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Blue Point, Too Darn Hot and Microphone to stand in Australia.
Darley Australia has announced three exciting Group 1-winning additions to their Australian roster for 2020, with exceptional two-year-old's Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) and Microphone (Exceed And Excel) set to stand at Kelvinside, while super fast sprinter Blue Point (Shamardal) will join the ranks at Northwood Park in Victoria.
Arguably two of the most exciting European-bred shuttlers to hit these shores in many years, Too Darn Hot was crowned Europe's champion two-year-old colt in 2018 and Europe's champion three-year-old colt the following season and he will launch his Australian stud career alongside Blue Point, who landed a rare Royal Ascot double when he won the King's Stand (Gr 1, 5f) before adding to the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) to his record four days later.
While Too Darn Hot and Blue Point will arrive in Australia having covered their first book of mares in the northern hemisphere, fellow Group 1 winner Microphone be will begin his first season in the covering shed at the New South Wales-based stud.
Trained by Charlie Appleby, Blue Point announced himself on the scene by winning the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 2, 6f) at York by three lengths. After placings in both the Middle Park (Gr 1, 6f) and the Dewhurst Stakes (Gr 1, 7f) later that season he returned at three with victory in the Pavilion Stakes (Gr 3, 6f), where he broke Ascot's six-furlong track record in the process.
As a four-year-old the son of Shamardal (Giant's Causeway) landed his first victory in the King's Stand and also posted a good third in the Nunthorpe Stakes (Gr 1, 5f).
Unbeaten in all five of his starts in his five-year-old season, a winning streak that started in Dubai with a victory in the Meydan Sprint (Gr 2, 1000m), a win he would follow up by landing the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint (Gr 3, 1200m) and the Al Quoz Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m).
However, the entire's crowning glory came last season at Royal Ascot - when he landed his second win in the King's Stand and then matched Choisir's (Danehill Dancer) 2003 feat of following up in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes later that same week.
Blue Point retired with a Timeform rating of 131, and is currently standing his first northern hemisphere season alongside his sire Shamardal at Kildangan Stud in Ireland.
He is out of the Royal Applause (Waajib) mare Scarlett Rose, making him a half-brother to 2010 Railway Stakes (Gr 2, 6f) winner Formosina (Footstepsinthesand).
Scarlett Rose herself is a half-sister to multiple Group 3 winner Tumbleweed Ridge (Indian Ridge) and Tumbleweed Pearl (Aragon) - the dam of Group 2 scorer Gilded (Redback), who in turn produced Listed winner Fort Del Oro (Lope De Vega).
His father Shamardal shuttled to Australia between 2005-2010 and has left his mark on the Australian breeding landscape, siring 23 Australian-bred stakes winners, including four Group 1 winners in Faint Perfume, Maybe DIscreet, Delectation and Captain Sonador.
Meanwhile, his sire son Lope De Vega, who stood in Australia for four seasons, has an equally impressive record in the country and is represented by 13 Australian-bred stakes winners, headed by three Group 1 scorers with two of them, Santa Ana Lane and Gytrash, being out of Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mares.
Darley Australia's head of sales Alastair Pulford told Racing & Sports Bloodstock Blue Point was very much his father's son and, given the success of Shamardal in Australia, was confident his son would prove a very popular addition to the roster.
"Blue Point is very well known here because everyone has their eyes on Royal Ascot every year and to achieve what he achieved is remarkable," said Pulford.
"Charlie [Appleby] was always adamant that he was always a sprinter of the utmost highest class from very early on and he made that well and truly known. I remember when he won his first King's Stand, we were wondering whether to take him to stud after that and he said: 'No way he will be better next year' and he was proved to be right.
"He is so like his father to look at and everyone loves that about him, because Shamardal has been so successful all around the world, including down here."
The John Gosden-trained Too Darn Hot earned the Cartier two-year-old crown in 2018, following scintillating victories in each of his four starts as a juvenile, while the following year he added the Cartier three-year-old title to his CV.
A son of Darley's all-conquering Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), Too Darn Hot's four two-year-old victories came in a nine-week period, opening his account with a seven length victory at Sandown, before scoring by four lengths in the Solario Stakes (Gr 3, 7f) on his second start, before taking out the Champagne Stakes (Gr 2, 7f) at Doncaster.
The colt confirmed his position as the champion two-year-old with success in the Dewhurst Stakes (Gr 1, 7f) at Newmarket in which he defeated subsequent Commonwealth Cup (Gr 1, 6f) winner Advertise (Showcasing) and Derby (Gr 1, 1m4f) winner Anthony Van Dyck (Galileo).
He was kept in training as a three-year-old, in which recorded an impressive win in the Prix Jean Prat (Gr 1, 1400m) in Deauville, which he took out en route to conquering the best older horses in the Sussex Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Glorious Goodwood.
He retired to stand alongside his father Dubawi at Darley's Dalham Hall base in Newmarket the winner of six of his nine starts with a Timeform rating of 132.
The regally-bred Too Darn Hot is by a champion in Dubawi and out of a champion in Dar Re Mi (Singspiel) - who landed three Group 1s in a glittering career on the track. The mare has also proved herself to be a top producer - also being the dam of Group 2 winner Lah Ti Dar (Dubawi) and Group 3 winner So Mi Dar (Dubawi).
Dar Re Mi herself is out of fellow champion racemare Darara (Top Ville), making her a half-sister to a trio of Group 1 winners in Diaghilev (Sadler's Wells), Rewilding (Tiger Hill) and Darazari (Sadler's Wells), while she also counts Listed winner Dariyoun (Shahrastani) among her other half-siblings. The mare is also a half-sister to the dams of Group 2 winner Darasim (Kahyasi) and Listed-winning pair Moohaarib (Oasis Dream) and Trethias (Invincible Spirit).
Dubawi, who stood in Australia for three seasons, is represented by 18 stakes winners in the country from his Australian crops headlined by four Group 1 scorers.
Pulford said he expected Too Darn Hot's impeccable record as a juvenile, coupled with his speed, would appeal to breeders in Australia
"Too Darn Hot is just a beautiful horse," said Pulford. "He is remarkable, he has a great poise and presence about him and he is a beautiful walker. He is a horse they learned about throughout this career. He is a much faster horse than his pedigree suggests. He is by a champion out of a champion, his pedigree is just brimming with top-quality blood.
"Bill Oppenheim - who is an independent voice - said he thought he had as much chance of making a stallion as any horse, so I am happy to take his advice."
Meanwhile, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, part-owner of Too Darn Hot, commented: "We have been so thrilled with the way European breeders and industry professionals have supported Too Darn Hot that it makes this Australian adventure all the more exciting.
"He has already taken us on an incredible journey and to now open him up to a completely new market is beyond our wildest dreams. He is in the best possible hands and We will certainly be asking Simon (Marsh) to find some wonderful mares with which to support him in Australia."
With a market dominated by Danehill (Danzig) line mares, Too Darn Hot and Blue Point offer breeders a top-class out-cross option, something Pulford believes will only heighten interest in the pair.
"One of the other exciting things about them as well is that they are both outcrosses for the Danehill mares," said Pulford. "That is why Dubawi and Shamardal work so well down here because it gives people that outcross option and top-class out-cross options are something Darley really wants to give breeders.
Pulford said it was an 'honour' to be able to offer breeders' in Australia two racehorses of this calibre.
"They are just superstar horses in their own right, the following and reputation that both of them have in Europe is just immense," said Pulford.
"The added bonus is that Too Darn Hot is by the best stallion we have ever stood in Dubawi and Blue Point is by the second best stallion we have ever stood in that part of the world in Shamardal just adds volumes to Darley's heritage.
"We have shuttled a lot of good stallions in the past, Frosted jumps to mind, but he is not by one of our own stallions. So this is just pure Darley heritage - three stallions by three of our best stallions. It is very exciting."
Too Darn Hot will stand at Kelvinside alongside another juvenile champion in Microphone, who will share a barn with his champion sire Exceed And Excel (Danehill) at the Hunter Valley-based stud.
Trained by James Cummings, Microphone won four times as a two-year-old which was capped off with a victory in the Sires' Produce (Gr 1, 1400m) in which he got the better of Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Kiamichi (Sidestep) and future elite level scorers Probabeel (Savabeel), Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible) and Castelvecchio (Dundeel).
Microphone's record as a juvenile was exemplary, lining up on six occasions and he never failed to finish anything worse than second, including in the Golden Slipper. Alongside his win in the Sire's Produce, he also claimed the Talindert Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Flemington before landing the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at Randwick.
He returned at three to win the Autumn Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) before posting a good second place finish in a high-class edition of the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
Out of Listed-winning Anabaa (Danzig) mare Sung, Microphone is himself a half-brother to two winners. Sung herself is a sister to multiple Group 1 winner Yell, with the pair being out of Listed winner Vocalist (Bluebird), who is herself a half-sister to Group 1 winner Anthems (Palace Music).
"With Exceed being in the twilight of his career, Microphone is a hugely exciting prospect for Darley in Australia," said Pulford.
"He won the probably the best Sire's Produce we have seen in a long time, beating Group 1 winners Kiamichi, Loving Gaby, Castelvecchio and Probabeel - so it was a vintage running of that race, something we hadn't seen probably since Snippets' victory.
"He was justifiably named champion two-year-old and he was the first colt home in the Golden Slipper. He is a beautiful looking horse and is very much his father's son.
"He arrived home earlier this week and I looked at him yesterday [Wednesday] and he has a great shoulder and girth on him and a great hind-quarter. He is only just out of training so he will obviously let down a lot.
"This trio is as good as any group of new stallions Darley has offered in Australia."
Meanwhile, managing director of Godolphin Australia, Vin Cox added: "Microphone, Blue Point and Too Darn Hot represent true class - these three stallions are absolutely mouth-watering prospects."
The trio's fees will be announced at a later date.
