Meon Valley Announces Mating Plans for Anapurna

Classic success runs deep at Meon Valley Stud, tracing back to the likes of Colorspin, winner of the 1986 Irish Oaks (G1), and Lady Carla, who landed the Epsom equivalent by nine lengths in 1996.

And Meon Valley once again scaled the classic summit in 2019, when Anapurna, the homebred daughter of Frankel, carried the famous black and white Helena Springfield silks to Oaks glory.

The sixth foal of Dash To The Top, a listed-winning daughter of Montjeu who also ran second in the Yorkshire Oaks (G1), went on to confirm herself among the very best of her generation when she added a second group 1 win in the Qatar Prix de Royallieu (G1).

The curtain has now come down on the filly's racing days, and she has returned home to the paddocks at Meon Valley, which sits on the south coast between Winchester and Southampton.

The 4-year-old has been penciled in to visit one of Europe's most exciting young stallions, Lope de Vega, for her maiden covering. The son of Shamardal, who has sired nine group/grade 1 winners, will stand this season at a career-high fee of €100,000 at Ballylinch Stud.

"The important thing is to choose a stallion you think will physically suit the mare, and I've always been a big fan of Lope de Vega," Meon Valley managing partner Mark Weinfeld said. "Dash To The Front (a half sister to Dash To The Top) produced Speedy Boarding from her mating with Shamardal, and this mating is a very similar cross.

"Another close member of the family (Peppermint Green) produced group 3 winner Four White Socks, who's by Lope de Vega, too, so we felt he was the right way to go. Anapurna is a neat, attractive mare, and hopefully Lope de Vega will suit her very well, physically."

On the decision to add Anapurna to the Meon Valley broodmare band at the end of her 3-year-old season, Weinfeld said: "She'd won an Oaks and another group 1, and it's always a risk keeping horses in training, so we thought we'd head to the paddocks with her.

"There is always a risk with horses in training, and having won an Oaks, she had little more to prove."