmed the colt's position as the leading son of Dubawi by top-level victories. He was also the first winner of back-to-back Breeders' Cup victories to retire to stud in Europe since High Chapparal in 2003.
The breeding profile of Modern Games was given a timely boost at the start of the 2023 season when half-sister Mawj recorded an epic 1000 Guineas victory at Newmarket's Rowley Mile, defeating multiple Group 1 winner Tahiyra. The daughter of Darley's Australian-based stallion Exceed And Excel flourished as a three-year-old, following her elder brother's lead by recording two overseas victories at Meydan in the Jumeirah Fillies Classic and Jumeirah Fillies Guineas.
The success of Modern Games and his half-sister Mawj has firmly established the reputation of dam Modern Ideals as a future blue-hen for the Darley operation. The New Approach mare is out of a half-sister to the dam of Bosra Sham and hails from the same family as Lammtara. Although unsuccessful on the racecourse, she was an immediate hit at stud once paired with Darley stallions, producing eight-furlong winner Feminisim (Shamardal) in 2017 and the Group 3-placed Modern News (Shamardal).
Nominations manager Dawn Laidlaw said: "It's great to have another son of Dubawi standing here [at Dalham Hall Stud]. Dubawi really is a sire of sires, he's a phenomenal sire himself and with Modern Games coming here – I see him very much as a Night Of Thunder-type Dubawi son.
"Modern Games is very much in the Night Of Thunder mould, he's a neat and compact horse with a nice head. He's strong and he's tough, which is another great thing about Dubawi's. He's won his Group 1s at two, three and four. He's won Group 1s in the UK, France and America, that's what you want from a stallion.
"He's a five-time Group 1 winner over a mile and that's what everyone wants, they want milers. He comes from a great family and he's a half-brother to this year's 1000 Guineas winner Mawj. It's very exciting to have a stallion like him standing here."
It is no surprise that Darley are keen to point out the similarities between Modern Games and Kildangan Stud resident Night Of Thunder, who currently stands at €100,000. The son of Dubawi has taken the bloodstock world by storm, producing multiple Group 1 winning sprinter Highfield Princess from his first crop – a crop which has yielded an impressive 23% stakes winners. The two stallions boast similar racing profiles, both Guineas winners at three and Lockinge success at four, but undoubtedly Modern Games holds the edge with two Breeder's Cup victories to his name.
Although Modern Games' fee remains unconfirmed for the 2024 season, he will undoubtedly prove popular with breeders who are looking to achieve all the characteristics which the son of Dubawi has in abundance – longevity, versatility and star quality.
