Diego Velazquez

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Previously racing in Derrick Smith’s purple and white Coolmore colours, the colt was a horse who had caught the eye from day one and one of those watching his career unfold was Sam Sangster. Always impressing his trainer Aidan O’Brien, Diego Velazquez was a hot odds-on favourite when debuting in a 1400m maiden at The Curragh in August 2023. Racing a tad greenly on pace, he put on display an excellent turn of foot racing away to a dominant 4 3/4 length victory with O’Brien noting that “he obviously has a massive engine.” Four weeks later Diego Velazquez headed to Leopardstown where the strength of his debut win saw him again sent out odds-on.

Again he did a bit wrong but despite that rawness he was too strong. Striking (and not relishing) heavy going for the first time when out of the placings in the Futurity Stakes-Gr1, 1m at Doncaster, Diego Velazquez was given a break, next seen finishing in the thick of things in a close finish to the French 2000 Guineas-Gr1, 1600m. Another heavy track and a step up in trip saw the young horse below his best at his next two starts but once it was recognised that he was not a stayer, Diego Velazquez was back in form with a brilliant Meld Stakes-Gr3, 1m1f victory.

One which had the stable dreaming of international targets. “He could be a Cox Plate horse as he’s definitely not short of pace. Ryan Moore said he’s got all the class and all the speed in the world.” He certainly showed that with his seven length victory over Tarawa who would frank that form with Group 3 success next time out. Back to The Curragh a couple of months later, Diego Velazquez recorded another dominant victory, taking the lead 200m out in the Solonaway Stakes-Gr2, 1m and doing everything right with O’Brien describing him as “a lovely, straightforward, genuine horse.” Unsuited by the way the Queen Anne Stakes-Gr1, 1m was run after he was slowly away (the race described by O’Brien as “a non-event”), Diego Velazquez quickly bounced back with a determined victory in The Minstrel Stakes-Gr2, 7f.

O’Brien was pleased by the result, noting that “he had come forward a lot” from his Ascot run. “He is a brave horse,” he said, adding that “he’s a very well made horse; powerful, strong and a great walker.” There was a four week gap between that race and Diego Velazquez’s next assignment and it was quick work by English National Stud director Sam Sangster to secure the horse in between those runs. On the hunt for a new stallion, Sangster was keen to find a son of Frankel and upon a visit to Ballydoyle was immediately taken by Diego Velazquez...

“honestly, he blew me away when he came out of the box! I wanted to try everything to secure him.” And he did just that which is why Diego Velazquez headed to France in his new silks with the stable confident of a Group 1 breakthrough. Always prominent with Christophe Soumillon aboard, Diego Velazquez was gallant holding on to win when challenged late by a horse who has certainly held up the form; since that time Notable Speech winning five Group 1 races.

“Tough and genuine,” O’Brien said on the day. “He has always been a very good horse and we are over the moon. We thought this race would suit him, he has been working brilliantly.” Sam Sangster was understandably emotional. “It means a lot, we were lucky to buy him and we are even luckier now! He is an absolutely gorgeous horse, a phenomenal mover and I am just so delighted to be involved with him.” In winning the Prix Jacques le Marois Diego Velazquez added his name to an impressive honour roll, the race has been won by the likes of Kingman, Goldikova, Dubawi, Dubai Millennium, Spinning World, Miesque, Lear Fan, Irish River, Kenmare, Kalamoun and Lyphard.

Some superstar stallions among that group! The English National Stud welcomed Diego Velazquez to the farm with open arms and breeders supported him with a book of 130 mares. “He had 90% fertility so we were confident we had a horse who knew his job before he even got on the plane,” said Swettenham Stud’s Marcus Heritage. “We had been chasing a son of Frankel for some time,” he said, adding that Chaldean had been on the wish list a few years ago.

“When Sam purchased Diego Velazquez it made sense that we stand him.” Marcus has been impressed with the horse who settled in so well and so quickly that the stud were able to take his promotional photos and videos the day after he arrived. “He paraded as though he had been there before,” he said, adding that the horse’s international travels - racing in England, Ireland, France and America - placed him in good stead.

“He has done it all before!” A flourish of early bookings came for Diego Velazquez when it was first announced that he would be standing in Victoria and Marcus was pleased when more mares were confirmed once breeders saw him at the Swettenham stallion parades. “Everyone knows he has the pedigree and the race performance but his best feature is definitely his looks and once people saw him in the flesh they were keen to use him.

Several people at the National Stud told us that he’d be a good fit for Australia. He has speed on his dam’s side and he is a beautiful, strong, athletic horse.” “We can see a lot of Toronado (also a member of the Sadler’s Wells sire line) in him and it was always the game plan to stand a stallion who’d suit the same sort of mares Toronado served when he was standing at a similar fee.

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He is an easy horse to mate, John Foote was here just recently and commented that he is the sort of stallion you could send any type of mare to.” Diego Velazquez’s looks are certainly striking. Bred by Epona Bloodstock, he was purchased as a yearling by MV Magnier and White Birch Farm, so eye-catching that he was virtually a work of art; fitting then that he be named after a renowned artist. It took 2,400,000gns for him to be secured at the 2022 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, a case of type living up to pedigree.

We all know just how extraordinary Frankel was as a racehorse, his exploits as an unbeaten winner of 14 races well documented with each of his ten victories at the elite level garnering him worldwide respect. And what an influence he has proven to be at stud, the fastest ever stallion to reach 100 Group winners, a stallion whose statistics make for impressive reading. As of mid-September Frankel had sired 193 stakes winners, 43 of those successful in Group 1 company with this year’s star performers Thundering On (Epsom Oaks, 12f), Benvenuto

Cellini (Irish Derby, 12f) and Item (Juddmonte International, 1m2f) the most recent of those. Frankel’s winners-to-runners strike rate sits at 72% whilst his stakes winner ratio is an outstanding 17.2%; Group winners run at 11.3%. With progeny earnings in excess of $241 million, he has been represented by stakes winners in just about every racing jurisdiction there is. In Australia 86 of his progeny have won races with 21 of those being stakes winners including Sir Delius, Hungry Heart, Converge and Mirage Dancer who between them have won nine Group 1 races.

Frankel was quick off the mark in regards to proving himself as a potential sire of sires, already seven of his sons siring stakes winners. Amongst them are three Group 1 horses including the unbeaten star Ace Impact who at his finale took out the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-Gr1, 2400m before retiring to Haras de Beaumont. As the only Group 1 winning Frankel horse in Australia, Diego Velazquez is being warmly received with breeders impressed by the depth of his pedigree.

He is one of the three stakes winners produced by the speedy stakes winning Acclamation (high class sire of 70 stakes winners including Romantic Warrior and dam sire of 46 stakes winners) mare Sweepstake whose other Group 1 son Broome has performed with distinction England, France, Ireland, Dubai and America. Another of her sons in Point Lonsdale is a five time Group winner and this is a family which combines pace and stamina, its members including the Group 1 winning sprinter Zoffany and the Metropolitan Handicap-Gr1, 2400m winner Land Legend.

As well as fellow Frankel stakes winners Rostropovich and Toulifaut. Like Frankel, Sweepstake is a descendant of the influential matriarch Julia and it is interesting to note that he has sired dozens of stakes winners from his own female line. Such as the Group 1 winners Homeless Songs, Courage Mon Ami, Jannah Rose, Item, El Cordobes and Chaldean as well as his Australian stakes winners Argentia, Finche and Touristic. There are many elements to Diego Velazquez’s pedigree that make him a nice prospect for Australian mares.

I Am Invincible is another member of the Julia clan and he has always picked up well on the family’s influence. Frankel is yet to have much exposure to our local Champion Sire but ten of the 79 winners combining Frankel and Invincible Spirit are stakes winners. Frankel and Dubawi also do a good job together with seven Group 1 winners amongst the first 27 stakes winners. Dubawi’s dam sire Deploy is a grandson of the lovely mare Where You Lead, also grandam of Frankel’s second dam sire Rainbow Quest.

And of Warning who is the third dam sire of Swettenham Stud’s I Am Invincible horse I Am Immortal. Diego Velazquez’s dam is a member of the Try My Best sire line that fares so well with Redoute’s Choice (Try My Best being a grandson of Redoute’s Choice’s prolific fourth dam Best In Show), a cross that has been so well represented by 112 stakes winners including 21 Group 1 horses. Encosta de Lago and Sadler’s Wells is another lovely combo with 14 Group 1 winners amongst its 92 stakes winners, noting that Encosta de Lago’s sire is Sadler’s Wells’ brother Fairy King, the wonderful mare Fairy Bridge duplicated.

Diego Velazquez is already line-bred to this family with Acclamation’s dam sire Ahonoora being by Lorenzaccio whose influential fourth dam Dalmary is the fifth dam of Sadler’s Wells. This makes for strains of Sadler’s Wells’ 3/4 brother Nureyev (dam sire of Zabeel) being desirable; he and Frankel coming together in the pedigrees of 55 stakes winners including nine Group 1 winners. There are other aspects to Diego Velazquez’s pedigree that make him suitable for mares with the influence of Hussonet, Wootton Bassett, Palace Music, Desert King, Maroof, Scenic, Grand Lodge, Hellbent, Mill Reef, Western Symphony, Green Forest, Danzig, Seattle Slew, Fastnet Rock, Pierro, Street Cry, Shamardal and Vaguely Noble.BB