Sires

KONDOR - Belle Fee 2005 Breeding Season

Kondor out in the fields, summer 2006 (22 years young)

Well, we think its about time to introduce KONDOR to you. Kondor was bred in 1984 by Heinz Ramm and "Hein" Bollow, the latter being Germany´s answer to Lester Piggott. "Hein" Bollow was a highly successful jockey in Germany and the only person (worldwide?) to ride AND train more than 1000 winners, and he trained Kondor too! Kondor is a dark-brown son of Cagliostro (Dschingis-Khan - Cavanell (Cavan) ) and the Obermaat-mare Kingsi. Kingsi is a descendant from the famous Contessa Maddalena-Contessa Oleanda branch, a line that combines best old german blood with international notes. Kondor represents stout breeding, but was early enough to run and win as a 2-year-old, including the Listed "Junioren-Preis" over 7f. Kondor became a classic winner at 3 when taking the German 2000 Guineas (Gr.II - "Mehl-Mühlens-Rennen") from Zampano. After that Kondor won Germany´s most important Derby-Trial, the 152.Union-Rennen (Gr.II) over 1m3f, before finishing a honourable 3rd behind outsider Lebos in the 1887 German Derby. After that Kondor won the Group 1-Aral-Pokal over 1m4f, beating the Derby-winner fair&square into 5th place, before running a great race in defeat when finishing 3rd again behind Kamiros II and Le Glorieux. Kondor had a busy season in 1988, running 8 times. He started with a bang when winning on his debut (Gr.III-1m2f). After some below-par performances Kondor bounced back to wonderful form when running away with the Gr.I Preis von Europa in September, reversing form with Kamiros II and having his old opponent Lebos behind again. After that Kondor was invited to contest the Japan-Cup, but finished unplaced. This trip seem to have taken its toll, as Kondor never regained his form and was retired after two lacklustre runs in 1989.
In total Kondor raced 19 times, winning 7 and being placed 8 times, and his highest rating was 100,5kg GAG (= about 120 on the english scale).
Kondor the Sire is a prime example for being in the right place at the wrong time. He was retired to Isarland Stud near Munich, now a well-known place that stands Law Society and Pentire. But back in 1990 Isarland was in deep financial trouble, so in his first vital years at stud Kondor was on his own, never backed by breeders, never fashionable. He even covered warmblood mares at that time, and it was uphill struggle after that, as Kondor was moved from one small stud to another, lacking opportunities and never getting vital results. He DID get winners and some highly rated horses, but they were far to small in number and not top-class either.
Kondor is now in his 22nd year, and his move to Klosterhof Stud near Celle (near Hannover) is hoped to be his final one. This -again- is a small boarding stud with no previous stallion-experiences, but Gaby and Fritz Bolte run this place with high effiency, and Kondor is a member of the family. He still doesn´t cover any large books (one cannot even call it a book, really, as he had about a handfull of mares in 2005) but his few foals compare favourable with other offspring, and he is well able to sire a 80++ rated horse (see our Spontano!) at a very reasonable price!
Kondor is a strong-boned individual with a lovely character, easy to handle and belying his years, looking like a 10-year-old! We never considered him as a mate for Belle Fee, until we saw him and he caught us by storm! His calm yet demanding manners and well-behaved attitude, his looks and agility in his high age persuaded us to take a deeper look, and we could even convince ourself that the breeding was soo fitting as well, as Belle Fee has a nice strain of Dschingis-Khan-blood from her dam-side too, as well as adding a Frontal-strain. My favourite quote from breeding guru Tony Morris? : " Dig deep and persuade yourself that it matters!" - We did just that! Lets hope the old boy managed something nice with our Belle Fee !

Nayef - Bukett 2007

Well, it was a long and hard search, but in the end we all agreed on Nayef as Bukett´s mate for the 2007 breeding season.
Nayef (*1998, by Gulch - Height of Fashion) is the last living foal of his fabled mum, who brought Nashwan, Alwasmi and Unfuwain among others before she gave birth to this brown fellow. Nayef did not win a Derby, but had a wonderful and illustrious racing career: at two he was Timeform´s top-rated two-year-old in Britain with a rating of 123, at three he was England´s Champion 10f horse. Nayef won 4 Group I races, at least one at 3, 4 and 5 years; he beat horses like Falbrav, Golan, Tobougg, Noverre, Ratki etc. He was tough, honest, sound and fast, simply a horse any breeder would want to use. His first crop is two in 2007, and his first few runners have hit the track. Nayef is a big, strong-boned individual who resembles his maternal grand-sire Bustino more than anything.

Update Sep. 2007: Even though he was a very good 2-year-old and Classic hopeful after his first season in training, experts did not expect Nayef to be a sire of precocious horses, but full marks to the horse: From a rather small number of horses that made it to the track so far Nayef has an impressive 61% strike-rate for winners and placed horses, and even had his first Group II double when the classy fillies Spacious and Kotsi fought out the major honours for the May Hill Stakes in Doncaster. The former is now rested until 2008 and is as short as 14/1 for the 1000 Guineas (Sep.2007) with the latter still engaged in The Group I Fillies Mile at Ascot. Long live the dream!
Find more about Nayef here:

Shadwell - Nayef

Lomitas - Bukett 2008

Bukett last cover by Nayef was on April 20th, so she is due to foal at around that date in march. We chose Lomitas as her 2008 partner; she herself has been doing well with Silvano and has a Group-placed half-brother (Bergo) by him. As Silvano is based in South-Africa now and Lomitas does not have a son of note at Stud in Germany, he seems a logical choice. See his own section for details.

Toylsome - Belle Fee 2008

Toylsome (*1999 Cadeaux Generaux - Treasure Trove (The Minstrel) is Belle Fee´s partner in 2008.
We followed him faithfully season after season as a racehorse, and he rewarded us (and his owner) with many Listed successes, but it was the 2007 season that showed him in an all different light: after a small win in a Conditions race in Bremen he was just beaten by Germanys best sprinter Lucky Strike in a Listed contest in Cologne, but bounced back to win two such contests, acting as a pacemaker to mighty Manduro in the Gr. I Jaques le Marois in between where he finished a gallant fourth over a mile. But his last Listed win hinted so much improvement that the decision was made to let Toylsome tackle a Gr.I race on his own account, so off it was to Paris for the Prix de la Foret, a 7f race on Arc Weekend. Setting off as an unconsidered 100-1 (50-1 on the Pari-Mutuel), Toylsome didn´t just win, he destroyed one of the strongest fields ever assembled for this prestigious event, scoring by 2 1/2 length with a tremendous front-running display. What a day! In the form of his life, Toylsome then was taken to Newmarket for a simular Gr.II event, but found the very soft going and the stiff track slightly against him to finish an honourable third. A slight injury meant Toylsomes retirement at the tender age of 8, and the emphatic Gr.I success meant he has been rewarded with a place at stud, as the highest rated german sprinter "in decades". He stands in Gestüt Erftmühle, next to Tertullian, a horse who would have been Belles partner last year if not for her second accident.
(see Toylsomes entry in the German Stars section!)

Desert Prince - Ribera 2008

Desert Prince copyright Gestüt Isarland

After an unsuccessful stint in two racing yards we thought long and hard about Riberas future, but eventually decided her bloodlines still make her an interesting mare. We gave her first partner even more thoughts; her pedigree offers various fascinating choices, among them inbreeding to Riverman, or even better, inbreeding to Rivermans second dam Lalun via Sadlers Wells and his sons for example. We thought we found the perfect match in Gold Away, only to learn that he is full since Nov. 07 (and duly booked him for 2009!), and did none of the before mentioned as we settled for DESERT PRINCE. This high-class triple Gr. I winning Miler has been a resident of the Irish Natinal Stud and joined Gestüt Isarland in 2007. While his breeding (Green Desert-Flying Fairy by Bustino) is a perfect mix of speed and stamina, something he showed as a racehorse so well, it does offer remote inbreeding to Never Bend and Northern Dancer, and we liked the fact that he is a "proven Sire". Desert Prince has some crops of racing age but his main flagbearer could be the smart and improving Mourilyan, bred by the Aga Khan and trained by John Oxx, who, after four straight wins and an excellent 3rd to Soldier of Fortune on his racecourse debut, tackles Group-Company for the first time in Dubai tonight (06/03/08).