Canford Cliffs has always been a potential stallion that I spoke very highly of and thought would prove to make a big impact, and I was proved right, as he has had an electric start to 2015 with his first batch of two-year-olds.
Firstly, we'll refer back to Canford Cliffs pedigree and racing career. Canford Cliffs is by Tagula, who is also know for being the sire of Limato, and is out of unraced Marju mare, Mrs Marsh, who has progeny by the great Sea The Stars and Galileo, which makes him an ideal outcross to Sadler's Wells and Danehill lined mares. By a country mile the best horse ever trained by Richard Hannon senior, Canford Cliffs was a winner of seven races from 6-8f, including five at Group 1 level, which included races such as the Irish 2000 Guineas, St. James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes (where he beat the mighty Goldikova), and never left the first three home once.
Bought by John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor, otherwise known as the Coolmore triumvarent, for stud duties in 2011, Canford Cliffs first two-year-olds are just coming out to play this season. As yearlings, the stock was in very high demand as you'd expect for a champion miler and freshman sire, with some of the fees accumulating to 360,000 euros, 230,000 euros and 200,000 euros etc, and some of these are in training with some very high profile trainers, such as Richard Hannon (ten), David Wachman (four), Aidan O'Brien (three), Johnny Murtagh (three), Charlie Hills (two), Roger Varian (two), Eddie Lynam, Jean-Claude Rouget, Kevin Ryan, Sir Michael Stoute, Tommy Stack, Wes Ward and Dermot Weld.
Canford Cliffs has the best strike-rate in the freshman sire standings, with an impressive 39% strike rate from his last thirty-six runners, wielding fourteen winners, and eighteen from ninety-seven in total. These winners include some pattern success already, with Painted Cliffs winning the Group 2 Railway Stakes, Most Beautiful winning the Group 3 Grangecon Stud Stakes and Aktoria winning the Listed Prix Six Perfections. Some of Canford Cliffs other runners include Bournemouth Belle, third in the Listed Empress Stakes, and maiden winners Lady Allegra (Navan), Holy Grail (Ripon), Turandot & Al Jazi (France), Justice Lass (Windsor), Pitou (Maisons-Laffitte) and the impressive Ascot scorer, Wall Of Fire.
On many of the posters lurking around marketing Canford Cliffs, Andrew Caulfield of the TDN (Thoroughbred Daily News) said: A Royal Ascot victory adds lustre to any future stallion's CV, but Canford Cliffs now boasts three. These Royal Ascot wins came in the G2 Coventry Stakes, G1 St. James's Palace Stakes and G1 Queen Anne Stakes - arguably the three races most likely to endear him to today's breeders."
Canford Cliffs is a bit of a niche market in Coolmore, as he is not a Derby winner, but he is a champion miler, which Coolmore are short of, and he certainly will bring that to the table and we will be sure to see Coolmore and Ballydoyle challenging at all the big Group 1 mile races with big guns again soon.