river boyne and far above
New for Ireland A
Aisling Crowe meets Derek Iceton at Tara Stud and Micheál Orlandi at his new Starfield Stud to discuss their new stallions for 2021, River Boyne and Far Above
TALE OF TWO STALLION FARMS; one in its infancy and the other with a long and storied history, but both facing the future fuelled by the dreams of success that are carried by their new stallions. For Tara Stud in County Meath, a farm that is more than a century in existence, where Key Of Luck, sire of the Aga Khan’s Group 1 King George and Irish Derby hero Alamshar, dominated the first decade of this century, new recruit River Boyne represents a new dawn in a land where people have built monuments to mark the rising of the sun for more than 5000 years. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the sixyear-old, who was bred by the Tara Stud’s Iceton family and who spent his formative months in the historic Boyne Valley. But sentiment has no part to play in the business of making a successful stallion and it was not involved in the decision to purchase the horse for his stud career. River Boyne would not have returned to Tara from three years racing in the US if those involved in his career were not firmly convinced he possesses everything that breeders demand of a modern stallion with all the credentials required to be a success.
44
www.internationalthoroughbred.net
“He has a tremendous mind and he refused to lose, I’ve never trained a horse who was more professional” Naturally, stud manager Derek Iceton followed River Boyne’s Californian odyssey from afar, maintaining lines of communications during his time in Jeff Mullins’ barn. Like many others, Iceton was impressed both by the horse’s talent and the tenacity and appetite he demonstrated during a career that took in 25 races, all but three of them in America. “He is a Grade 1-winning son of Dandy Man, who was thoroughly consistent, genuine and tough throughout his years in
training,” says Iceton, who runs the County Meath 1,000-acre enterprise split between tillage, beef and horses with his wife Diana. “He is a very good-looking horse who takes the eye, correct with plenty of bone and a great walk. Anyone who sees him will be impressed by him.” The couple bred River Boyne out of the Mark Of Esteem mare Clytha and sold him to Joe Foley, who stands River Boyne’s sire Dandy Man at Ballyhane Stud, at Goffs November Foal Sale in 2015. The catalogue for Goffs’ most recent foal sale proudly displays River Boyne as one of the sale’s star graduates. It was one of three separate sales catalogues to feature the Grade 1-winning miler – the handsome bay also the cover star of Goffs’ Sportsmans Sale catalogue and adorning the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training tome as well. His appearance on the front of that particular publication stems from his purchase by the Cohen family’s Red Baron Farm and Rancho Temescal from that sale as a two-year-old after making three starts for Gordon Elliott and Nick Bradley Racing, who had bought him from Ballyhane Stud as a yearling for €65,000. Swapping the Meath rain for the Santa Anita sunshine seemed to suit River Boyne, although the adaptable horse also seemed to
