Bay Bridge in the best of hands as he embarks on his stallion career in France

Good Morning Bloodstock is Martin Stevens' daily morning email and presented online as a sample. We are aware of an issue with some subscribers not receiving Wednesday's edition, which we are working hard to rectify.

Here, Martin speaks to Antonia Devin about Haras du Mesnil's new recruit Bay Bridge. Subscribers can get more great insight from Martin every Monday to Friday.

All you need do is click on the link above, sign up and then read at your leisure each weekday morning from 7am.

So, the British and Irish stallion ranks have lost another outstanding colt who stayed ten furlongs, with last season’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge retiring to the historic Haras du Mesnil in western France for 2024.

But at least the son of New Bay, who is set to arrive on the farm from Sir Michael Stoute’s Freemason Lodge Stables on Thursday, is still within striking distance of breeders in the British Isles. Furthermore, he and his fans really could not have hoped for better custodians than the stud’s owners Henri and Antonia Devin.

The Devins cared for Irish St Leger winner Turgeon, the sire of Exotic Dancer, Ma Filleule and Pic D’Orhy, until his death at the grand old age of 33 in 2019, and they oversaw the rise of Doctor Dino to become one of Europe’s most in-demand sires. The source of seven Grade 1 winners on either side of the Channel commands a fee of €22,000 next year.

Bay Bridge will receive the same expert management when he starts out at a fee of €6,000 in a few months' time, with his owner-breeder James Wigan and part-owner Ballylinch Stud also providing invaluable support

Explaining why Bay Bridge fitted the bill for Haras du Mesnil, Antonia Devin said: “We’d been looking for a new stallion for over a year, and we saw him when he ran in the Arc. For us, he was the pick of the paddock. He’s a very fine horse, with everything we look for: lots of bone, great movement and significant sire power, being a son of New Bay, who in turn is by Dubawi.  

Bay Bridge: defeated Baaeed and Adayar in the Champion Stakes Credit: Edward Whitaker

“We have his box and paddock ready for him, and a lot of French breeders are very excited for his arrival as they want to come and inspect him. The reaction to him coming to Mesnil has been very good.

“A lot of the top French breeders have promised to send mares to him, and quite a few British and Irish people have said they’re interested in using him too. Ballylinch and James Wigan will also be sending him mares, of course.

“I think he’s particularly attractive at his fee of €6,000, when you think that New Bay now stands at €75,000 and his only other son at stud, Bayside Boy, is priced at €15,000. The Dubawi sire-line has become expensive to get into generally, otherwise.”

The Devins will be lending Bay Bridge the same strong home support that helped back-to-back Hong Kong Vase hero Doctor Dino prove himself as a more than useful Flat sire, before he became better known for his excellent record in the National Hunt realm.  

“We’ll be sending him our best Flat mares, including Golden Legend, a daughter of Doctor Dino who was a dual Group 3 winner and second in a Group 1; Villa Rosa, another Group 3 winner by Doctor Dino; and Terra Alta, a full-sister to Terre A Terre who is the dam of our Prix Jean Romanet winner Nonza.

Antonia Devin: "I think he’s particularly attractive at his fee of €6,00"Credit: Patrick McCann

“We’ll also be sending him a few of our top jumping mares, which is what we did with Doctor Dino from the start as well.”

The Devins not only have a formidable broodmare band with which to help their stallions, but also a son who happens to be a leading Chantilly-based trainer to give the resultant progeny the best possible chance of success.

Henri-Francois Devin, like both his parents and sister Sophie a graduate of the Irish National Stud breeding course, saddled Golden Legend and Villa Rosa to win big races carrying the distinctive Mesnil silks of white with black diamond and black cap, as well as another of his family’s Doctor Dino fillies, Physiocrate, to finish a close second in the Prix de Diane.  

“It shouldn’t be forgotten that Doctor Dino did very well as a Flat stallion first of all,” says Antonia about the unconventionally bred son of Muhtathir and the Priolo mare Logica. “He started out at just €3,000, and we were obliged to reduce him to €2,000 in order to convince people to use him in the early days.

“So he made it all by himself, really, because he got small crops out of mediocre mares in the early days – except our own best mares, which we sent him from the outset. Despite that he quickly proved he was a superior stallion.”

Doctor Dino: "He has been a phenomenon for us"Credit: Auctav

Doctor Dino might have exceeded expectations as a Flat sire, but he went stratospheric with his National Hunt offspring, who include Grade 1 winners Docteur De Ballon, La Bague Au Roi, Master Dino, Royale Margaux, Sceau Royal, Sharjah and State Man, as well as no end of six-figure stores, point-to-pointers and horses in training.

“Doctor Dino has been a phenomenon for us and a lot of French breeders, as his stock always tops the sales lists” said Devin. “He passes on this amazing aptitude for jumping: they are very fluid, there’s no hesitation with them, and so they gain ground at every fence or hurdle they go over.”  

She added that the sire became fully booked a month ago. He will cover 120 mares, not one more, out of respect for his age, as he turns 22 in the new year.

“We’ve always kept his book low on numbers, and tried to choose only the best mares for him, even when he became very popular,” she continued. “We don’t want to tire him out, although he is still in excellent health and has very good fertility.

“One stud this year sent nine mares, all owned by different people, and they all went in foal from just ten covers. I think the fact that we’ve controlled the numbers over the years has really helped him in that respect.

Bay Bridge joins Doctor Dino and Telecaster at Haras du Mesnil for 2024Credit: Edward Whitaker

“But I also think there should be a rarity value to his young stock. When a top stallion covers so many mares it decreases the value of the produce, and if people are willing to invest €20,000 in a covering fee they deserve to get a good price in the sales ring and not have the value of their product diluted by numbers. We’ll take exactly the same approach with Bay Bridge.”  

Doctor Dino has actually had his fee increased slightly to €22,000 next year. He is part of a modern movement of expensive National Hunt supersires, which also includes Blue Bresil, No Risk At All and Walk In The Park.

If you could go back in time and tell a breeder only 20 years or so ago that a jumps stallion would command those sorts of prices, they would think you were mad. And what would really shock them is Devin’s assertion that “we could be standing him at €30,000 and he would still be full”.

Doctor Dino is also one in the eye for a British and Irish National industry that seems to have collectively forgotten that the most feted jumps sire of the past half-century, Deep Run, was chestnut, and disregards young stallions of the same coat colour.

“I don’t think it makes any difference, does it?” said Devin with a wry smile. “It wasn’t that long ago that people said you never see a grey horse winning at Cheltenham. And then Turgeon came along.”

Telecaster: Group 2 winner by New Approach looks set to be popular in 2024Credit: Edward Whitaker

Bay Bridge also joins Telecaster at Haras du Mesnil. The son of New Approach and Anglo-Irish Oaks runner-up Shirocco Star is best remembered for beating Too Darn Hot in the Dante Stakes, but his most impressive performance was taking the Grand Prix de Deauville by six and a half lengths.  

“His oldest crop are yearlings, and they have sold pretty well,” said Devin. “Some breeders made nine times the nomination fee, so they were very happy indeed, and I think he will be busy next year too.”

For the time being, it will be Henri and Antonia Devin dealing with a farm full of mares visiting the stallions, as Henri-Francois continues his training career, Sophie runs Ardoon Stud in County Kildare, and their two siblings Victoria and Hubert work outside of racing.

“It’s just the parents at home, flying the flag!” said Antonia with a laugh. “We’re just waiting for the children to take over.”

It’s not difficult to imagine Bay Bridge, or Telecaster for that matter, having filled Doctor Dino’s shoes as the sire everyone in France and further afield wants by the time the next generation returns home.  

What do you think?

Share your thoughts with other Good Morning Bloodstock readers by emailing gmb@racingpost.com

Must-read story

“Dandy Man has been a great friend to so many people, starting with Con and Tracey Collins, and especially to all of us here at Ballyhane,” says Joe Foley after the death of his stalwart stallion at the age of 20.

Pedigree pick

Wingmen will likely be a warm order when he makes his rules debut for Gordon Elliott in the winnable looking bumper at Naas on Thursday (3.30).

He was sent out by Elliott to saunter to a 12-length victory between the flags at Ballycrystal in January, and six days later he was sold to his new owner Bective Stud for a sale-topping £250,000 at Tattersalls Cheltenham's January fixture.

Wingmen’s pedigree contains some outstanding sires. He is by the late Overbury Stud stalwart Kayf Tara out of Raise You Five, a multiple winning daughter of champion sire Flemensfirth. The next two dams were by Buckskin and Raise You Ten.

He is descended from Powers Gold Cup heroine Doone Valley, ancestress of Graded winners Battlecry, Dramatist, Hey Big Spender, Miss Orchestra and Value At Risk.