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Standing at: Arrowfield Stud, NSW

Castelvecchio
Breeding: Dundeel - St Therese by Dehere
Standing at: Arrowfield Stud, NSW
Fee: $33,000

Group 1 winner Castelvecchio will stand alongside his father Dundeel (High Chaparral) at Arrowfield Stud in New South Wales, where he will be offered to breeders at an introductory fee of $33,000 (inc GST). 

Trained throughout his career by up and coming trainer Richard Litt, the colt retired the winner of four of his 13 starts which saw him accrue $2,938,750 in career prize-money. 

Purchased by Galletta Constructions for $150,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale from the Arrowfield Stud draft, the colt broke his maiden on his first start, before going on to land the lucrative Inglis 2YO Millennium (RL, 1200m), which he then followed up with a third in the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m). 

Castelvecchio dead-heated with Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Kiamichi (Sidestep) for third behind Microphone (Exceed And Excel) in what is generally considered one of the best Inglis Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) in the many years. 

The colt’s crowning glory came on his next start when he beat subsequent Group 1-winning filly Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible) in the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Randwick last April. 

As a three-year-old Castelvecchio was runner-up in the Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) before finishing an impressive second behind Lys Gracieux (Heart’s Cry) in the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m). 

Castelvecchio added a second Group 1 to his CV when he surged clear to win the Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) in March.

The son of Dundeel is out of Listed winner St.Therese (Dehere), making him a half-brother to 2018 Spring Champion Stakes winner Maid Of Heaven (Smart Missile) and Group 3 winner Mirrasalo (Redoute’s Choice).

Castelvecchio also counts the dams of Listed-winning duo Precious Memories (Stratum) and Hussy By Choice (Hussonet) among his half-siblings. 

“I am excited about him, because he is a horse that was able to do superb things from time to time. His two-year-old season was amazing,” said Arrowfield owner John Messara. “He broke the all-time mile record for two-year-old when he won the Champagne Stakes. He also placed in the Inglis Sires’ Produce Stakes and won the Inglis Millennium, so it was a hell of a two-year-old season. By Timeform ratings he was rated equal top-weight two-year-old of the season. 

“At three he came out and ran that extraordinary race in the Cox Plate in the Spring and was rated by the IFHA that year the fifth equal best three-year-old in the world. Subsequently in the Autumn he came out and won a Classic for us. 

“He really performed well in the big ones, so you always love a horse like that, who is capable of those sorts extraordinary performances and he’s got the pedigree to match. He is a good-looking horse, so he has everything going for him. 

“We will be supporting him very strongly, because we have a smaller roster this year than usual [with the Japanese horses not shuttling] and so we’ve got sufficient numbers of our own mares to send him a lot of quality horses. He is a liable to get around 50 mares from us alone. We are aiming for a book of about 125 for his first season, we don’t like to have a big book in the first season.”