The outpouring of emotion after Lonhro’s passing last week again underpinned how few thoroughbreds have been as popular as the Black Flash.
Sadly, with him being retired from stud duties in 2022 and with only two more small – 40 and 19 live foals – crops to follow this season’s 2-year-old crop of 64, the days of Lonhro’s progeny carving up the racetrack are numbered.
But his legacy as a broodmare sire is only now reaching its peak.
After rising to seventh in his top 10 breakthrough on the broodmare sire list in 2019, Lonhro has finished 9th, 9th, 8th and 6th in the past four seasons.
The late Lonhro | Image courtesy of Darley
Now Lonhro is on target for his best ever finish on the broodmare table, currently fifth this season, with earnings approaching $18 million, spearheaded by 11 individual stakes winners.
In totality, Lonhro mares are responsible for 880 individual winners, including 74 stakes winners and progeny earnings of $130 million.
“Like most good stallions, he’s going to end up a very good broodmare stallion. Generally it does follow,” Darley’s Alastair Pulford said.
Denman, Lonhro and Octagonal | Image courtesy of Darley
“If you look at the broodmare sires list, you see horses like Encosta De Lago and Redoute’s Choice who are up there and they’ve been out of service for a long while. It takes longer than you expect somehow for a broodmare sire to be acknowledged as such.
“Great broodmare sires of the past would show that. It’s generally after they’ve stopped serving or are retired.
“It takes longer than you expect somehow for a broodmare sire to be acknowledged as such. Great broodmare sires of the past would show that. It’s generally after they’ve stopped serving or are retired.” - Alastair Pulford
“Nothing’s ever a given and there’s plenty of good stallions out there, but he’s going to be amongst the top contenders for a long time.
“There’s certainly enough stock on the ground and they have good enough pedigrees. He covered high quality mares for most of the second half of his career and that adds weight to it.”
Alastair Pulford | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Working well with a range of Sire Lines
Statistically, Brazen Beau and Snitzel have been the most successful stallions when bred over Lonhro mares, with the pair sharing a 23 per cent stakes winners to runners on the cross.
But that is only off a small base, with the pair having just 13 runners each.
Brazen Beau is the sire responsible for Lonhro’s third individual Group 1 winner as a broodmare sire, thanks to Zapateo’s success in the ATC The Galaxy last month.
The James Cummings-trained mare is out to add a second major when she runs in the Sangster S. at Morphettville on Saturday.
Lonhro’s other Group 1 winners as a broodmare sire to this point have been Makybe Diva S. winner Gatting (Hard Spun {USA}) and Godolphin’s 2022 Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile (Astern), who retires to Darley’s Victorian base this season.
There are an additional 12 gallopers from Lonhro mares that have won Group 2 races.
Exceed And Excel is the most represented stallion with progeny from Lonhro mares, having 54 runners for 42 winners and 8 stakes winners (14 per cent stakes winners to runners).
“Fortunately he tends to be a very good cross for most Danehill (USA) lines, but equally for the Sadler’s Wells (USA) line. His daughters are very easy to mate,” Pulford said.
“They generally have enough quality and substance. Not all of them are very big, but he can definitely throw a type Lonhro.”
Estriella poised to be new Group 1 winner
Though Snitzel and Brazen Beau have a slightly superior strike rate in terms of stakes winners with Lonhro mares, it’s possible I Am Invincible might prove the best of them.
He’s had 20 runners from Lonhro mares for 19 individual winners, including four stakes winners (20 per cent stakes winners to runners).
These include the New Zealand Group 1 placegetter Evalina, Construct and Desi Prince.
Estriella is the other I Am Invincible/Lonhro black type winner and she can add to the Lonhro legacy if she’s successful in Saturday’s G1 Sangster S. in Adelaide.
The Ciaron Maher-trained filly is unbeaten in four starts this campaign and heads betting charts for the 1200-metre feature. Zapateo is on the fourth line of betting.
Estriella is from the Lonhro mare Madrigals, who only raced once, but just happens to be a full sister to Lonhro’s best racetrack performer, Pierro.
As a result, she was a $750,000 purchase for Maher at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale from the draft of Arrowfield Stud.
Estriella as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
She’s more than paid her way, being the winner of more than $1 million already and regarded as one of the most promising sprinters in the country.
It’s worth noting another very good performer for I Am Invincible this season is the G1 Coolmore Stud S. runner-up I Am Unstoppable, who is from the Pierro mare Satin Slipper.
Lonhro mares on the market
Given his growing broodmare reputation, it would make sense that Lonhro’s daughters should be valuable commodities going into the future.
The Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale has three Lonhro mares catalogued, while the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale has 14.
The Magic Millions contingent include mares carrying positive tests to Home Affairs, Spirit Of Boom, Microphone, Paulele, Justify (USA), I Am Immortal, Ole Kirk and Pinatubo (Ire).
Magic Millions' Lot 438 Coriolis is being sold as a breeding and racing proposition by Godolphin. She is a close relation to Lonhro’s New Zealand G1 Railway S. winner Bounding. Coriolis is from the Helmet mare Zeehan, who in turn is a three-quarter sister to Believe’n’succeed (Exceed And Excel), who is the dam of English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the aforementioned Bounding.
The Godolphin draft also includes Ventura (Lot 1020), a sister to Group 1 winner Denman from the family of Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi (Sidestep). She’s being offered with a positive test to Paulele. Another Godolphin Lonhro mare being sold is Marrakesh (Lot 854), a half-sister to the Group 1 winners Astern (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}) and Alizee (Sepoy), being offered in foal to Paulele.
Lot 510 Petersham is a grand daughter of the four-times Group 1 winner Tuesday Joy (NZ) (Carnegie {Ire}) from the famed Denise’s Joy (Seventh Hussar {Fr}) family, while Lot 580 is You Oughta Know, who is a half-sister to the Group 1 winner Tuvalu (Kermadec {NZ}) and being sold as a racing and breeding proposition.
Lot 684 Black Tulip is being offered in foal to I Am Invincible’s dual Group 1-winning son Home Affairs. She is from the immediate family of Dehere (USA).
Lot 876 My Obsession is already the dam of Group 3 winner Vagrant (Pariah) and is being offered in foal to Justify, while the unraced Muses (Lot 1002) is a half-sister to this season’s Group 2 winner Kallos (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}) being offered with a positive test to Pinatubo.
Mares catalogued for the Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale are My Miss Pedrille, carrying a positive test to Brave Smash (Jpn), Seismics and Crimson Cash.
My Miss Pedrille is a daughter of the grand mare Mamzelle Pedrille (Zoffany {USA}) from the family of I Am Invincible.
Seismics was unraced but is a daughter of Darley’s G1 Blue Diamond winner and G1 Golden Slipper runner-up Earthquake (Exceed And Excel), from a family that includes the Group 1 winner Madame Pommery (No Nay Never {USA}), who is among the headline acts being sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Crimson Cash is from the family of this year’s G1 Blue Diamond winner Hayasugi (Royal Meeting {Ire}) and is believed to be in foal to Pride Of Dubai.
