Saturday's fifth placing in the G1 TJ Smith S. at Randwick was to prove his final racetrack start and he retired a ‘happy and sound horse’ after a stellar racing career which featured seven wins, all at stakes level, in 22 starts.
The first of his three highlight performances came in the 2019 G1 Golden Rose S., where he beat subsequent The Everest winner Yes Yes Yes and Coolmore Stud S. winner Exceedance, who have both gone on to stallion careers of their own at Coolmore and Vinery respectively.
He then won the G1 Newmarket H. at Flemington in March last year in dominant fashion, emulating what his legendary sire had done 16 years earlier, while his third top-flight success also came down the famous Flemington straight when he won the G1 Darley Sprint Classic, defeating ruling Australian Horse of the Year, Nature Strip (Nicconi) by 3.25l.
Darley confirmed last month he would be part of its 2021 Australian roster, joining fellow freshmen Ghaiyyath (Ire), Pinatubo (Ire) and Earthlight (Ire), who will shuttle from the Northern Hemisphere.
A farewell overseas trip to Royal Ascot was initially on the agenda, but the decision has been made to retire him from the track with immediate effect.
Watch: Bivouac winning the G1 VRC Sprint Classic
“He’s telling us that he’s now ready to head off to stud,” trainer James Cummings said this week.
“We can now look back on his huge performances, like the easy victories he had over those same horses in the spring of last year.
“Everything that he achieved is the hallmark of an absolute superstar and I think he’s capable of following in the footsteps of Exceed And Excel himself.
“Everything that he (Bivouac) achieved is the hallmark of an absolute superstar and I think he’s capable of following in the footsteps of Exceed And Excel himself." - James Cummings
“He was his best son on the racetrack and hopefully he will become his best son at stud.”
Cummings' assessment of him as the best-ever son of Exceed And Excel is backed up by the fact that the only horses from his 1552 winners who won more Group 1s was the star filly Guelph, who is his three-quarter sister.
He is joined by Helmet, Flamberge, Excelebration (GB) and Mr Stunning as three-time Group 1 winners by Exceed And Excel.
All of them were champions in their own right, but Bivouac has the extra item on his resume in that he was named World Champion Sprinter in 2020.
Born to be a star
He hails from a pedigree page rich with black type, with his dam, Dazzler (More Than Ready {USA}), a daughter of G1 Inglis Sires' winner Camarilla (Elusive Quality {USA}) and half-sister to Guelph and G2 Todman S. winner Ghibellines (Shamardal {USA}).
Bivouac's third dam, Camerena (Danehill {USA}), was also a Group 1 winner, claiming the Queensland Derby, while four-time Group 1 winner and stallion Sepoy also features on his page.
It was clear from very early on that Bivouac had the ability to match that pedigree, placing in his first two runs as a 2-year-old before winning the Listed Lonhro S., at his third start.
Bivouac followed his Warwick Farm win with fourth in the G2 Todman S., before winning the G3 Kindergarten S., in what was to prove the final start of his juvenile campaign.
He immediately demonstrated his improvement into his 3-year-old season when he blitzed the field by 4.25l in the G3 Vain S. at Caulfield on resumption.
At his second start back, he bumped into another star Exceed And Excel colt, Exceedance, for the first time in what would be a terrific 3-year-old rivalry.
Exceedance won the first round, triumphing in the G3 San Domenico S. but Bivouac proved his better in their next two clashes, winning both the G2 Run To The Rose S. and the G1 Golden Rose. Exceedance would finish third in both races, with Yes Yes Yes separating the two Exceed And Excel colts on both occasions.
Exceedance would then edge Bivouac out in a thrilling G1 Coolmore Stud S. in their fourth meeting later in the spring.
A Newmarket blitz
Bivouac returned in the autumn and at his second run back would easily defeat Group 1-winning pair Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible) and Gytrash (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in one of Australia's great Group 1 sprints, the Newmarket H.
In the spring of 2020, he was set for the world's richest sprint, The Everest, filling Godolphin's slot, and he performed with distinction, beaten home only by the winner Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt).
He would then turn in what was the performance of his career when he destroyed a field of top-quality sprinters in the G1 Darley Sprint Classic. It would earn him a rating of 125 on the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities rankings, enough for him to sit joint top with Classique Legend and claim the honour, along with that horse, of being World Champion Sprinter in 2020.
That was to prove his final racetrack victory, and he would end his career with nearly $5.7 million in prizemoney.
Bivouac | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
The next stage of his career is highly anticipated, with his fee set to be confirmed in the next week.
"He is right up there with the best, local Australian horses that we have put on the roster. We are very excited to have him," Darley Australia's Head of Sales, Andy Makiv, said on the announcement he would join the 2021 roster last month.
