Future bright for Ardad as better-quality runners lie in store after boost in calibre of mares

Modern stallion economics is dictated by numbers, with large crops the order of the day, making it more challenging for a stallion lacking in that area to make an impact in the sales ring and on the track.

That reality is what makes the success of Ardad, the Flying Childers and Windsor Castle winner who stands at Overbury Stud, all the more notable. He has just 143 named runners from his first three crops combined – a figure many stallions would attain with just one crop.

The majority of those runners came from his debut season at the Gloucestershire farm, where he sired 83 named foals at a fee of £6,500. From that cohort, who are now five-year-olds, 75 have run with 39 winning, of which 23 won at two. Among those 23 winning juveniles was Perfect Power, who struck twice at the highest level and added the Commonwealth Cup at three.