2 April 2015

Epsom Oaks winner Dancing Rain with her New Approach foal

Since the official start of the foaling season on 1 January, there have been well over 500 new arrivals on Darley’s thoroughbred stud farms in England, Ireland, Japan and the United States.

Each year the stud teams work tirelessly around the clock to ensure these youngsters have the best possible start to life and with Spring now on its way, the babies are now beginning to bloom.

At Darley’s headquarters, just outside the historical home of horseracing in Newmarket, an impeccably-bred filly foal arrived on 11 February. Out of the Epsom Oaks winner Dancing Rain, she is sired by the Derby winner New Approach so hopes are high that she can continue her family’s Classic-winning tradition.

Discreet Cat - Unbridled Elaine filly

One of the earliest arrivals in America was a filly out of Unbridled Elaine, a striking grey mare whose finest racecourse performance came in a G1 contest at the Breeders’ Cup, widely regarding as the thoroughbred World Championships. The foal’s sire is Darley stallion Discreet Cat, a World Champion racehorse at three.

New Approach foal out of Classic winner Blue Bunting

Another foal with Classic potential is out of 1,000 Guineas and Irish Oaks winner Blue Bunting (also sired by New Approach), together with a colt out of G1 winner Folk Opera – sired by Darley’s world-leading stallion Dubawi. Folk Opera’s own sire is the late Darley stallion Singspiel, a globetrotting superstar who won the Dubai World Cup back in 1997 and stood at Dalham Hall Stud until his death in 2010.

Medaglia d’Oro is one of the leading sires in the United States and he has a number of foals now on Darley’s farms there. They include a colt out of Dance Card, who won the G1 Gazelle Stakes during her racing career.

A very recent arrival at Rutland Stud (in Newmarket) is a Dubawi filly out of Speirbhean, whose most famous foal to date is Teofilo – a Champion racehorse in Europe and now standing as a stallion at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland.

Foals will continue to arrive throughout April and into May and they will soon be enjoying the summer months thriving in the fields, before they reach their first birthday and begin their journey to the racecourse.