Something New at Coolmore
All roads lead to the Hunter Valley this weekend for the annual round of stallion parades and while most visitors are there to reconnect with old favourites and check on the progress of up and comers, some breeders are looking beyond the obvious and seeking to find something new.
For those breeders, Coolmore have the horse to fit the bill in Deep Impact’s brilliant son Saxon Warrior.
His natural athleticism reflects a race record that saw him undefeated at two, winning three from three including the Group I Doncaster Racing Post Trophy (1m) beating Roaring Lion, before returning for his classic season which delivered Group I success in the Newmarket Two Thousand Guineas (1m) and a fourth in the Group I Epsom Derby as well as three other Group I placings.
Retired after just nine starts, Saxon Warrior never finished worse than fourth and danced every dance as they say with his best performances at a mile.
A homebred for Coolmore, Saxon Warrior is from Group I winning Galileo mare Maybe, so combines the blood of two of the world's best sires in Deep Impact and Galileo, while his second dam is by Danehill and is a three-quarter sister to Group I Epsom Oaks winner Dancing Rain.
The family is top class through and through having also produced triple Group I winner and Epsom Derby hero Dr Devious and interestingly has had success in Australia producing Fastnet Rock's Group I winning son Awesome Rock.
Priced at $24,750, Saxon Warrior has the classic pedigree often missing from Australian stallion rosters combined with the precocity and turn of foot that made him an outstanding Group I miler at two and three.
The loss of Saxon Warrior’s sire Deep Impact earlier this year has cast the spotlight on his sires sons, who are rapidly making their mark and writing the next chapter of success for the all-conquering Sunday Silence sireline.
In Japan this year, sons of Deep Impact hold the top three spots on their first season sire list and it’s hard not to imagine a horse with the impeccable credentials of Saxon Warrior cannot add to their success.