young stallions Tally-Ho’s second-season sire Mehmas has moved forward again
Continuing an upward trajectory In 2021, second-season sire Mehmas built on his record-breaking debut, while sons of Dubawi are making their presence felt in the young sire ranks, writes Aisling Crowe
T
ONY AND ANNE O’CALLAGHAN, and their sons Roger and Henry, have built an extraordinarily successful independent farm at Tally-Ho Stud, and their stallions have established the Westmeath farm as one of the best in Europe. Mehmas swept all before him when claiming the crown of champion first-season sire last year, the seventh Tally-Ho resident to hold that title, and he has continued that scorching start to his stud career this season, leading the race to be champion secondseason sire. He is second only to Tally-Ho’s kingpin Kodiac for the title of champion two-year-old sire on winners and has actually surpassed
the elder statesman in European juvenile earnings this year. A year behind Mehmas are his stud mates Cotai Glory and Galileo Gold and both have made their mark with their first runners in 2021. At the time of writing Cotai Glory is leading first-season sire on earnings and winners and fourth behind his stud mates and Dark Angel in the two-year-old sires’ table, while the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner and Group 1 National Stakes third Ebro River is one of 20 winners from the first crop of 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner Galileo Gold. Like Mehmas, he stands at Tally-Ho in partnership with owners Al Shaqab Racing, and the link with Tally-Ho has borne fruit
for Sheikh Joaan Al Thani’s bloodstock operation. The highlight of 2021 for Mehmas was the emergence of a second Group 1 winner from his first crop with the victory of Going Global in August’s Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks. Bred by Horse Racing Ireland’s chairman Nicky Hartery out of the Invasor mare Wrood, she was sold for just €15,000 at Goffs Sportsmans Sale to Pioneer Racing and won a Dundalk handicap for Michael Halford before she was acquired by CYBT and Saul Gavertz. Transferred to the Californian sunshine and the barn of Phil d’Amato she won the Providencia Stakes and Honeymoon Stakes, both Grade 3 races at Santa Anita, before her second place finish in
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