Soldier's Call to Stand at Ballyhane Stud in 2020

Soldier's Call, the best five-furlong performer of his generation at 2 and 3, has been retired from racing and will take up stallion duty at Ballyhane Stud in County Carlow for the 2020 breeding season.

Owned by Steve Parkin's Clipper Logistics and trained by Archie Watson, the son of Showcasing won four races, including the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which the Racing Post analysis noted, "He's all about speed."

That assessment was borne out when he made all for an unchallenged success in the Prix d'Arenberg (G3). That effort was followed by a dominant performance in the Wainwrights Flying Childers Stakes (G2), in which he again made all to score by 2 1/4 lengths.

After his Doncaster success, his trainer said: "He's a very quick 2-year-old. We've always held him in very high regard. He's gone out and won a group 3 in a very quick time in France and backed up here within 13 days and he's absolutely blitzed them."

Soldier's Call then took on his elders when contesting the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (G3). He went toe-to-toe with no less a rival than Battaash, but having seen off that challenger to lead inside the final furlong, he was collared in the dying strides by the top-class Mabs Cross, going down by just a neck. That effort saw him crowned France's champion 2-year-old.

He took his form to new heights at 3, most notably when third to the brilliant Blue Point in the King's Stand Stakes (G1), in which he reversed the form with Mabs Cross, and when runner-up to Battaash in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (G1), having forced a furious pace that contributed to the race being run in record time.



Upon the retirement of his stable star, Watson said: "It was fantastic to get such a good horse so early in my career, and I owe him a lot. He showed brilliance right from the start, and he was a joy to train. He's such a good-looking colt with a wonderful temperament and attitude. I can't wait to train his first 2-year-olds."

Ballyhane's Joe Foley, who bought the colt as a yearling for 85,000 guineas (US$117,846), added: "It's brilliant that Soldier's Call is coming back to Ballyhane, where he was broken and pre-trained. We can't wait for him to come home. He was brilliantly fast, has a real stallion's pedigree, and the good looks and temperament of a champion."

Bred in Great Britain by Llety Farms, Soldier's Call is from a female line rich with precocious talent. He is the second foal out of listed-winning 2-year-old Dijarvo, a daughter of Iceman. Farther back, this is the family of Royal Ascot 2-year-old winner Abeer, who landed the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) as well as the Flying Childers Stakes when it was group 1.

A fee for Soldier's Call will be announced at a later date.