'This foal is as good as any she's had' - blue-blooded Watership Down Stud mares set for suitably elite matings

The brilliant Dar Re Mi has continued to make headlines, whether through her son Too Darn Hot's exploits at stud or her own daughters' racecourse and broodmare successes.

A triple Group 1 winner out of Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber's foundation mare Darara, Dar Re Mi's latest foal has given further cause for celebrations.

Already the dam of European champion two and three-year-old and leading young sire Too Darn Hot, as well as his high-class Dubawi sisters Lah Ti Dar and So Mi Dar, she is set for another illustrious mating.

Simon Marsh, general manager at the Lloyd-Webbers' Watership Down Stud, says: "Dar Re Mi is doing very well and we were absolutely delighted with the Frankel filly she had this year. She's consistently had fantastic foals and this year's is as good as any she's had.

"We were going to send her to Night Of Thunder but she's now going to go back to Frankel on the back of her foal. She's been an amazing mare and has been in foal every year bar one. This was her sixth filly for us."

The look of eagles: Watership Down Stud's Frankel filly out of Dar Re MiCredit: Watership Down Stud

Joining her among British and Irish champion sire Frankel's book is Lah Ti Dar, winner of the Group 2 Middleton Fillies' Stakes and second in the St Leger for John Gosden.

The multiple Group 1 performer's first foal, a filly by Siyouni, sold to Shadwell at Book 1 in 2022 for 880,000gns. She is named Madarrat and is in training with William Haggas.

Marsh says: "Lah Ti Dar was rested last year and is another due to go to Frankel. She has a yearling filly by him who we'll put into training. The Frankel-Dubawi cross is obviously extremely good."

Kalidasa, who topped Book 1 of the 2022 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale at 2,800,000gns and is out of Lah Ti Dar's sister So Mi Dar, made a winning debut for Godolphin in January.

The Frankel colt has a year-younger sister in the shape of So Dar Licious, who has been retained by the Lloyd-Webbers to be trained by John and Thady Gosden, while their dam is carrying to another European titan in Siyouni.

"So Mi Dar's due in late April," Marsh says of the Gosden-trained Musidora Stakes winner and Prix de l'Opera third. "We haven't decided on a covering for her yet; we'll wait to see her foal and then decide."

So Mi Dar: Musidora Stakes winner during her pomp and exciting young mare for Watership Down StudCredit: Edward Whitaker

Another daughter of Dar Re Mi is Darlectable You, also a winner for the Gosden team on the track. Unlike her sisters, the six-year-old notched up plenty of air miles with her first covering, but she will have less of a journey this time to her second partner.

"She's in foal to Gun Runner and is boarding at Lane's End Farm," says Marsh. "She's due to foal this month and then will visit Justify. He's done very well and this year has got incredibly exciting three-year-olds running for him in Europe and North America."

Dar Re Mi's Selkirk half-sister Evita is no slouch in the paddocks stakes either, with her progeny led by Listed winners Moohaarib and Trethias, and the stakes-placed Argentello. 

The 20-year-old has a yearling filly by Make Believe and is booked back in to the Ballylinch Stud stallion.

Another top-class producer for Watership Down is Gale Force, a stakes-winning Shirocco half-sister to British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes winner Seal Of Approval. 

The 13-year-old has produced three black-type horses from as many runners, headed by Irish Derby, St Leger and Grand Prix de Paris hero Hurricane Lane.

Lady Lloyd-Webber having a quiet moment in the paddocks with Gale Force, the dam of Hurricane LaneCredit: Watership Down Stud

There are no prizes for guessing where his dam goes for her covering. 

Marsh says: "Gale Force has got a yearling Frankel colt, a full-brother to Hurricane Lane, and a really good Dubawi filly foal, who we'll ultimately put into training. She's going back to Frankel again this year."

Champion racemare The Fugue has not had as much luck at paddocks, but there have been highly positive reports about her Wootton Bassett two-year-old colt, who sold to Mike Ryan and Klaravich Stables for 280,000gns from Book 1. 

Marsh says: "We've got really good reports from Mike Ryan, who bought her yearling by Wootton Bassett on behalf of Klaravich Stables, they're extremely pleased with him in pre-training. The mare is due to foal to Baaeed at the beginning of April. She'll go to Wootton Bassett off the back of the horse in America."

The Fugue's unraced Dubawi daughter Fughetta is another with an exciting Wootton Bassett youngster and she will visit a Coolmore stallion from Watership Down's Kiltinan Castle Stud.

Da Re Mi (left) and The Fugue (right) with stud manager Terry Doherty at Watership Down StudCredit: MATTHEW WEBB

Marsh says: "She had a lovely yearling by Wootton Bassett last year and she's in foal to Saxon Warrior and then goes to Camelot. She has a yearling filly by St Mark's Basilica who we'll probably retain and send into training."

Counterpoint is another daughter of Dubawi with plenty of upside. The seven-year-old's first foal is a Frankel colt who sold to Arthur Hoyeau, on behalf of the Windfield Colts Partnership, at the Goffs Orby Sale, and she has a sister to that colt who is now a yearling. 

Marsh says: "Counterpoint was barren for this year and goes to Paddington; we thought he was an extremely good and thoroughly consistent racehorse. We don't normally breed to first-season sires but Madeleine [Lloyd Webber] bought the nomination at Tattersalls last year which was sold to raise funds for Graham Lee."

The Watership Down roll call of fine young broodmares continues with Royal Intervention, a speedy daughter of Exceed And Excel whose career highlight for Ed Walker came when winning the Group 2 Goldene Peitsche at Baden-Baden. 

She is one of several mares heading to Too Darn Hot, who stands at Darley's Dalham Hall Stud in conjunction with Watership Down, who bred the promising young sire.

Royal Intervention with her Lope De Vega colt foalCredit: Watership Down Stud

"She was an extremely good filly, a Group 2-winning three-year-old who was very fast," says Marsh. "She had a Lope De Vega colt yearling last year which we sold and has just had a No Nay Never filly foal. 

"We own her in partnership with Bill Farish of Lane's End Farm and she'll go to Too Darn Hot."

Frankel Light, an Arqana December Sale purchase and a Listed winner at La Teste De Buch, is carrying to Too Darn Hot and is booked in for Kingman.

Another sales purchase is Eziva, a €250,000 graduate of the Goffs November Sale and a beautifully bred sort from the family of Gold Cup winners Enzeli and Estimate.

Marsh is hoping for continued good fortunes with Aga Khan families and says: "We bought her from the Aga Khan Studs and she's going to Sea The Stars. 

"She's a very good-looking daughter of Medaglia D'Oro and we hope she's going to be as lucky as the last mares we bought from the Aga Khan, including Darara."

Too Darn Hot is set to receive plenty of mares from Watership DownCredit: Edward Whitaker

The team are set to once again strongly support Too Darn Hot, whose first crop of runners in 2023 included Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Fallen Angel, Group 2 May Hill Stakes scorer Darnation and Group 3 winner and Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes second Alyanaabi. 

Too Darn Hot joined an elite club of sires to have four European juvenile Group winners in their first crop, and Marsh says: "He's got an exceptional book of mares this year, including from many of the leading European and American breeders. He's also made an excellent start in Australia and is currently second in the first-season sires' table.

"It's very exciting and we're sending some lovely mares to him ourselves. As well as Royal Intervention, they include an unraced daughter of Gale Force called Brisbane Road, and a Frankel mare called A Cappella who we bought as a foal. 

"She's out of a mare called Sivoliere and was second on her only start at Yarmouth. John Gosden thought she was good but sadly she got injured, so we're going to keep her and breed from her. Her first foal this year was a New Bay colt, who we're very pleased with."

Marsh adds: "We're also sending a mare called Vida Amorosa, the dam of Persian Force and Gubbass who we bought at the December sales. We have her in partnership with Andrew Rosen and she's due in the next week carrying a full-brother or sister to Persian Force.

"Another partnership mare we bought at Tattersalls, this time with Floors Stud, is black-type-winning Kodiac mare Geocentric. She's in foal to Frankel and visits Dubawi this year. She's a beautiful-looking mare and will be ideal for Too Darn Hot in time."

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