Kingman’s King Of Comedy to stand at New Zealand’s Novara Park
Luigi Muollo has been chasing highly rated European three-year-old King Of Comedy for more than a year and the New Zealand studmaster has finally pulled off the deal that will see the son of Kingman (Invincible Spirit) stand at Novara Park this year.
King Of Comedy has been purchased outright by Muollo who is hopeful that the five-year-old stallion could develop into a replacement for Showcasing (Oasis Dream), a source of high-class two-year-olds, who did not return to New Zealand for shuttle duties following the 2017 season.
A winner of three of his 12 starts for trainer John Gosden, including on debut as a two-year-old before transferring to Jessica Harrington last year, King Of Comedy was runner-up in the 2019 St James’ Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot, splitting Circus Maximus (Galileo) and Too Darn Hot (Dubawi).
He was narrowly beaten into fourth at his following start in the Juddmonte International (Gr 1, 1m 2f) at York by Japan (Galileo), Crystal Ocean (Sea The Stars) and Elarqam (Frankel), while he also split the well-travelled Benbatl (Dubawi) and Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux), the favourite for this week’s Doomben Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) in Queensland, in the Shadwell Joel Stakes (Gr 2, 1m) at Newmarket.
He will stand for an introductory fee of NZ$7,000 (plus GST).
“If you took recent winners of the (St James’s Palace Stakes) and also horses who came second in the past few years, you get horses like Night Of Thunder, and Toronado came second in the race,” Muollo told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Also, Timeform rated him the best three-year-old in Europe after that race as he covered at least three metres more than Circus Maximus and Too Darn Hot. That is probably what my ethos is like when I buy a stallion.
“To buy the Group 1 winner you have to pay $20 million, so I’d rather buy the horse at $1 million who just got beaten a head, but was rated higher than the other horse.
“That’s just me – I like to get value for my shareholders and people who breed.”
Muollo added: “I have been following him for a year hoping that I’d be able to get him, which is why I’ve got him so late in the season.
“Physically, he’s the type of horse I like: he’s not too big or too small. He’s 16.1hh and athletic, a medium sized horse. Timeform’s opinion of him is that he’s bred in the purple and the most magnificent sort on looks. He’s got a beautiful shoulder, balanced, good bone and he’s a good walker.”
King Of Comedy is out of Stage Presence (Selkirk), making him a half-brother to Group winners Star Of Seville (Duke Of Marmalade) and English Ballet (Danehill Dancer), while Kingman is the sire of 35 individual stakes winners, four at Group 1 level, as well as Group 2-winning sprinter Calyx, who will shuttle to Coolmore Australia later this year for his second southern hemisphere season at stud.
The star Juddmonte stallion had three yearlings, bred to southern hemisphere time, sell at this year’s Australian sales; a $1.8 million colt purchased by Coolmore at the Magic Millions, a filly who fetched $425,000 also at the Gold Coast and a $600,000 colt sold at last month’s Inglis Australian Easter Sale.
“It’s quite big when you say Kingman is Invincible Spirit’s best son because you have got I Am Invincible in Australia, but he was his best son on racetrack performance and he’s also his best son on stakes winners to runners, with a much higher percentage than I Am Invincible, and that’s not taking anything away from I Am Invincible, as we know how good he is,” he said.
“There’s the other side to Kingman as well, being a three-quarter brother to Oasis Dream, the sire of Showcasing who was one of our leading two-year-old sires for so many years and he got bought out and went back to Europe.
“King Of Comedy fills that market here in New Zealand. He’s very commercial in regards to Australians understanding the blood but also he’s commercial in New Zealand.
“He also has a bit more ‘glue’ with the dam having produced three Group 1 performers, so there’s a bit more depth there to his pedigree.”
Muollo and his Sydney-based brother Tony will commit about 35 mares to King Of Comedy in his first year, Extra Explosive (Ekraar), the dam of this season’s Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) hero Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry), chief among them.
“I’ve got the Explosive family, which is probably one of the best families in New Zealand at the moment, with what they we’ve done in the past two years with Pick Number One in Hong Kong, Vin De Dance winning a Derby and Explosive Jack with what he’s doing over there in Australia,” he said.
“Extra Explosive has got a good chance of winning New Zealand Broodmare of the Year because Explosive Jack’s half-brother was the champion sprinter in Hong Kong.
“This is a family from which I’ve got ten mares that are very closely related. I’ve got four half-sisters to the mother of Explosive Jack, so I will support him with my best mares, but he has also got the quality and the type and the blood to support him.
“He’s Danehill-free and he’s got a beautiful pedigree.”
Novara Park will announce the service fees for Sweynesse (Lonhro), who is the sire of three stakes winners and three other stakes horses from just two crops of racing age, and Staphanos (Deep Impact) in the near future.