stallions on show
Stallionson show Aisling Crowe reports on her two weekends spent viewing handsome stallions in Ireland and France, and avoiding strange men on ferries
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HE CHRISTMAS COBWEBS were quickly shaken off this year with an exciting couple of weekends going around stud farms in Ireland and France in early January, getting a close look at some of the stallions both countries have to offer. Breeders in both countries are spoiled for choice and here are a selection of young sires that caught my eye as I travelled around the farms. Irish Thoroughbred Marketing’s annual Stallion Trail kicked off the extravaganza in Ireland over January 10-11. First stop was the sylvan idyll that is the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud, based outside Kilcullen in County Kildare. It was there where HH The Aga Khan hosted a lunch for HM The Queen during her historic state visit to Ireland in 2011 and the setting, fit for a queen, is home to a king; the champion racehorse and leading sire Sea The Stars whose dual Derby-winning son Harzand stands alongside him. Gilltown is one of the most popular studs on the Irish Stallion Trail, and the cars spilling out of the parking area and down either side of the road leading to the offices and courtyard where the stallions are shown, were testament to the enduring popularity of the champion racehorse, whose undefeated three-year-old season was all of 11 years’ ago. Many of the people visiting the farm were there for one reason only, to see in the flesh the horse who thrilled them when winning
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www.internationalthoroughbred.net
Invincible Spirit has plenty of admirers at the Irish National Stud Photo: courtesy of the Irish National Stud and by Zuzanna Lupa
