Kingman ready to reign supreme with blue-blooded debut juvenile crop

Long before his first runners graced the racecourse, expectations for Kingman's first two-year-olds were already sky-high, and rightly so given the profile he brought to the stallion ranks.

The Juddmonte homebred was an unbeaten juvenile and developed into one of the finest milers of the recent era, landing a quartet of elite contests over eight furlongs during a Classic-winning three-year-old campaign.

His race record is backed up by a cast iron pedigree, being by Invincible Spirit – who has quickly established himself as a prepotent sire of sires – and out of 2002 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Zenda.

This family, which traces back to the likes of Wemyss Bight, Beat Hollow and Martaline, has already proved capable of producing a high-grade Flat stallion, as Zenda is a Zamindar half-sister to Banstead Manor Stud stalwart Oasis Dream, sire of 15 top-level winners and 180 stakes performers.

View first-season sire statistics

These credentials duly entitled Kingman to begin covering duty at a fee of £55,000. That may have been the highest price for any new recruit to stud in 2015 but breeders were quick to avail themselves of his nominations.

And those lofty expectations have only intensified in light of Kingman's early runners.

The sample size remains miniscule, with just five runners on the board, but they are headed by the hugely exciting Calyx, who maintained his unblemished record with an impressive victory in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes.

Calyx bounds clear in the Coventry Stakes at Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

There has also been considerable promise among his other runners, with Poetry, Alnasherat and Wild Hope all looking winners in waiting.

Many will view the exploits of Calyx and co as a sign of things to come for Kingman, so what else does he have in the pipeline? The answer is plenty.

Mare power

The son of Invincible Spirit deservedly received an outstanding book of mares during his first season on stallion duty at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud, and that stellar book has resulted in a crop of 113 blue-blooded two-year-olds.

According to Weatherbys' data, almost 80 per cent (113 mares) of his debut book are winners, 59 per cent (84) are black-type performers and 40 per cent (57) are black-type winners, among which are 29 Group/Graded winners (20 per cent).

Among those 29 mares who struck in Group or Graded races are top-level scorers such as (names and trainers listed where known):

African Rose, Haydock Sprint Cup winner and the dam of a colt named Imhotep – a half-brother to Fair Eva
Aoife Alainn, Premio Lydia Tesio winner and dam of a filly named Certe Notti in training with Maurizio Guarnieri
Emulous, winner of the Matron Stakes and dam of a filly named Desirous in training with Ralph Beckett
Passage Of Time, winner of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud and the dam of a colt named Tempus – a half-brother to Time Test – in training with Roger Charlton
Pride, winner of the Hong Kong Cup, Champion Stakes and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the dam of a filly
Promising Lead, winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes and the dam of Detective, a colt in training with Sir Michael Stoute
Proportional, winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac and the dam of the filly Racine
Taghrooda, victorious in the Oaks and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the dam of a filly named Jahafil

Sibling success

Of course, the acid test for any broodmare is not what she achieves on the track but what she delivers once she has retired to the paddocks, and there are also some fabulous producers among Kingman's debut book.

Kingman has a total of 13 two-year-olds on the ground out of a mare who has already produced a Group/Grade 1 winner, including:

Bourbonesque, a half-sister to Prix du Moulin winner Aqlaam, in training with Harry Dunlop
Fallen From Heaven, a half-brother to Coronation Stakes winner Fallen For You, in training with Sir Michael Stoute
Fox Chairman, a 450,000gns half-brother to Phoenix and Matron Stakes winner La Collina, in training with Andrew Balding
Frontman, a half-brother to Nassau Stakes winner Winsili, in training with John Gosden
Glaciate, a half-sister to Prix Royal-Oak winner Ice Breeze, in training with Pascal Bary
King Of Comedy, a half-brother to Prix de Diane winner Star Of Seville, in training with John Gosden
Raj Marta, a half-sister to Grand Prix de Paris winner Behkabad, in training with Michael Bell
Sparkle Roll, a €750,000 half-sister to Derby winner Wings Of Eagles, in training with John Gosden
Strelka, a half-sister to Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Workforce
Wild Abandon, a half-sister to Middle Park and Prix Morny winner Reckless Abandon, in training with Ralph Beckett
A half-sister to four-time Group 1 winner Al Kazeem

Royal reception

Moreover, Calyx was not the only source of encouragement at Royal Ascot for those who sent mares to Kingman during his debut season, as three winners at the meeting have a two-year-old sibling by the son of Invincible Spirit. They are:

Incharge, a 200,000gns half-sister to Prince of Wales's Stakes victor Poet's Word, in training with Charlie Hills
Clerisy, a half-sister to runaway Jersey Stakes winner Expert Eye, in training with Sir Michael Stoute
She's Got You, a half-sister to unbeaten St James's Palace Stakes hero Without Parole and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz

Family ties

There are a host of other names that catch the eye as siblings to household names, including:

Cozi Bay, a closely related sister to crack two-year-old Zebedee, in training with John Gosden
Pure As Gold, a homebred half-sister to Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar's high-class juvenile Sayif, in training with Clive Cox
An unnamed half-brother to the Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Delegator

Money talks

Given the excitement around Kingman's progeny, his debut crop of yearlings duly fetched some huge prices at last year's sales, averaging 230,310gns from a £55,000 covering fee.

Among those to make their mark in the sales rings of Europe are:

All Our Tomorrows, a half-sister to the smart Abingdon bought by Moyglare Stud for 1,700,000gns from the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal who is in training with Dermot Weld
Ramzy, a €320,000 foal purchase by Shadwell and a half-brother to the redoubtable Breton Rock
Roseman, a €650,000 half-brother to the Group 3-placed Game Zone, in training with Roger Varian
Rux Power, a 550,000gns half-sister to the stakes performers Brevity and Concise, in training with Andrew Balding
Serve The King, a 260,000gns half-brother to Group 3 winner Loving Things and a son of the Lancashire Oaks runner-up Fallen In Love who has been exported to France
Stanley Beach, a 400,000gns half-sister to Temple Stakes winner Pearl Secret in training in France with Pascal Bary

Even though very few fully live up to expectations, hype around first-season sires is not an uncommon phenomenon.

But given the staggering strength and depth to his first crop, and an early star like Calyx, the hype seems entirely justified in Kingman's case.