BREEDING FORUM

Posted: **Tue Nov 26, 2013 9:40 am**

Lets make no mistake by underestimating the difficulty of re-introducing a stallion from overseas into what is a very competitive market. Its just about impossible, but you have to take your hat off to Lanwades Stud for trying to re-ignite the career of North Light.

But forget all the difficulties lets concentrate on the positives.

He is a son of Danehill.

He was a winner at 2 years old and a Derby winner at 3 years old.

He is out of a dam Sought Out by Rainbow Quest. She was as tough as they come, stayed for ever (even though her pedigree suggested there might be plenty of speed available), was a G1 winner and multiple stakes winner and probably as good as any of her contemporaries over a trip.

Nor was North Light the only stakes winner she produced, Cover Up (by Machiavelian) won and placed several times in stakes company again over an extended trip. She won the Queen Alexandra Stakes twice (the longest race in the UK program).

Sought Out was also the dam of Researched a full brother to North Light who was a smart runner up to 12 furlongs.

North Light retired to stud in Canada at a time when the industry there was in free fall there so you might expect him to have found it hard. Well he did.

You might also expect him to have sired predominantly staying types like himself and his dam but here you would be in part, wrong. OK he was the sire of St Leger winner Arctic Cosmos and if sent a staying mare he would get solid staying stock.

But send him something a little bit different and he has proved he can get sharper types too. Chips All In won stakes from 6 furlongs to a mile in the US on both dirt and turf and won at 2 years old. His dam was by Maria’s Mon.

Bodua won stakes over 6 furlongs at 2 and a couple of other stakes winners won over a mile.

Its not going to be easy but it may be very rewarding to overlook North Light’s staying background and try to match him up with sharper mares with elements in their pedigrees that compliment North Lights own speedier ancestors.

Best of all against a background of wholly unjustified stallion fee increases he represents real value. At £6,000 (1st Oct SLF) he compares well with a plethora of second class sires retired to stud without really demonstrating real racing ability at the very highest level.