Chatswood Stud adds Japanese star Al Ain to roster
Victoria’s Chatswood Stud is likely to be the only Australian farm to stand a Japanese shuttle stallion in 2020 with the news that two-time Group 1 winner Al Ain (Deep Impact) will join their roster later this year at a fee of $12,100 (inc GST).
The Willis family, who runs Chatswood Stud, has a long history of identifying stallions and trends at an early stage, with horses like Flying Spur (Danehill) and Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) standing at the Seymour property early in their careers.
“We were the first Victorian stud to stand sons of Sunday Silence,” Nic Willis told ANZ Bloodstock News. “It started back in 1999 with Bubble Gum Fellow and we also had Genuine and Tayasu Tsuyoshi. All three of them had Group 1 winners down here; Genuine produced Pompeii Ruler and he was probably the best of them.
“We had been keeping an eye on Japan for a while and especially sons of Deep Impact to keep that Sunday Silence line going. We’d asked Satomi Oka who could possibly fit what we were looking for that could potentially be available, Al Ain was one of those and so we went pretty hard after him.
“So it’s been in the works since February or March, it’s been a case of figuring out a deal and seeing whether flights are happening. They are definitely happening so we are excited to be welcoming him to Chatswood Stud in 2020.”
Trained by Yasutoshi Ikee and raced by Katsumi Yoshida’s Sunday Racing outfit, Al Ain won the Japanese 2,000 Guineas – the Satsuki Sho (Gr 1, 2000m) – as a three-year-old in 2017 before adding the Osaka Hai (Gr 1, 2000m) to his CV two years later.
They proved strong form races, too: the Satsuki Sho featured his generation’s champion two-year-old Satono Ares (Deep Impact) as well as subsequent Group 1 winners Persian Knight (Harbinger), Rey De Oro (King Kamehameha), Suave Richard (Heart’s Cry) and Win Bright (Stay Gold), while the Osaka Hai saw him defeat seven previous Group 1 winners – no mean feat in a jurisdiction that offers so few Group 1 titles.
He was also placed at Group 1 level over a mile, finishing third to Stelvio (Lord Kanaloa), while he was fourth in the Takarazuka Kinen (Gr 1, 2200m) behind Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner Lys Gracieux (Heart’s Cry).
“He had a really high cruising speed,” Willis said. “He came from a really strong crop of three-year-olds, it’s touted as one of the best they’ve had in recent years, and he had an ability to run amazing times as well. He was incredibly consistent, it was only his last preparation where he wasn’t finishing top four or five against some of the best horses in Japan.
“He really does tick so many boxes, I struggled to find too many faults with him when I was putting together our analysis on whether we should chase him.”
Al Ain is by the late Deep Impact (Sunday Silence), who has won the last seven champion sire titles in Japan, and out of Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (Gr 1, 7f) winner Dubai Majesty (Essence Of Dubai). On his dam’s side are sires such as A P Indy (Seattle Slew) and His Majesty (Ribot), but crucially for the Australian market, he is free of Danzig blood.
He has served 120 mares in his first season at stud at Breeders Stallion Station alongside stallions like Victoire Pisa (Neo Universe), Zenno Rob Roy (Sunday Silence) and Black Tide (Sunday Silence).
“Al Ain is out of an Essence Of Dubai mare, so that traces back to Pulpit and A P Indy, those crosses have worked well down here,” Willis said. “It’s a goldmine for our broodmare population, he will work with so many of our mares. We checked with some of our biggest clients and all of them said they would be supporting him so it’s an exciting prospect for us.
“We’ve got a lot of bookings already. Most stallions are already booked out in Victoria but we’ve got an option here with Al Ain. And as well, to give some confidence to breeders about his long-term prospects, we’ve put in clauses for the first five years that, as far as we want him, he’ll be returning over that period.
“We don’t have other businesses so we’re not in the game to experiment. We’ve got to go 100 per cent with them and we will be doing that with Al Ain. We won’t die wondering.”
With stallions like Maurice (Screen Hero), Mikki Isle (Deep Impact) and Real Steel (Deep Impact) all remaining in Japan this year, Al Ain is likely to be the only Japanese shuttle stallion in Australia this year. Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) is set to shuttle to Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand.
Yoshida said that the bay had always been an eye-catcher, ever since the day he was foaled late in the 2014 northern hemisphere breeding season.
“Al Ain is a stunning individual,” Yoshida said. “Though he was foaled in May, his appearance was very mature from the time he was foaled and he was one of the best foals on the farm.
“He was sold to a syndication group when he was a yearling at a price of $1.4 million, but he was immediately sold out, which tells just how attractive he was.”
Yoshida said that, although his performances at the highest level came between 1600 metres and 2200 metres, he believes he could have made a sprinter-miler if Japan’s program allowed for it. He also suggested that he had precocity and longevity, two factors that should allow him to translate well to the Australian industry.
“Al Ain’s performance was at a high level for most of his racing career and he also had a strong mentality to perform well under any circumstances,” he said. “He was mainly racing at 1600 metres to 2000 metres, but the amount of speed he had suggests he could have also shown a high performance over a shorter distance.
“I am very confident that his progeny will fit well with Australian races and I look forward to seeing his foals in Australia soon.”
Japanese racing expert Kate Hunter of Marugai Racing believes that Chatswood Stud have managed to secure a tremendous deal by getting Al Ain to stand down under.
“I think Al Ain is a great stallion prospect,” Hunter told ANZ Bloodstock News. “With the successes of Deep Impact’s sons Kizuna and Real Impact with their first crops on the track and his untimely passing last year, getting your hands on a stallion prospect like this is an amazing opportunity.
“As a multiple Group 1 winner, capturing both the Japanese 2,000 Guineas and the Osaka Hai over 2000 metres, he should make for a popular cover for those looking to produce a classic distance horse. He won from 1600 metres to 2000 metres and was competitive against the best Japan had to offer up to 2200 metres.
“He has great-looking conformation and he retired sound. He was both precocious, winning both starts at two, and had the talent to extend his career at the highest level through his five-year-old campaign on both firm and soft ground. He has the potential to be the complete package those looking for a top son of Deep Impact might be looking for.”
Al Ain will be one of three sons of Deep Impact to stand in Australia this season, joining Coolmore Stud’s Saxon Warrior and Woodside Park Stud’s Tosen Stardom.
He joins Chatswood mainstay Reward For Effort (Exceed And Excel), who will stand at $11,000 (inc GST), and Inference (So You Think), whose first yearlings will go through the sales ring in 2021; his fee is set at $6,600.