Prince Of Lir a Group 2-winning son of Kodiac

PRINCE OF LIR (IRE) - 2014 bay colt

There is an unfortunate and growing trend of retiring horses to stud after just their two-year-old season, so before they have truly proved themselves, and Prince Of Lir, who won a Beverley maiden in May, the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes in June, and then finished unplaced in three starts, is among the latest batch of them.

He stands at Ballyhane Stud, has covered large books of mares in his first two seasons, and has 75 registered foals in his first crop. Timeform rated him 105.

Prince Of Lir is the second foal out of Esuvia (by Whipper), a former Bryan Smart-trainee who won once over five furlongs and twice over six furlongs, achieving a peak handicap mark of 86. Her siblings include the five-times sprint winner Matuza (by Cadeaux Genereux), the multiple middle-distance scorer Well Painted (by Excellent Art), and also Resplendent Glory (by Namid).

The late Terry Mills trained that chestnut to win six of his nine starts, including Group 3 and listed sprints at Sandown, and from limited opportunities at stud the grandson of Indian Ridge (by Ahonoora) has sired several multiple winners, headed by his first-crop son Dreams Of Glory, a five-furlong specialist with 12 wins from 83 starts.

Aoife (by Thatching), who is the grandam of Prince Of Lir, won twice, she is responsible for seven winners from eight foals, and is a half-sister to the Group 2 King's Stand Stakes third Funny Valentine (by Cadeaux Genereux). Her siblings also include Dame Hester (by Diktat), a stakes-placed dual winner whose son Donnerschlag (by Bahamian Bounty) won a Group 2 sprint at Hamburg, in Germany.

The next dam, Aunt Hester (by Caerleon), was a winner at two and as she was out of the triple scorer Lady Hester (by Native Prince) that made her a half-sister to the Group 2-placed Group 3 Prix Daphnis winner L'Irresponsable (by Ile de Bourbon) and to Najaba (by Touching Wood), a Group 2-placed stakes winner in New Zealand who has some notable descendants.

Najaba's great-granddaughter Platinum Witness (by California Dane) won the 2014 Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and two other pattern events, she was runner-up in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks, and finished third in the Group 1 Windsor Park Horlicks Plate in October. That filly's stakes-winning dam Chartreuse (by St Petersburg) is a half-sister to the dam of the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks runner-up and dual pattern scorer Zennista (by Zenno Rob Roy).

Those top performers are too remotely connected to Prince Of Lir to be in a position to give us any sort of idea of his future potential, and his distaff line is a weak one for a barely tested and unproven horse who is covering such large numbers, but as a son of Kodiac from the immediate family of Resplendent Glory and Donnerschlag, it seems likely that his progeny will be mostly sprinters and milers.

​PRINCE OF LIR (IRE) – b.2014 – Kodiac – Esuvia, 2 wins inc Norfolk Stakes (Gr2). Sire in Ireland. First foals in 2018.

FOALS CATALOGUED:
Chc - Beau Cheval (by Spectrum)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bc - Broken Clock (by Dylan Thomas)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bf - Burren Rose (by Storm Cat)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bc - Chizzler (by Baltic King)     Goffs     November     €4,500
Bc - Eccellente Idea (by Excellent Art)     Goffs     November     €13,000
Bc - Fairmount (by Kingmambo)     Tattersalls     November     4,000gns
Bc - Ishimagic (by Ishiguru)     Goffs     November     €7,500
Bc - Little Italy (by Proud Citizen)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bf - Livadream (by Dalakhani)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bc - Lostintheclouds (by Firebreak)     Goffs     November     withdrawn
Bc - Manalisa (by Manduro)     Goffs     November     €38,000
Bc - Ou Est Ma Tete (by Invincible Spirit)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bc - Paper Dreams (by Green Desert)     Tatts IRE     November     €9,500
Bc - Queen Of The Nile (by Sakhee)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Bf - Rio Yuma (by Gold Sphinx)     Tatts IRE     November     not sold
Chf - Tepeleni (by Teofilo)     Tatts IRE     November     not sold
Bc - Unusually Hot (by Unusual Heat)     Tatts IRE     November     not sold
Bc - Weekend Lady (by Bahamian Bounty)     Tatts IRE     November     €9,000
Bc - Well Hello (by Manduro)     Goffs     November     
Bc - Winterwell (by First Defence)     Goffs     November          not sold
Bc - Wishyouwerehere (by Footstepsinthesand)     Goffs     November     ​€7,000