Spotlight on a pair of second-season stallions offering serious value-for-money potential for commercial breeders
Speed, precocity and good looks are the prerequisites for a modern-day commercial breeder looking for a young stallion prospect.
In 2023 the Darley roster was bolstered by two young guns who fit that profile, well, perfectly. Naval Crown and Perfect Power both came to hand early, went on to score over six furlongs in G1 company at Royal Ascot and hail from two of the most important sirelines around.
Another non-negotiable for the commercially minded operator is value for money. At their respective fees of €10,000 and £10,000, with Naval Crown standing at Kildangan Stud in Kildare, and Perfect Power at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, the pair offer breeders an awful lot of bang for their buck.
Perfect Power: Out of the ordinary
Perfect Power went into training with Richard Fahey and quickly showed himself to be something out of the ordinary.
Indeed, barely three weeks after making his debut he was already a Royal Ascot winner, having been fast-tracked from maiden company to the G2 Norfolk Stakes, a proven stallion-making contest that has produced the likes of No Nay Never and Sioux Nation in recent years.
Dropped out towards the rear of the nearside group, Perfect Power gave us the first proper look at that potent turn of foot as he surged through the field to deny Go Bears Go by a head.
A luckless effort in the Richmond Stakes nevertheless suggested Perfect Power had a bigger performance in his locker, and that is precisely what he delivered when he tackled the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville.
An ultra-cool Christophe Soumillon held up the colt in last before looking to unleash that irresistible finishing kick. However, as his rider began to go through the gears, Soumillon found his path blocked.
Such an incident would have spelled game over for lesser talents, but once Perfect Power was in the clear he simply rocketed through the field, reaching the front deep inside the final furlong and having the raw speed to go a length and a quarter clear of the pack.
His final juvenile assignment came in the G1 Middle Park Stakes, where he took on a deep field that included Castle Star, Armor, Go Bears Go, Caturra, Twilight Jet and Asymmetric.
Drawn furthest away from the favoured stands’ side, Soumillon took up his customary hold up position before going in search of a rail run. When it became clear that was a dead end, Perfect Power switched out wide, dropped his head in typically determined fashion and accelerated into the lead. He passed the line a comfortable half-length to the good.
After that performance, Fahey revealed the racecourse was not the only place that Perfect Power displayed a thoroughly likeable temperament. “Going to Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, then Deauville, then here is tough on them,” he said. “But he spends most of his time laid down asleep. For a two-year-old he’s very special as he goes fast very easily and has a super mind on him.”
It was no great shock that Perfect Power vaulted to the head of his juvenile class as he had all the attributes to make up into a top-class two-year-old.
Precocious speed runs right through his male line, being a son of the Windsor Castle and Flying Childers Stakes winner Ardad. In turn, Ardad is by the record-breaking two-year-old sire Kodiac, who stands at the famed Tally-Ho Stud, the place Perfect Power was born and raised.
He was identified by leading breeze-up buyer Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock, who paid £110,000 for the youngster on behalf of Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum at the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale. All this may have pointed to Perfect Power possessing early ability, but even better was to come.
Punching the air
His ability to switch off before quickening to devastating effect prompted connections to pursue a Classic campaign, and he reappeared at three by dispatching high-class rivals such as Lusail and Angel Bleu in the Greenham Stakes over seven furlongs.
Perfect Power took his chance in the 2,000 Guineas and was still on the bridle entering the closing stages. However, the combination of trip and a luckless run stretched his stamina and he was duly dropped back to six furlongs for his Royal Ascot return.
A field of 20 lined up for the 2022 running of the Commonwealth Cup, and at halfway Perfect Power had more in front than behind. But, as we saw on so many occasions, he made giant strides before quickening to lead late on. He’d soon put enough daylight between himself and the rest that Soumillion had the luxury of dropping his hands and punching the air close home.
It was a special performance backed up by the history books, as no horse has ever won as many six furlong G1s at two and three so early in their career.
Perfect Power retired to Dalham Hall Stud for the 2023 breeding season and served a 100-strong debut book. The bright start he made on the track has been mirrored in his second career as among those mares are the dams of stakes winners such as Apollo One, Flippa The Strippa, Global Applause, Kachy, Melo Melo, Prize Money and Treasuring.
Naval Crown: Dubawi’s fastest-ever son
Versatility is one of the hallmarks of the Dubawi sireline. He can get you a top-class talent at any age, any sex and over any distance – and no horse has done more to highlight the speed that Dubawi is capable of imparting than Naval Crown, his sire’s fastest-ever son.
Naval Crown’s innate talent was on show at two as he won the Convivial maiden by no fewer than 4½ lengths. His progression continued at three when he won the Listed Meydan Classic over a mile, in which he defeated subsequent Breeders’ Cup winner Master Of The Seas, before emulating his sire with a fourth-place finish in the 2,000 Guineas.
These efforts may have established Naval Crown as a high-class talent, but in truth they only scratched the surface of his true ability.
He served notice that he had more to offer by running out a commanding winner of the G2 Al Fahidi Fort at Meydan on his four-year-old reappearance, travelling powerfully throughout that seven furlong contest before quickening to lead over a furlong out.
That prompted trainer Charlie Appleby to drop Naval Crown back to sprinting, which led to a tilt at the G1 Platinum Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Crowning glory
A 24-runner field assembled and Naval Crown faced no less than 11 G1 winners in opposition, including the likes of Alcohol Free, Campanelle, Highfield Princess, Kinross and Minzaal, as well as southern-hemisphere sensation Home Affairs and compatriot Artorius.
The pace held up better with the group up the centre, leaving Naval Crown to plough his own furrow on the stands’ rail from around two furlongs out in the £1m event.
It looked for all money that one of those in the centre of the track would prevail, but Naval Crown responded to James Doyle’s urgings and applied the afterburners in the final furlong. He hit the front in the final few strides and stuck his head down on the line to deny Creative Force by a bravely fought neck. His effort is given added context by the fact the others on his side of the track finished no better than 14th.
“He’s a tank, isn’t he? He’s not overly tall but he’s just your typical sprinter,” said Doyle in the immediate aftermath, adding: “He’s always had a lot of quality. We know what his ideal conditions are now.”
Naval Crown backed that effort up by running a valiant second to be the first colt home in the July Cup won by Alcohol Free.
Sire of sires
Dubawi has long since established himself as an elite stallion, but more recent times have seen his emergence as an influential sire of sires too. Naval Crown joins a roster of stallion sons that includes the likes of New Bay, Night Of Thunder, Too Darn Hot and Zarak, all of whom have sired G1 winners of their own.
Moreover, Naval Crown hails from a pedigree replete with top-flight performers. He is the first foal out of the Listed-winning Dansili mare Come Alive, meaning the likes of Cerulean Sky, Moonstone and Soul Sister appear back in the family, as does Hong Kong’s champion sprinter Wellington.
The combination of pedigree, performance and physique helped Naval Crown attract a debut book of 119 mares in 2023. There is quality as well as quantity, as those 119 include the dams of G1 winners A Case Of You, Akeef Mofeed and La Pelosa, along with the dams of fellow Group scorers Dancing Star, Foxtrot Lady, Hamza, Lola Showgirl, Lullaby Moon, Treaty Of Paris and With Thanks.
If speed, precocity and good looks are required to capture breeders’ attention, their support is what helps any young stallion make the next step a successful one.
Given Naval Crown and Perfect Power have all bases covered, there seems every chance they can replicate their on-course success at stud.
• Visit the Darley Europe website
Nancy Sexton: The world’s ten most expensive sires for 2024
Second-season sire Palace Pier ready to live up to great expectations
View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires