Dante winner Telecaster retired and sold to stand at Haras du Mesnil for 2021

Telecaster has been retired to stand at the Devin family’s historic Haras du Mesnil in western France, where he will join Doctor Dino on the roster for the 2021 season as a dual-purpose stallion.

The Devins have purchased him from Meon Valley Stud, who raced the son of New Approach under the Castle Down banner with trainer Hughie Morrison.

Telecaster shot to prominence in the Dante Stakes when ending Too Darn Hot’s unbeaten record in a very fast time, and was subsequently supplemented for the Derby.

A physically imposing colt, his efforts at York left their mark ahead of Epsom, and then in the Coral-Eclipse, but Telecaster blossomed at four, winning the Group 3 La Coupe at Longchamp and then running right away from his field in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville on very testing ground.

Telecaster and Christophe Soumillon en route to success in the Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de DeauvilleCredit: France Galop / Scoop Dyga

A crack at the Arc was firmly on the agenda before a slight issue ruled him out of a return to France.

“We have been following him for a long time and I love his pedigree as well as his physique,” said Henri Devin, father of Chantilly-based trainer Henri-Francois Devin.

“He is a proper racehorse and I hope he will be a good match for our own broodmares. I like the fact that he acts on any ground and it’s all very exciting.

“I love Telecaster’s name. And he was quite something when he won the Grand Prix de Deauville by six lengths.

"We supported Doctor Dino from the start with our best mares and we will do the same with Telecaster.”

Out of the Shirocco mare Shirocco Star - who finished runner up in the Oaks at both Epsom and on the Curragh for Morrison and Meon Valley - Telecaster is a half-brother to the Dubawi colt Al Suhail, who made 1.1m guineas at Tattersalls Book 1 and won stakes races at both two and three.

He is from the family of Meon Valley’s great foundation mare Reprocolor, one which has already produced a star jumping stallion in Kayf Tara.

Telecaster will start off at €4,000, while Devin also revealed that Doctor Dino will have his covering fee for 2021 raised to €18,000 from €16,000.

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