World champion 3-year-old St Mark's Basilica, a five-time group 1 winner by exceptional European sire Siyouni, will shuttle to Coolmore Australia in 2022, the latest top-flight stallion prospect to be brought Down Under by the global giant.
The Magnier family’s international operation, which is also set to retire the dual group 1-winning, Royal Ascot-bound sprinter Home Affairs to stud later this year, last night unveiled the high-profile St Mark's Basilica as the first of its southern hemisphere newcomers for the 2022 breeding season.
A winner of the Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1) as a juvenile, the colt with a superior turn of foot to his rivals completed an unbeaten four-start season at 3, adding the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1) and the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (G1) in France, the Cora Eclipse Stakes (G1) at Sandown Park, and the Irish Champion Stakes (G1) at Leopardstown to round out his nine-start career with six wins and £2,196,080 (US$2,965,423) in prize-money.
Retired with an elite Timeform rating of 132, a figure higher than the likes of The Autumn Sun, Bivouac, Trapeze Artist, and Coolmore's own Pierro, St Mark's Basilica will stand for a southern hemisphere fee of AU$44,000 (US$32,669) when he travels to the Hunter Valley in August.
"We are delighted to offer a horse with such rare qualities as St Mark's Basilica to Australasian breeders. As a sire prospect, he has everything you could ever hope for and in terms of quality, he has attracted an unparalleled first book of mares in Europe," Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier said.
"St Mark's Basilica was simply brilliant on the track, who just like leading stallions Shamardal and Lope de Vega won the French Two Thousand Guineas and Prix du Jockey Club double.”
The champion European 2-year-old and world champion 3-year-old, St Mark's Basilica was a 1.3 million guineas ($1,667,924) Tattersalls October Yearling Sale purchase by M.V. Magnier, the price tag reflective of his physique and pedigree.
Out of the group 3-winning juvenile Cabaret, herself by the peerless Galileo and owned by Australian breeder Bob Scarborough, the new season shuttler is a half brother to dual group 1 winner and Ireland's champion 3-year-old miler of 2019 Magna Grecia, himself on the Coolmore roster and who has shuttled to Australia for the past two years.
His own twice champion French sire Siyouni—an elite stallion of 59 stakes winners, including group 1 winner Sottsass who, like St Mark's Basilica, is also out of a Galileo mare and is also on the roster at Coolmore Ireland—has had limited exposure in the southern hemisphere with just eight runners, but five of them are stakes performers.
Despite his small numbers, the Haras de Bonneval-based Siyouni, who stands for a record fee in France of €140,000 ($154,130) in 2022 after back-to-back champion stallion titles, has sired UNSW Todman Stakes (G2) winner Aylmerton and boom Perth juvenile Amelia's Jewel, the unbeaten Simon Miller-trained filly, who emphatically won the Furphy Gimcrack Stakes (G3) at Ascot March 19.
He is also the sire of the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained listed-winning 2-year-old See You In Spring and stakes-placed juveniles See You Soon and Direct.
"St Mark's Basilica's sire Siyouni is the most expensive stallion to ever stand in France and has been remarkably successful with limited opportunities in Australia," Magnier said.
"He comes from an impeccable family, being out of a group-winning 2-year-old by Galileo and half brother to a Classic winner. To top it all off, he's an absolutely stunning individual, so we look forward to showing him to local breeders later in the year."
St Mark's Basilica stands for an introductory fee of €65,000 ($71,560) in Ireland and Coolmore, as the Magnier family and their partners have shown with the likes of shuttlers Justify and Wootton Bassett, have thrown their weight behind the son of Siyouni, sending him a plethora of high-class mares this, his first, northern hemisphere breeding season.
Among the mares already in foal to the five-time group 1 winner are Australian group winner Believe'N'Succeed—the dam of Epsom's Investec Derby Stakes (G1) winner Anthony Van Dyck—and champion New Zealand sprinter Bounding.
