Magician to Stand at Ashford Stud in 2015
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Defending Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I) winner Magician will be retired to stand in 2015 at Coolmore's Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky., following his expected start in this year's edition of the race Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
By Galileo—Absolutelyfabulous, by Mozart, the 4-year-old colt has a 5-4-0 career line from 14 starts that also includes a win in the 2013 Tattersalls Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I). He has $2,580,402 in earnings.
Trained by Aidan O'Brien for Coolmore and partners, Magician broke his maiden by six lengths at the Curragh as a juvenile and began 2013 with a four-length romp in Dee Stakes (Eng-III) at about 1 1/4 miles. Cut back to a mile for the Irish Guineas, he won by a comfortable 3 1/2 lengths. He stretched out to 1 1/2 miles for the first time in the Breeders' Cup Turf off a 4 1/2-month layoff and produced a power-packed finish to deny 3-2 favorite The Fugue in a half-length triumph.
This season Magician recorded a win in the Mooresbridge Stakes (Ire-III) at the Curragh along with three solid efforts in grade I or group I races when filling the runner-up spot in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, and most recently the Arlington Million at Arlington International Racecourse.
"Magician is a very, very good-looking horse who possesses a blistering turn of foot," said Ashford's director of sales Charlie O'Connor. "Along with Frankel he's one of only three colts by Galileo to win a classic over a mile, so he's a rare commodity."
Magician's dam, Absolutelyfabulous, was a stakes-winning sprinter for Susan Magnier. She is from the family of dual classic winner and Coolmore sire Henrythenavigator and European group I winners Sequoyah and Listen. Magician was bred in Ireland by the Absolutelyfabulous Syndicate.
A stud fee will be announced at a later date.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Declaration of War , a son of War Front who was third on his only start on dirt in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), will relocate from Coolmore Stud in Ireland to Ashford Stud for 2015.