We may now be well into the 2023 covering season, but that doesn’t mean that it is too late to act upon a last-minute brainwave for mating your mare.
While tradition may dictate that it is a case of the earlier the better when it comes to foaling dates, there is plenty of data to suggest otherwise…
Last year alone, the Darley stallions were responsible for a group of 28 Group-race successes, all won by horses who were born in April or later.
They include Night Of Thunder’s triple G1 winner Highfield Princess (foaled on 9 May, pictured), plus fellow top-flight scorers Modern Games (Dubawi, foaled 17 April) and Nations Pride (Teofilo, foaled 28 April).
Other notable ‘late’ arrivals are Harry Angel’s crack sprinter Al Dasim, Profitable’s Group-winning duo Mitbaahy and Wed, plus Iffraaj’s Champion three-year-old My Prospero.
It is also worth noting that many of the season’s major G1 contests have been won by horses foaled in April and beyond, including the July Cup, Prix Jean Prat, St James’s Palace Stakes, Prix de l’Abbaye, Middle Park, Prix Poule d’Essai de Pouliches, Diamond Jubilee, Nunthorpe, Dewhurst, Prix de la Foret, Prix du Moulins.
Several of the Darley stallions were themselves foaled in April and May (Cloth Of Stars, Cracksman, Ghaiyyath, Masar, Postponed, Territories and Victor Ludorum), and with 17 G1 wins between them, they could not be better proof that a later foaling is no barrier to success at the highest level.
If you have a late foaling mare that you would like to discuss, please call the nominations team on +44 (0)1638 730070 or +353 (0)45 527600.
