Henry Longfellow to Shuttle to Australia

Group 1-winning juvenile Henry Longfellow (IRE) will shuttle to Rosemont Stud in Victoria this year, where he will stand for an introductory fee of AU$22,000 (approximately US$13,860, AU$1=US$0.63). Supremely well bred, with dam Minding winning seven group 1s, first-year stallion Henry Longfellow stands at Coolmore Stud in Ireland for €15,000 this year. He will become only the second top-tier-winning juvenile by the breed-shaping Dubawi (IRE) to shuttle to Australia. The other is the Darley sire who's become such a sensation he's not coming back to Australia, Too Darn Hot (GB). And in sealing the partnership with Coolmore Ireland to stand Henry Longfellow, Rosemont is confident it will offer Australian breeders a sire poised to extend the success at stud of the offspring of Dubawi, who has no fewer than eight sons who have sired group 1 winners. "We're incredibly excited to get him," Rosemont's general manager of bloodstock Ryan McEvoy told ANZ Bloodstock News. "He'd be one of the more attractive shuttle stallions to come to Australia, certainly from a pedigree perspective, his 2-year-old rating and profile. We think he shapes up extremely well." Bred by Coolmore, the imposing-looking colt was unbeaten in three starts at 2 in 2023, all at the Curragh, following up his debut victory with a win in the Futurity Stakes (G2) before slamming his rivals in the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (G1), leaving previous-start group 1 winner Bucanero Fuerte (GB) 7 1/2 lengths astern in third. Rosemont believes standing Henry Longfellow in Australia—sealed through a concerted approach to Coolmore and a mission to Ireland—will extend the recent success here of shuttlers, in an era of greater speed among visiting sires such as Too Darn Hot, Harry Angel (IRE), and Blue Point (IRE). "The needle has really swung back towards a real appreciation for the shuttle stallion here," said McEvoy. "You have only to think of Too Darn Hot, Blue Point, Harry Angel, Justify, More Than Ready, Toronado... the appreciation for a proper horse from the Northern Hemisphere is back to where it should be. "They're bringing faster sprinter-miler types, the Dubawi lines, Shamardal lines, More Than Ready, Storm Cat; those who have worked so well with our local domestic speed, which is obviously heavily influenced by Danehill. "Henry Longfellow started even money in the National Stakes and won like an even-money shot, by five lengths. He trained on at 3, including a close (short neck) second in last year's St James's Palace Stakes to the season's leading 3-year-old miler Rosallion." McEvoy said the move for Henry Longfellow was "significantly" inspired by the success in Australia of Too Darn Hot. Also, his fellow Dubawi son Night of Thunder (IRE), who shuttled just one season in 2016, has eight stakes winners in the country from 65 runners at a superb 12.3%. "We're big fans of Too Darn Hot at Rosemont," said McEvoy. "We have six mares in foal to him—three who we sent to the UK when it was announced that he wasn't shuttling again, and three who were already there. "When you compare Henry Longfellow to Too Darn Hot and Night of Thunder, the similarities are quite extraordinary. Plus, if Too Darn Hot was standing here this season, he'd be standing for at least 10 times Henry Longfellow's fee."